Start Now, While You Can, Because You Can, by Old Bobbert

These short published blog articles, these pieces of myself, of ourselves, concerning preparedness, survivalism, self awareness, and personal readiness are created to help the reader to start taking action and learn to fight ignorance and greed. From my side of these entries, I do not promote myself as an expert; I’m just another concerned guy who wants to help others and perhaps showcase my personal opinions. Not even a little of the real me has ever shown completely through these prepper pages, these pieces of our lives,.

Prepper Achievement Judged

Moving on, there’s a well justified question begging to be given a platform on which our communal characters can be examined, and therein be prepper achievement judged. Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of our total human family, a family now in great danger, now deep in materialistic self mutilation of our very souls, a family of families now in perilous danger. We few can be the catalyst and positive-oriented answer, if we will only allow ourselves to be all we can be.

That’s a quote from somewhere. Oh, yeah. I remember now. I did four years in the regular army from 1958 to 1962. And that’s really a long long time go. I received $33 monthly and three hots and a cot. Roll-call was at O-dark-30, except Sunday. Imagine being seventeen years old and sent to serve two years in Oahu, Hawaii, where there was no snow and it was not yet a state!

Standing For Values

Some of us have often stood for better values and strived mightily to add even a small measure of individualistic strength of character to the counter forces of goodness and love of country and love of principle. And these efforts have proven to be well timed and very meaningful, especially in the face of political and financial irresponsibility and massive self appeasement. All of these low level vices of our modernistic and usually very self-centered blot of bigotry of digital self enhancement are usually well hidden. They are deadly and growing in strength.

They often hold preparedness up to ridicule and a great many really dumb jokes. Why dumb jokes, you ask? Because they influence the uninformed person down deep where their fears live and this gnaws at anything unknown.

Never Forget Rule #1

This is a big one, so never forget this life saving rule:

Being bad never makes them dumb. Being good never makes us smart

We only have to work at and enjoy becoming more informed as to the real facts of the world we live in. We must learn to share our knowledge. Try sending prepper tidbits with a reply request. Build your prepper email list.

Then we must act on our new found knowledge. That’s being smart.

Fellow Unprepared Citizens Will Be Regretful

Our fellow citizens who have not yet made their decision to be ready, to be counted, or to find and support a local prepper force for good are sure to be regretful and hungry post-SHTF. This will surely happen. There is no way for it to not happen. We will be the only source of some food, some medicine, some rest, and some support.

Someday, perhaps very soon but surely it will happen, the area disaster will happen to the unprepared and perhaps to all of us. Without proper preparation, without an alliance with the rest of us, all will wither and die in the very face of actually being in the destructive path of an area disaster.

Should we be unprepared to help others, then no one will be helped.

That’s another quote from my days as the American Legion Post commander. See, I did brag just a little but only just a little.

Event Guaranteed By History

That event, the colossal and poorly timed real disaster, with death and starvation being the only companions on that day, is guaranteed by history. Some of us, on that terminal day, will be facing up to our personal knowledge that we have, at best, only played at being a concerned “prepper”. We will suffer the unintended consequences of our failure to be a person committed to more than just doing for “me and mine”.

That sad day will be our personal notice of total non-qualification.

Game Over For the Many

It will be game over for the many, far too many, and those with too little too late. If our world is to survive our near immediate destruction and yet be fully prepared for a strong rebirth, we must stand tall now so as to then be able to perform and allowed to act then. We few who know ourselves to truly be authenticated and fully vested preppers will be the agents of rebuilding this once great nation, or we will be condemned to be the pall bearers of the nation we ignored unto its death. Make that choice now, while you still can. Now, today, is your best time to be the best you can be.

Start now, while you can, because you can. Later will be too late.

Saving Factor or Dying Factor

All of us, you and I, can be the saving factor or the dying factor. It is our choice, our decision, our commitment, our covenant with one another and with our Father God. We must be ready to work, to lead, to serve, to follow, and to teach. If not, we will fail, and with us our families will fail. Furthermore, there is no escape from this profound discipline.

We must stand ready now, ready for tomorrow and must procure those tools and gear we will need later so as to be fully equipped, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, and ready to share. To reclaim our world, we’ll need to be armed with the weapons available to the peaceful farmer, the industrious craftsmen, the office workers, the soldiers and police who defend us daily.

Never Surrender

We are the well-informed seniors, the moms and the dads who will never surrender the future of their children to the dark forces now enveloping the good folks everywhere. We must know more and cache more than the standard, tired recipe of beans, bullets, and band-aids. These were never enough in the past, and they will never be enough in the future. If these are the sum total of your preps, you will not survive even the slightest tremor of chaos and hordes of hungry rabid thieves and killers. You will surely seek to desperately bargain with them, to appease them, and to bribe them.

They will keep you talking while they surround you and sniper-kill your leaders. And then you will belong to them, you, your food, your supplies, all of it! They’ll take your tools and fuels, all of them and most especially your drugs and always your women. Even granny and your little girls will become hard-used throw away property.

We can’t just shout, ”Look at me” or “Listen to me.” We can’t just announce that we are preppers and expect the bad guys to go away. No way. Writing prepper articles and sending email to our homespun literary works to friends and family, everybody everywhere every time is not enough. We can’t just read these blog-posted, terrific articles, and read the books and watch the DVDs. That will not save us, or our families, towns, nation, or our freedoms.

Good Tools To Put To Work

While these are good tools, they are in reality just tools and no more than that. Even the finest hammer ever crafted is useless unless it is put to work.

And there are always more uses than the design engineer’s intent when creating that hammer. We know that of the silent second use (1. Hammers pound good nails … 2. Hammers pound bad guy brains).

Think Outside Box

Think outside the box. Success means there must be other tools, other materials, and a full set of communications plans, security plans, food acquisition plans, child schooling plans, medical care plans, and especially a nearby “Porta Potty”. Even the most simple, plainest, mundane items have great value on occasion.

Sometimes when you want to blame anyone except yourself, as in the above example of the porta potty. Go to Google or yahoo for answers to simple but unpleasant questions and find articles.

Three Types of Preppers

Okay, let’s do our summary and talk about the three types. We have learned that there are basically, or generally, three types of preppers in most places and most of the time.

The GPs

First, we have the genuine prepper who does a lot very quietly with very little notice or notification to others. We can call them the GP’s. They are the “Great Preppers”.

They have amassed a large, personal library of topics that will be of great value after a financial/banking failure, a power grid shut down, or whatever it might be that shuts down the system. There is food to spare, to share, and places to go when needed.

But most importantly, they have practiced and repeatedly drilled to a point of high proficiency in the many areas necessary to success. Their communications system is secure, and they have obtained sufficient equipment and full supplies for full safety/security in any location or situation.

My wife feels our supplies are way over the top here, and I am sure we’er near that top. So, I am moving up hill very light footed and with caution.

The STPSs

Second, we have that terrific and truly caring couple who are quite sure that when the disaster finally hits nearby them some day, their extra seven-day supply of food and powdered milk will do them just fine. Okay, we can refer to them as our STPS cousins. I thought you would never ask about your cousins and the in-laws. We all know them, and some of us are even related to them. Get ready to be nice and to welcome them into your “Properly Prepared Place of Post Perfection”. That’s your PPPPP. After all, they did try mightily. Make sure they know the newest password: “We brought food”. Oh, I can’t remember where I first heard that one. It’s not mine, but it is a great one liner and very correct.

Okay, STPS stands for “Still Trying to do Preparation Stuff”. They thought about you, admired your example, and felt that you were right, but that you were just a little overdone financially. They planned ahead and bought two dozen solar driveway lights from Amazon that can be brought into the house at night in case there is a power failure. And no, they do not have a plan to shield that stored light from outside eyes.

They do not live in a bad neighborhood. Their planning has caused them to buy and store a full case of toilet paper, a case of Kleenex, extra toothpaste, extra instant coffee, and a monthly subscription to Netflix. Mary is thrilled to be prepared, and Tom recently bought a slightly used Boy Scout handbook at the Good Will store. He’s ready. Success!

You will quickly learn to like them a lot. You just need to try very hard to not laugh when they do not think their words are funny. It’s not very kind to kick the innocents in the family. Remember this “Community Suffrage Rule”: Someday your son/princess may love their daughter/son. Oops

The “Others”

And then finally we have our third group of “all the others”. We have no cute name for them. We have no way to know, in advance, which way they will choose to be the loser of the day. But they will be the losers, the small minded folks who sit in the stadium and wait for the government to feed them and to care for them and to love them and to support them. On about day three, maybe earlier, some of them will be climbing out of that cesspit place and go looking for whatever they can find and steal from whoever may be a little more prepared then they are.

First Group Must Establish Rules and Plan Prior To Event

And then that war begins. Prior to the start of an event, the first group must clearly establish rules, methods, kill decisions, perimeters, and real time safe boundaries. Why before? It’s because the bad guys will never phone and make an appointment to visit with your family. They will not, not ever no how.

Kill Decisions

And yes, you read it correct; it did read “kill decisions”. Recently, I had a prepper conversation with our youngest son, who is fifty this year. We talked about the highly probable necessity to take a life to save his life. His quiet, sad response was very simple and very specific. I heard his strident body language in his voice, though we were on the phone. He said to me, “Dad, I’m going to be the one who comes home that day.”

Years ago, while I was teaching him, his two older brothers, and his sister about our futures and the probability of a SHTF event and again afterwards, I prayed that it would not be necessary. My prayer was answered with a “No”. Yes, we will surely regret the necessity to do those tough things we will need to do to safeguard our families. We will be the ones coming home from the battle. We will leave no one behind, no one!

People Will Tell

BTW, it would be very wise to remember that there are people who will tell the bad guys all bout your location and food storage circumstances, just because that information might earn them a little mercy from the bad guys. Actually, it is more likely to earn them a quick 9mm in the head to stop them from warning you.

Have a nice day and always remember that a “45 Hard ball drops them all”, every time, everywhere.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

This has been another entry for Round 74 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

1. A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
7. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value), and
8. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
3. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
4. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
5. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances, and
6. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).

Round 74 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.