hubste5

Hubste5 .... take a break and dig out your Volumes of Fox Fire and read through them again. These things you speak of ..... for those of us who survive .... are to provide comfort and sustenance as we transition to the stone age .... If living off the land is your greatest concern when the smoke clears .... well then everything is gonna be alright.

O.W.

Thanks for the positive outlook! Funny, I only have the first volume of FF, but I've read it MANY times, it's just good readin'... Our Southern Highlanders, Horace Kephart, another favorite... I've been looking for the other FF volumes here and there... hope to score some at yard sales, etc...

Survival should be a comfort of the mind, many of these mental chores may be done in the background of the mind...sounds crazy right? but really ...I would love to reccomend a book of monumental value ...it is call "physco cybernetics" by mathew malt....it is now a required reading for college students here, it will develop very strong mental roots, roots that are needed for thinking to grow, a tree surely can't stand without it's roots right? it's not a "survival" book per say....but most peoples problems and thier inhibitions come there deep self image, we need to remove the mental blocks that in it's way to do it's job, once this is acquired you can see things in a different light, good luck, by the way,I wish I was in your shoes!

You are surrounded by more knowledge than you could possibly find in most survival guides printed. With the knowledge you can get from these people ,you could write a best selling book on survival.Your happy ending is all around you all you have to do is talk to them , if they are older mountain folks they more than likely grew up off grid like everyone else back in the early 1900's most people didn't have running water , or electricity . And most are eager to tell their stories , if they weren't survivalist back then they wouldn't be here today to tell those stories.

[QUOTE=rsanders;bt15]You are surrounded by more knowledge than you could possibly find in most survival guides printed. With the knowledge you can get from these people ,you could write a best selling book on survival.Your happy ending is all around you all you have to do is talk to them , if they are older mountain folks they more than likely grew up off grid like everyone else back in the early 1900's most people didn't have running water , or electricity . And most are eager to tell their stories , if they weren't survivalist back then they wouldn't be here today to tell those stories.[/QUOTE]

You are very right, but these old timers didn't learn how to live off the land back then after having the rug pulled out from under them, it was a slow, natural evolution. I mention the worries of fuels and such because I'm not sure how easy it would be for them to revert back 100 years, all at once. My closest neighbor, and friend, who is a true blue old-time mountain man, uses heirloom seeds, has MANY hand implements, etc. But I'm afraid he might be the exception to the rule. I am blessed to have landed where I am, with a living breathing repository of historical how-to's within shouting distance, just not so sure that surrounding folks are as prepared as he is.

An interesting conversation we had recently, (he loves to talk, I love to listen), involved the growing of wheat. Now no one grows wheat anymore around here, but in the old days, everyone grew wheat according to their resources. There were probably 10 or so families that lived in a quasi-communal setting, (we use the words [I]communal living[/I] today, back then it was simply [I]living[/I]), there were certain pieces of farm equipment needed to harvest, thresh, grind, and do other important things specific to wheat processing. Now there was no way any single family could afford all of the equipment necessary to process the harvest from beginning to end, so the families in better financial positions each owned one piece of the equipment, and when harvest time came, it was all hands on deck. All of the families rotated from one property to the next, until all of the harvest was fully processed. Now if there was a small family with extra land vs. a large family with little land, it was understood that the large family would receive a larger portion, gladly GIVEN by the smaller family(s) with excesses. This was the way, it was good... no the gov't didn't TAKE the excess from one and give to the other, it was a community way of life. (And it is still practiced today, as my friend regularly brings me potatoes and canned goods from his cellar). But my point is that this system required some infrastructure/cooperation to pull off, and was not developed overnight. If the rug was pulled out, fuel/machinery were not available, livestock not easily procured... Even though I am in what I consider the best environment for being self sufficient, it's still scary stuff to think about. I constantly think about the millions of people that are not...
Oh and wheat was just one example, the same was true for corn, potatoes, livestock, every aspect of living.

Learn what you can, do what you can do, and trust God to help you do what you can't do. He will give you ideas and insights that you could never get on your own. "trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path" since He knows all I'm sure He could help us all a great deal in time of need.

I must say that I am right there woth you . I have no old timers anymore they are all gone for me. I am sure there are somewhere sround here but most that know the old ways are gone.I have 4 other people counting on me to keep them safe . It seems unbearable sometimes but that is when the tough gets going. I will never be satisfied with my preps . this helps keep my eyes open and me aleret

You know what scares me? The millions and millions of people that are not "survivalists". Maybe that is too strong of a category... The millions and millions of people that rely on the grocery store, their cell phones, computers, TV's, Lights, electricity, fuels etc. Not saying that I don't rely on those things... I do, but I feel I have a great "upper hand" if all the sudden those things were taken away from me. I go into peoples houses every day and see how they live. I can only recall a handful of people that could actually make progress in the event of a catastrophe. The people that scare me are the ones that will be the "looters", the "rioters", the ones that cannot help and survive for themselves so they have to steal and take by force. I guess that scenario is inevitable, people will be running rampant, for thesurvival of themselves and their family. However, I can tell you, I will not be one of those people. But I will be prepared to offer help to those in need, yet defend myself and family in the event. The whole "Marshall Law" and "Anarchy" scenarios scare me. Ugh, I hate thinking about that part! The comments about the "old timers" made me think deeply about this subject...

Originally Posted by Oatmealer

You know what scares me? The millions and millions of people that are not "survivalists". Maybe that is too strong of a category... The millions and millions of people that rely on the grocery store, their cell phones, computers, TV's, Lights, electricity, fuels etc. Not saying that I don't rely on those things... I do, but I feel I have a great "upper hand" if all the sudden those things were taken away from me. I go into peoples houses every day and see how they live. I can only recall a handful of people that could actually make progress in the event of a catastrophe. The people that scare me are the ones that will be the "looters", the "rioters", the ones that cannot help and survive for themselves so they have to steal and take by force. I guess that scenario is inevitable, people will be running rampant, for thesurvival of themselves and their family. However, I can tell you, I will not be one of those people. But I will be prepared to offer help to those in need, yet defend myself and family in the event. The whole "Marshall Law" and "Anarchy" scenarios scare me. Ugh, I hate thinking about that part! The comments about the "old timers" made me think deeply about this subject...

I agree! I know we are not as nearly prepared as we would like, however, I am pretty uncomfortable living so close to the, um, ghetto, if you will. It wont take long before people who are not so prepared, the looters, to come looking for what does not belong to them! I will say that we do not lack in the weapons area, but still, getting out of "dodge" is our best bet- IF the scenario plays in our favor. With 4 kids, its something I think about, often.