When All Hell Breaks Loose Part 22

Survival kits in the house, the car, and the office-man, I can hear your friends and family giving you a h.e.l.l of a time. You can never be overprepared, unless the act of preparation takes over your life and transforms you into a hyperparanoid, doomsday freak. Once you have your bases covered, and you take a few minutes every six months to a year to rotate certain items in your kit(s), it's time to relax and enjoy life. This doesn't mean that you should drop your guard. Simply pay attention to your life and just enough of the news to keep in the loop regarding current affairs. I know people who have consumed themselves with survival preparedness. They live it, breathe it, and force others to listen to it. They are so busy preparing for the horrific variables of the future that they never truly live in the now. They rob themselves of life in the present moment due to their fears of an unknown future. Folks, this is not what preparing for an emergency is supposed to accomplish. If your survival plan doesn't increase your ease and confidence in life, then it's the wrong plan. I support you fully in being prepared, but not at the expense of your not living your life to the fullest and doing what you are here to do as part of your sacred pact with life.

On the other hand, you will need to tolerate and ignore, if possible, people that have been completely seduced by the modern conveniences of life to such an extent that they have become sheeple. Oblivious to most forms of common sense, independence, and reality, obnoxious sheeple will take great pleasure in criticizing all of your attempts at becoming self-reliant in your life. They will hara.s.s you about storing this or that and laugh at your "paranoid" behavior. Some of these sheeple might live in your house and you will be beholden to feed them if the brown stuff hits the fan. There have always been those throughout time that have mocked another's sense of intuition about preparing for the unseen. Don't let them disrupt your harmony. Do what feels best to you, like the ant, and pay no attention to the gra.s.shoppers that cross your path. After listening however briefly to people on both sides of the fence, only you know if you're balanced in your family's emergency preparedness plan or not.

What About Running To the Hills?

"RUN TO THE HILLS. . .RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!".

-CHORUS FROM AN IRON MAIDEN SONG, 1982 Due to my profession, I've been subjected to countless monologues about "getting out of town when the %@*# hits the fan to live off the land." Ninety-nine percent of these well-meaning people have no idea what living off the land entails, let alone the skills, the supplies, the landscape, or the guts to do anything about it. Yet somehow, the-gra.s.s-is-greener-on-the-other-side concept waxes strong within their psyches.

For those who are entertaining this concept, and torturing your family with it, have you ever tried to live off the land? Have you tried to do so in the wintertime? Have you tried it with a dozen other armed crazies in the woods that had the same bad idea that you had? Have you tried to hunt and gather with your nagging kids and p.i.s.sed-off spouse by your side? Have you been camping for more than a weekend or a week without the usual modern-day camping comforts that are guaranteed to distance you from how unforgiving the natural world can be? Have you been camping at all? Are the calluses thicker on your b.u.t.t and fingertips from surfing online survival forums than from being outside practicing what you're blabbing about? Do you need to drive several hours in your SUV to find the land to live off? Are you (and every one of your family members) physically able to hike even one mile across a potentially rugged, backcountry landscape that will eventually be very hot or cold, and covered with biting and stinging bugs and plants that poke, p.r.i.c.k, and tear at your flesh? Have you ever been hungry, really hungry, where your only option is to gather weird-tasting plants or attempt to kill something? If you have tried living off the land, how long did you last (be honest!) before raiding the energy bar stash in your camouflaged bug-out pack? Do you remember how you felt afterward, physically, mentally, and emotionally? If you thought your experimental living-off-the-land trip was successful, do you a.s.sume that Mother Nature will deal you the same playing hand the next time?

I have come across a few less-than-hidden survival stashes in the wilds of Arizona. I like to look at the contents and see what their creator(s) thought was important enough to haul out into the bush. One stash had not one, two, three, four, or five, but six different cooking pans; from a huge frying pan to various skillets and cook pots. I applaud his or her choice of at least one cook pot, but six? Maybe they thought they would be exceptional hunters and gatherers, thus requiring the extra cooking capacity. Along with this were dozens of paper plates complete with many pieces of plastic silverware. This gear alone took up more than half of the would-be survivalist's rickety wooden military ammo box, the one which animals had forced open and pillaged to eat the packets of instant coffee.

If I burst your bubble about living off the fat of the land. . .good. Be realistic about you and your family's physical, mental, and emotional abilities during times of extreme stress and leave the wild boar hunting from a tree up to Rambo.

Really Cool, Gotta Have It, Multiple-Use Stuff The following items, listed in no particular order, contain many multiple-use options for the savvy survivor. Their practical uses in mitigating the cause or effects of emergencies are limited only by your needs and imagination. While this list is by no means all inclusive, it will give you a head start in your ability to adapt to changing environments. These are not all necessarily for your bug-out pack, although some of the same things are listed.

Methods to Make Fire All hail the power of fire! It has the power to create, sustain, trans.m.u.te, or destroy if the owner of the fire is ignorant about how it works. Lighting and safely maintaining a fire is a ma.s.sive responsibility and one that demands that you receive the proper training. I've often wondered why local and federal fire officials are quick to ban fires on public lands during dry seasons yet offer no training whatsoever on how to responsibly make and build a campfire. The tools most commonly used to light the fire itself were covered on page 317.

Cutting Edges Metal knives are the most obvious choice and are far from a tool used only in the wilderness. Try not to use a knife for a few days in the kitchen and you tell me how useful they are around the house. All cutting edges-knives, saws, axes, etc.-should be kept sharp and in good condition.

String and Rope Indigenous peoples literally tied their worlds together. String and rope show up on every survival kit list in existence, both primitive and modern. This supremely multiuse gear is second only to my beloved cutting edges and fire.

Five-Gallon Buckets Entire cultures revolved around the making and use of containers. Five-gallon plastic or metal buckets, especially those with tight-fitting lids, have unending uses for the survivor. Plastic buckets should be stored out of the sun as ultraviolet rays will eventually degrade and weaken the plastic.

Plastic Sheeting, Both Clear and Black Native peoples the world over would have given their eyeteeth for a lightweight barrier that sheds rain, snow, and wind. It can make your house warmer or cooler, create an improvised window to keep out the elements, and wrap up a dead body. Along with crumpled up newspaper, duct tape and a cutting edge, plastic sheeting makes a pretty slick improvised diaper. Purchase plastic sheeting that's 4 mil or thicker to meet the widest variety of tasks.

Two- to Four-Quart Capacity Stainless Steel Pot with a Tight-fitting Lid and Bail [Handle]

A multiuse, fire- and waterproof container that will prove itself over and over again in its usefulness.

Duct Tape I can't say enough about this wonder material. I've made handles, containers, cordage, sandals, and repaired many, many things, including packaging up broken body parts for transport to the hospital. There are many grades of duct tape available at the hardware store. Buy the thicker, more expensive stuff as you get what you pay for, yet I've seen some of the cheaper brand names perform well too. I have two or three different types of duct tape wrapped around my water bottles so I can choose the one that best fits my needs of the moment.

Rebar Tie Wire I love this stuff. My entire home was lashed together with tie wire before being sprayed with concrete. Available at any hardware store or building supply center, its multiuse noncombustibility excels where duct tape cannot go.

Zip [or Cable] Ties Zip ties offer strong, multiuse, static bindings without the complication of fine and complex motor skill knots.

Old Newspapers [At Least Two or Three Weeks' Worth]

Newspapers can be used as insulation against hot or cold temperatures in the home or in clothing. They have numerous packing, cleaning, and sanitary uses, can help with fire building, and can be read to keep your mind from being taken over by boredom or fear, among many other uses.

Fifty-five-Gallon Drum or Barrel Liners and Plastic Lawn and Leaf Bags I've already mentioned the awesomeness of plastic sheeting and containers. So imagine the power of a collapsible plastic container! Both can be purchased at most hardware and building-supply stores in clear and opaque plastics. Their rugged, contained, nonpermeable disposability makes them excel at dealing with sanitary and storage issues from excrement to improvised body bags for the dead. They also make great raincoats.

Zipper-lock Freezer Bags, Quart and Gallon Size The staggeringly multiuse "mini-me" version of the drum liner, except in this case it's food-grade plastic! They also double as disposable mittens that have any number of uses such as skinning rodents and moving the dead.

Plastic, Canvas, or Nylon Tarps The ability to quickly create shade, cut the wind, or keep things dry might mean the difference between living and dying in extreme conditions as they all deal directly with the regulation of core body temperature. At the very least, tarps will help make your family more comfortable. Tarps work well for creating privacy around the improvised potty as well. While opaque plastic sheeting can double as a tarp in many ways, it lacks the durability and factory grommets that make the tarp such a great addition to any family's preparedness gear.

Mouse and Rattraps A simple and effective way to put fresh, nutritious meat on the barbie during the most austere conditions. They also work great for eliminating critters that are raiding your food stash.

Backpacks, Daypacks, and f.a.n.n.y Packs Being able to move lifesaving gear from place to place might come in handy. Packs allow you to resupply your stock and gather useful improvised items or products on the move without tying up your hands.

Household Chlorine Bleach How many times have I mentioned this stuff? According to the "find" feature on this computer, more than thirty times, and I'm not done writing. Chlorine bleach will disinfect everything from your dishes and drinking water to your doo-doo and your dead. Buy a gallon today and rotate it every year whether you use it or not.

How to a.s.sess Remaining Daylight and

"Tell Time" with Your Fingers

There are circ.u.mstances when knowing how much natural light you have left in the day can go from a welcome convenience to a matter of life or death. Although this method is accurate in telling human-created time down to within five minutes if you know the exact time of the sunset for the day, its primary purpose is telling you how many hours of sunlight you have remaining to find shelter, travel without the aid of artificial lighting, or accomplish the dozens of tasks so critical to your family's comfort and survival when no other lighting options exist. I have students use this method on almost every outdoor trekking course to accurately a.s.sess when they should stop walking and focus their attention on finding and creating a safe base camp for the evening without the use of artificial lighting.

This method is used for an average adult with an outstretched hand(s). Each finger equals fifteen minutes worth of daylight or time, so four fingers equals one hour.

1 Stretch your arm out in front of you toward the sun. Bend your wrist so that your palm is facing you and your hand is horizontal with your thumb on top. The bottom of the sun should rest on top of your index (pointer) finger.

2 Put your other outstretched hand below the first.

3 Now move your upper hand under the second and continue "walking" your hands down toward an imaginary horizon line, counting the hands as you go. (If you're doing this on the ocean or in a Kansas cornfield, there won't be much to imagine about the horizon line.) The accompanying ill.u.s.tration shows four hours (sixteen fingers) worth of daylight left. Be sure to keep your arms straight as you slowly walk both hands down toward the horizon. It's easy to get sloppy with this method by using only one hand or by putting your hand too close to your face because your elbows are bent. This method can also be used with the moon or to see how much sunlight has already pa.s.sed in the late morning or early afternoon.

Before, during, or after any disaster, you are trying to save your body and those whom you love, not material possessions. Although a potential agonizing mental and emotional decision, you may be forced to leave your home to stay alive or your home may be destroyed in a catastrophe.

A portable "bug-out pack" or disaster kit contains within it a distillation of the most important gear your family will need during its emergency. This pack should be fully loaded and ready to go before it's needed so you can grab it at a moment's notice in case of an evacuation. Some gear can be divvied up among family members so that all of the eggs are not in one basket. However, each family member should always carry basic needs within their individual pack, such as potable water and adequate clothing for the weather.

There is no one-size-fits-all bug-out pack so modify the contents according to your family's needs.

Compiling a bug-out kit first, before outfitting your home, will force you to pare survival necessities down to a manageable level. The motives and gear within your kit can then be simply expanded upon for your home.

The contents of your bug-out pack should be highly adaptable and meet a wide variety of conditions regarding the user and the environment in which the kit will operate.

As the variables are almost limitless as to what could happen during a crisis, keep gear and survival plans simple by adhering to basic core concepts for supporting life.

How you pack your gear is important. Think ahead about what high-use items you'll need from your pack and keep them easily accessible. Mark gear with brightly colored tape for greater visibility and use smaller stuff sacks to make gear easier to identify and locate.

At minimum, have on hand important identifying doc.u.ments such as a driver's license and pa.s.sport.

Duplicate bug-out packs can also be kept in your vehicle(s) and at the office.

Don't let overpreparation for an emergency consume your life. Once you have your bases covered, rotate certain items every six months to a year, pay attention, and relax and enjoy life.

Running to the hills to live off the land is usually a bad idea and could hasten your death.

There are several multiuse items that will allow you to create more with less, such as methods to light a fire, cutting edges, rope, five-gallon buckets, and plastic sheeting to name a few. Make sure your household has basic items that allow you to improvise and adapt from your environment what you'll need to stay alive.

It's possible to tell how much daylight is left in the day, and the time, with the use of your outstretched hands and fingers. For an adult, each finger equals fifteen minutes worth of daylight.

EPILOGUE.

"Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists."

-A Course in Miracles Perhaps the greatest survival skill of all is the ability to maintain harmony in the feelings in the face of seeming chaos.

This is accomplished by having discrimination about where you put your attention, thought, and feeling, and how you choose to speak and act. You are on the planet for a purpose, for a mission only you can fulfill. You are given greater lat.i.tude for service in certain ways, by certain Laws because you have a physical body, because you are composed of the earth element. Keeping your body alive and in the best health that you can is your sacred duty in order to more effectively serve life using whatever gift it is that you radiate. Regardless of sometimes negative appearances, we must all sooner or later awaken to this destiny for the benefit of all.

This is not to say that attachment to the body is the point. If you are exclusively attached to your body, you will find a neverending list of things and events to fear. You are not truly your physical body anyway, although it seems so in the short term. The close-up, "one-pointed" view of the mouse can be helpful when needing to focus in upon a single aspect of a need, yet to live in this myopic world full time invites self-generated patterns of a limiting and binding nature. Fluctuate between the balance and common sense of having the view of the hawk, as well as the mouse, soaring high above the big picture of whatever it is you wish to understand.

REALITY IS MERELY AN ILLUSION, ALBEIT A VERY PERSISTENT ONE.

-Albert Einstein It is obvious that the Earth is going through a cycle of intense change at this time, and has been for several decades. If you choose to set the beer down, turn off the TV, shut your mouth and listen, really listen, this truth will become apparent. This deep listening is also what will prompt you to make correct choices and decisions that will keep your family safe during a crisis. Like any other time of flux, there will be leaders and there will be followers. If you have made it through the book to this point and paid attention along the way, you may be called upon by life to be a leader during very trying times in the future. You now know much more than the average person about what it takes to be prepared for a crisis and how to mitigate its effects after the fact. Who knows why you picked up or were given this book, much less read the contents. How it happened is not important-the fact is it happened.

CONFUSION IS A WORD WE HAVE INVENTED FOR A ORDER WHICH IS NOT UNDERSTOOD.

-Henry Miller As I've said before, one of the most challenging aspects of a survival situation will be dealing with the human nature of others. Even if you think you know someone very well, the stress of an emergency may show you a different aspect of that person that even they didn't realize was possible. This aspect can be positive or negative; it can be heroically altruistic or incredibly selfish. In times of great chaos and confusion, if you're open to the possibilities of receiving help-that for the most part is initially invisible to our physical sight-the help will come. This is not blind hope or simple wis.h.i.+ng, it is Law. When one part of the web of life genuinely tugs and asks for a.s.sistance, tremendous a.s.sistance will come, it has to come, as the web is all one body. If you inadvertently touch your hand to a hot stove, your entire body will a.s.sist you in removing it from the heat as quickly as possible. If you are open to greater-than-normal a.s.sistance being given to you during an emergency, you might be amazed at what is instantly downloaded into your life. Where there was initially borderline panic, you might suddenly possess the calm, peaceful, and determined command presence to instantly and effectively deal with a disaster scenario.

This concept is not a bunch of wishful thinking or hippy hooey. It is very real and has been "proven" by many, many people during crisis situations, from seasoned military combat soldiers and professionally trained disaster response personnel to the elderly and little kids. What was needed the most came regardless of scary appearances. You can intensify this action of a.s.sistance by actively and purposefully asking for help and then expecting it to come. You must ask for the a.s.sistance you require and do so with great determination! Do not be pa.s.sive or wishy-washy, and don't second-guess as to what form the a.s.sistance may come. It will appear however it appears and the form is irrelevant, but pay attention so you don't miss it as sometimes the a.s.sistance can be subtle. The physical skills of survival are incredibly important and necessary to life, yet it's your "presence" as a person under stress, who you have become and what positive force you radiate out that will save more lives in times of catastrophic chaos. It's the "walk" not the "talk," the doing, not just the wis.h.i.+ng that will accomplish the most good for your family and the planet as a whole. Like Gandhi said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

I HEAR AND I FORGET. I SEE AND I REMEMBER. I DO AND I UNDERSTAND.

-Confucius Don't be afraid to do what you're here to do. If you receive promptings from the heart to do certain things in life that after much quiet introspection and honest self-evaluation are deemed to be more than just the ego wanting to glorify itself, DO THEM. In the grand scheme of things, it's not what you have stored that will save your life; it's who you have become as a person. These past few paragraphs don't need to make sense intellectually. In fact, they will not make sense to the human intellect and ego with its desperate and infantile desire to justify itself by picking things apart, a.n.a.lyzing, ridiculing, and doubting them in order to create separateness from the One. Throughout history, there have always been individuals who have willfully missed the boat due to their own self-created falsehoods and limitations. Through openness and innocence, if this stuff seems to "click" on some level, if it feels good, even though it can't be explained, then don't be concerned.

Follow your intuitions and prepare as you see fit, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Pay no attention to those who would choose to rip you down for doing so, but remain guarded. At all times, cultivate the wisdom of discrimination with others that allows you to know when to share information and when to remain silent. There is no need to defend an idea that remains invisible. As you work toward greater self-reliance in your physical world and otherwise, never give up. Never give in. Have courage, and don't compromise what's important to you. After all, when you finally lay your body down, you'll take absolutely nothing from this planet other than your honor.

THE GREATEST WAY TO LIVE WITH HONOR IN THIS WORLD IS TO BE WHAT WE PRETEND TO BE.

-Socrates No one plans to find himself or herself in a survival situation. That's part of what makes those situations so terrifying when they happen. While there are no guarantees during a disaster, advance preparation, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually can pay off handsomely for you and your loved ones. Even though this book is packed with technical information on surviving an emergency, don't forget about the art of simplicity and common sense in all things. If you find yourself facing a life-threatening emergency, calm yourself the best that you can, consider your options, and TRY. If you seem to fail and are knocked down from the effort, then get off your a.s.s and try again! Your life and those of your family are precious. As long as there's breath in your lungs and a heartbeat within your chest, never, never give up and always remember to Party On!

TIMES OF GENERAL CALAMITY AND CONFUSION HAVE EVER BEEN PRODUCTIVE OF THE GREATEST MINDS. THE PUREST ORE IS PRODUCED FROM THE HOTTEST FURNACE, AND THE BRIGHTEST THUNDERBOLT IS ELICITED FROM THE DARKEST STORM.

-Charles Caleb Colton or E-mail us at: or Snail mail at: ALSS, LLC.

P.O. Box 3064

Prescott, Arizona 86302 U.S.A.

ALSS specializes in ancient and modern self-reliance training: Urban, suburban and rural preparedness training and disaster mitigation Real estate a.n.a.lysis and consultation for self-reliant living Wilderness survival and indigenous living skills field courses Sustainable design, building and living systems Water harvesting methods for arid landscapes Consulting, lectures, corporate training The more you know, the less you need.

NOTES.

Talk is cheap! Purposefully, peacefully, and patiently practice your preparation plan!

WATER WISDOM. . .

Commercial water disinfection products and good ol' household chlorine bleach.

Disinfecting, drop by drop, a gallon of water with chlorine bleach using an improvised dropper made from a strip of paper and a spoon.

Disinfecting nonpotable water on the roof using ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

MORE WATER. . .

A smattering of water storage and transportation options. Note the infamous condoms and the heavy-duty freezer bags, gallon and quart size. The weird-looking brown thing in the middle is a gourd canteen.

More in-home water storage options: Fill the sink and access water from the back of the toilet. The was.h.i.+ng machine can also be turned on and filled, sans detergent and clothes, if advance preparation allows.

An easier way to carry 113 pounds of salvaged water. . .

. . .another option.

using plastic and metal storage tanks.

Various rain catchment systems B.O. busters. Both the large pressurized sprayer and the hand spray bottle can be painted black or a dark color for better heat absorption from the sun.

Kitchen containers and bathtub filled with the luscious liquid called water. Harvest and store what you can until the pipes run dry.

Pasteurizing nonpotable water in a commercial solar oven.