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Honestly, NEG, I can't think of ANY food that will not spoil in the heat of a trunk or car. Even jerky gets soft and icky after a few weeks in a car "oven". Even when we went summer camping for a week, I had everything in an iced-down cooler, strapped to the outside of the vehicle, for airflow. (In 100-degree heat on the outside, everything stayed frozen - without re-icing.) Dried things like Jiffy mix for campfire baking were also kept in a canvas bag outside the vehicle (we hung it on a tent pole once we settled.) Can you possibly put together a canvas bug-out bag of dehydrated/camping/MRE food that you can grab up as you go out the door? Or that can be (sealed from bugs and mice) stored in a cool garage next to the vehicle?
If the heat in a closed car in the middle of summer can kill a baby or a dog in 15 minutes, or completely melt the old video tapes in two hours, it can't do any food you pack in your trunk any good. It will suffer a "sea change" and NOT into something "rich and strange".
Since I'm a "Bug-in" er, not a "Bug-out" er, I have everything set up to stay put, so I'm probably not the best person to ask. But I thought your question needed to be pointed out - it's important.
Well yes, you're right and I've thought this through since posting the Q. I think now that I will keep a covered metal barrel inside the house with "good-to-go" dried foods that I can lift out of the can in some kind of carry all that fits inside the can. This way if forced to evacuate for any reason I reach into the can, pull up the bag, throw it in the car with the dog, and go. In this case, wondering what to put in there to last a few weeks.... Other than quick cooking grains and some snacks, not sure what to include...and then again, what if I'm not in a situation where I can cook or even heat anything...
OK guys - I was busy doing SS&P stuff IRL the last few days and wasn't online to catch this one. I'd be able to spend all my time on the forum if I didn't have to cut 5 cords of wood for next winter, dig out 4' of accumulated snow around our stored supplies before it melts and floods everything, and do maintenance on the chainsaws and ATV. Hope ya'll can forgive me
Anyway, to END the politeness argument -- the OP could have phrased the question in a more polite and less antagonistic way, and the respondents could have phrased their answers in a more polite and less aggressive way. Both are at fault, and I'm hoping that no infractions are necessaary to make people play together nicely. There are many people who come to this forum (and others) solely to launch rhetorical debates and denigrate the other contributors... that is why it is so important to think about your phrasing before you hit "Post".
If you truly mean no harm and just want to learn and understand (not necessarily agree with), then you want a DISCUSSION not a DEBATE. Positing your question in debate format including several loaded assumptions/presumptions automatically triggers ARGUMENT not SHARING. Argument can force people into a position of defensiveness -- protecting themselves from actual attack and aggression (not just psychological neurotic perception) -- whether you mean to attack them or not, especially if you do not state that this is a rhetorical debate.
In any case, the answer to the OP's rhetorical question is one or all of the following -- 1) because they can, 2) because they enjoy it (yes, some people actually enjoy logistical planning and scenario mapping), 3) because they find not being prepared more stressful than performing risk analysis and being prepared, 4) because being prepared is not an unhealthy obsession-compulsion just part of their healthy psychological make up & temperament (we are all different, after all), and 5) because they are not focusing on the depressing doom and gloom aspects but the empowering challenge and solution aspects. Yes, there are some wing-nuts; but the majority of contributors on this forum are reasonably well-adjusted people who choose to live a lifestyle and adopt a mindset that is not commonly prevalent in today's society.
Yes, there are some wing-nuts; but the majority of contributors on this forum are reasonably well-adjusted people who choose to live a lifestyle and adopt a mindset that is not commonly prevalent in today's society.
Our Western civilization has gotten us so spoiled, weak, and crippled when it comes to taking care of ourselves. I admire those on this forum who are really doing it. I always admired the Nearings and others like them who know how to subsist. I so wish that when I was younger I had had the means to buy land and do what you're all doing. I do know a lot about natural whole foods and herbology, but I'm not growing them. At my age (nearing 65) I neither have the land nor the health or energy to do survivalism. I did live on a farm in Missouri where I extensively gardened, but that was 25 years ago when I was young and healthy.
I admire the young kids (yes, many do it on trust funds, but hey, what better else do do with it?) in their 20s and 30s who are choosing this way of life now. I've met them at farmers markets here and all over Maine. They are revolutionizing the American way of life back to basics, some with large scale,others with small scale farming and still many other with extensive permaculture gardening, and all those living off grid. I may be old fashioned, but I believe in life on the land, eating from our own land. How I wish I'd somehow been able to do this!
Now, in old age, I wish I could find a community that is land based that doesn't cost a fortune to buy into (I've researched and found a number of those), where what I could contribute by way of community could count. I'm not interested in cohousing and its endless consensus meetings, etc. Just want to do stuff that counts, not talk. Any such places for old folks???
Anyway, I say yes to land preservation, conservation, and growing (not big ag methods that strip the soil and create dust bowls). Any of you out there into this way of live, bravo!
At my age (nearing 65) I neither have the land nor the health or energy to do survivalism... Now, in old age, I wish I could find a community that is land based that doesn't cost a fortune to buy into
What do you mean, old age???
I am about to turn 65. I have 6 grandchildren, from age 2 to age 10. I had both my knees replaced a year and a half ago, just 6 weeks apart. Otherwise, I'm fine. So is DW, who is 63. We each have our issues but do not look or feel "old". 65 is definitely not "old age". We spend our time working, still. We are planning to retire, still. It is so easy, when you have a source of good, ready cash, to delay retirement, and I have. Trying to help the kids out, and cash-flow our way into a Maine homestead with no mortgage or loans of any kind. And I think we'll make it.
As for the very young, I'm just glad to be past that stage in my own life. They can't live without their iPads and smart phones and all the rest. Yes, I suppose that will offend some readers here, but maybe they should think about how much money they waste on that stuff? Do you HAVE to send 60+ text messages every day, hmmmm? How can I possibly survive all this time while not texting? I'll tell you how: I bank that money, and have accumulated plenty of cash to spend on our homestead.
Please do NOT think of yourself as "old" at 65, 68, or 70. That isn't "old" any more. If you are in reasonably good health, can get up every morning and blink at the sun, work for 3-4 or more hours per day, and love what you do, then you are not "old", not at any age!
I am about to turn 65. I have 6 grandchildren, from age 2 to age 10. I had both my knees replaced a year and a half ago, just 6 weeks apart. Otherwise, I'm fine. So is DW, who is 63. We each have our issues but do not look or feel "old". 65 is definitely not "old age". We spend our time working, still. We are planning to retire, still. It is so easy, when you have a source of good, ready cash, to delay retirement, and I have. Trying to help the kids out, and cash-flow our way into a Maine homestead with no mortgage or loans of any kind. And I think we'll make it.
As for the very young, I'm just glad to be past that stage in my own life. They can't live without their iPads and smart phones and all the rest. Yes, I suppose that will offend some readers here, but maybe they should think about how much money they waste on that stuff? Do you HAVE to send 60+ text messages every day, hmmmm? How can I possibly survive all this time while not texting? I'll tell you how: I bank that money, and have accumulated plenty of cash to spend on our homestead.
Please do NOT think of yourself as "old" at 65, 68, or 70. That isn't "old" any more. If you are in reasonably good health, can get up every morning and blink at the sun, work for 3-4 or more hours per day, and love what you do, then you are not "old", not at any age!
At the tender age of 68 I often feel worn out and creaky, but only below my neck. My mind is as good as ever and I'm learning new things every day of the year. I frequently employ topics I encounter in survivalism as gateways to new intellectual adventures. When I bought a lot of twenty-our Byzantine gold coins in the Seventies it led to Gibbon to refurbishing my knowledge of Greek and Latin to work in historical Linguistics. After reading several items on c-d regarding barter as a likely replacement for money I began to investigate actual barter societies and writings on what actually constitutes money. After a month or so I've accumulated a few books, a few artifacts, and a thirst for more. I'm currently waiting for a book on the history of beads, an extraordinary subject dating back 100,000 years. As an aside, I've learned that barter societies always have either extremely involved credit arrangements or formalized gift-giving. There's no simple neolithic cameraderie here.
Survivalism is about guns. I love guns; but I like learning about guns as well. My library of weaponry contains, I estimate, between 1800 and 2000 volumes.
Survivalism is not for he who wishes to live without wealth. Leaving necessities aside, there are so many things out there whose possession bring joy to the cultivated lady or gentleman. Survivalism beckons the seeker to explore these joys.
Survivalism leads to unrestrained philosophical questions. That's why the survivalist is almost certain to have made judgements very different from that of the herd.
While the true survivalist can kill the supposedly innocent with no more regret than throwing out used kitty litter, always recall that the true survivalist is the true intellectual.
Begin your journey with language. Here's a tidbit.
"In 2008, Bailey co-authored an amicus brief with colleagues Dennis Baron and Jeffrey Kaplan, for the District of Columbia v. Heller Supreme Court case, providing an interpretation of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution based on the grammars, dictionaries, and general usage common in the founders' day, and showing that those meanings are still common today."
I have been hearing these scenarios (and watching people plan for them) since the 1950's. I know of at least two hidden "fallout shelters" on Long Island. I went through grammar school enduring endless duck and cover drills, which were simply absurd. I would rather live my life to the fullest without this dark cloud that seems to threaten so many people's emotional well-being than worry over the endless possibilities. Really, that kind of emotional turmoil will kill you faster than any marauders roaming the countryside in some imagined catastrophe that might happen. And who wants to be one of the few survivors of a true Armageddon?
I am going to go out on a limb here with my response, but keep in mind it's just my opinion and not that of everyone who reads and posts here in this forum (or an any preparedness forum for that matter). That said...
Doomsday events have been written about and discussed throughout our recorded history. I would imagine before we had a written history, humans talked about frightening events, real or imagined. And also discussed what they might be able to do to mitigate the disaster. It is just part of human nature. The ancients worried about floods, bad weather, wars, disease, and starvation. And with little changes in the events leading up to those scenarios we all pretty much still ponder on the implications of such things happening today. Who didn't wonder what they would have done if in or near the World Trade Centers/Pentagon on 9-11? Who didn't read the stories in the news when the Anthrax letters were going out and infecting people and wonder about the possibility that thing could happen where YOU live, and how lucky we were that it all ended before it spread much further. What about speculation on various asteroids that were spotted with earth crossing orbits?
Many forms of modern entertainment employ potential disasters, and we can watch and enjoy them because we know it isn't real. Even if we do know somewhere in the back of our heads that it MIGHT be possible in some form or other. Television, books, movies, even music.
Just as we are collectively all humans, we are all quite diverse as a species. We have many commonalities, but we are certainly not all alike in all ways. And just as we are diverse as a species, we are also diverse as individuals within various interest groups we can be fitted into. I happen to enjoy scrapbooks, but I know several who have been at scrapbooking meetings with me who are vastly different from me in many respects which includes scrapbooking and what we like/dislike in the various styles of design. I enjoy good food, and could be lumped together with others saying the same thing. But I am pretty sure I would be just as different from the rest there too, because what I consider good is subjective and based on my likes and dislikes.
Similarly, to suggest that all who may be interested in being prepared for life's emergencies are all living in a terror of emotional turmoil is to paint us with that broad brush of generalization. We are all as diverse as every other group of humans, with different hopes and worries and plans for our futures. Within the community broadly known as Preppers, we have everything from bunker dwellers to those who prepare for the alien invasion they are sure is coming, to those who worry about tornadoes or frequent power outages. And every possible thing in between. You make a common mistake of assuming that your narrow viewpoint on preparation is how we all must be, when in reality none of us are the same at all.
Just as you could be placed in a category of baby-boomer, being lumped in with every other person born in that era doesn't mean you all think and act alike. Nor do Preppers. Expand your scope of vision a bit. Generalization in very confining and leaves one open to many errors in their assumptions.
Similarly, to suggest that all who may be interested in being prepared for life's emergencies are all living in a terror of emotional turmoil is to paint us with that broad brush of generalization. We are all as diverse as every other group of humans, with different hopes and worries and plans for our futures. Within the community broadly known as Preppers, we have everything from bunker dwellers to those who prepare for the alien invasion they are sure is coming, to those who worry about tornadoes or frequent power outages. And every possible thing in between. You make a common mistake of assuming that your narrow viewpoint on preparation is how we all must be, when in reality none of us are the same at all.
However, in reading this particular forum, it's very common and almost a requiment to call and lump anyone who is not preparing for something, fools and idiots. If that is acceptabke, why isn't it acceptable to question the mentality and emotional state of those who are preparing for a disaster that common sense tells you they will never survive or for an event that will never, ever happen except in their dreams and own distorted reality?
truth is, prepping has become a fad, a fashion statement, and hundreds have taken sensible preparing to a new level of radical and outright ridiculious heights. It has become so perverted with these "play preppers" that many of the true "boy scouts motto" preppers who are trying to be prepared, have taken a back seat to the "glorifed" sky are falling crowd. making this even more of a shame is that the average person can no longer ask legitimate questions without being made to feel inferior, stupid, lazy, dumb or just plain dependent on others.
Go back and read the past post and look at the response that is given whenever a person comes seeking some understanding. Its not taken as a chance to educate, enlighten, explain, or correct some false notion of preparing, it is almost always a vicious and targeted attack on that persons unprepared soul. This forum has become the hoards of radical violent crazies we were preparing to protect ourself from. For a subject that has much to offer many people, it a shame that it has become a place to validate the lunacy of this movement....
However, in reading this particular forum, it's very common and almost a requiment to call and lump anyone who is not preparing for something, fools and idiots. If that is acceptabke, why isn't it acceptable to question the mentality and emotional state of those who are preparing for a disaster that common sense tells you they will never survive or for an event that will never, ever happen except in their dreams and own distorted reality?
Because it's discourteous. This is the survival subforum. We don't attack people on the Fashion or Sports subfora as being grasshoppers. The only reson to attack us here is to show your smug contempt and superiority.
Because it's discourteous. This is the survival subforum. We don't attack people on the Fashion or Sports subfora as being grasshoppers. The only reson to attack us here is to show your smug contempt and superiority.
But is it an attack or just the result of sensationalism on TV and magazines that raises a queation? Persanally, ione mans attack is another mans opprtunity to educate and set the record staright. If you see these as attacks, worthy of only a counter attack, theen maybe the public perception of a bunch of conspiracy nuts is reality.
We can't deny that the entire "prepare for _________" has been distorted from within. The entire self sufficency and being prepared has been taken over by macho militia with their bunkers and caches preparing for ONLY armed conflict. The thousands of others have been put off by that group. The meere mention that any person questioning or confused by the public portrayal of this issue is showing some form of "smug contempt" or "superiority" demans the preparing movement and simply exposes some deep inmaturity in the discussion.
I find it rather refreshing to hear why people are confused because it provided the greatest opprtunity to educate them on the difference between what they see on TV and see running around in the woods playing survivalist Joe with their guns, that that is not what being prepared is all about. But if we are so insecure and have to attack them for their comments, well maybe we are the nuts people have started to see us as....
You have a point about the most "invested" fringe having the tendency to represent and frequently take over the dialog of any otherwise connected group including the Preparedness forum. Looking at our political system will show the truth of that. Being a non-armed person that is somewhat prepared, I have been taken to task from time to time about my more pacifist approach. Not that it matters much. I'm a big girl and what others say is their opinion and the are entitled to it.
However like Missing our moderator, I think that it was the OP's statement (rather than a qenuine inquiry) that set off the defensive mode. Had a question been raised like, "What's all the fuss about?" there may still have been a few responses that were strident in tone but there would have been more discussion about why, how and for what we are individually preparing for. Water under the bridge now. The thread has probably run it's course, the OP long gone and tomorrow is another day. Just my take on it.
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Other than quick cooking grains and some snacks, not sure what to include...and then again, what if I'm not in a situation where I can cook or even heat anything...
