Back to Basics

Catchy little title, no? People love zombies and they dig survival topics. Via my sublime understanding of SEO as a web sewer magician I will attempt to lure the bored screen tapper into perusing over 1,000 nicely arranged collection of words.

I believe this country is in trouble economically, socially and politically. That is no secret. The question is what to do about it. I have been hoarding gold, silver, food, water, guns and bullets. Big deal. Prudent people have enough food and water on hand to get through any emergencies that come what may. Prudent people save their money and diversify. Prudent people protect their family and property.

There used to be a time, not too long ago actually, when people in this country were Pioneers. They lived off the land, grew their own food, built their own shelters, cut their own wood, hunted and fished. They were self sufficient. They hoarded food by necessity. My grandparents shopped sparingly at the grocery store once a month. They canned food. Had a couple of deep freezers full of frozen treats. The grew a lovely garden and had half ownership of a farm.

There are some people who are returning to that life of self-sufficiency. Some never left. These folks will be perfectly fine if a financial collapse cometh.

Then you have the zombies. The people that you will be shooting in the face off your front doorstep as they are scrounging for food. These folks buy just enough to get them through the next pay check. They eat out virtually every meal. They are screwed because they believe the system, the government, will take care of them.

Then, of course, you have those that are losing their minds. I enjoy reading “prepper” blogs. They are vastly entertaining for the fantasy life many engage in writing about. Understand that I believe in preparation. What I don’t care to involve myself in is Mad Max apocalyptic fantasies. Have you read “The Road”? Not pleasant. Denzel Washington is cool as hell in “The Book of Eli”. Your post-apocalyptic life won’t be nearly as awesome.

Preppers talk about “bugging out”. Sounds great until you think….where? OK, sure if I lived in an urban cesspool then I would be thinking about where to go and how to get there in the event of mob rule. Which I don’t discount is coming. Thing is, if you live in the city then you are most likely already a zombie and will be roving around until you get to my front doorstep upon which I’ll have to shoot you in the face.

Preppers talk about all the things they need to survive. The list of items they think they must have to survive when the SHTF. Well, from what I’ve read you’d need a house to store it all in. Are you going to put three rooms worth of survival gear on your back or stuffed in your car? Get real.

Some have a groovy cabin in the middle of nowhere. Great if you live out West. Maybe the roads won’t be too crowded on your pilgrimage to your hideout. If you’re East of the Mississippi then I wonder how you are going get to it with the over-crowded roads.

PHOTOS.COM Learn to defend yourself. Study judo, wrestling or mixed martial arts -- anything that involves actual physical contact.

Sometimes, we are in danger because we are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Knowing what to do to avoid such a situation, or what you must do if you cannot, can be a lifesaver.

As a child, I was bullied, and I took more than my share of beatings in the schoolyard. I grew out of that stage and became a satisfactory football player. But I was never confident that I could defend myself.

At 17, I spent a year taking karate lessons. The conditioning part of it was fine, but part of me knew it was a waste of time. There was never any contact, and our sensei taught us that we had to pull our punches. In football we were taught to tackle through the opponent, so I knew there was something amiss.

Later, I spent a lot of years in the weight room. Even as I got stronger, I never had confidence. I decided to go back to traditional karate classes when I was 30. The kata movements that were taught were more choreographed dance steps.

Each day driving home from work, I would pass Matt David’s kickboxing gym. I finally mustered up the courage to go in.

Matt David was an imposing man. He owned a Spartan Gym in the rough area of town, along East Sprague in Spokane, Wash. Matt had a regulation boxing ring at the center of the gym. Surrounding it were speed bags, heavy bags and a mirrored wall. In the evenings, the Lilac City Boxing Club would train there.

I was not so impressed that Matt David had a 7th dan black belt in traditional kenpo karate, a rank he was awarded from the renowned Ed Parker. What impressed me most was that Matt had been an all-state wrestler in high school and was a former two-time California Golden Gloves heavyweight boxing champion.

When I first sat down with Matt, he asked me if I had any martial arts experience. I told him I had spent a couple of years in karate.

“That’s too bad,” he said. “But I can teach you to lose those bad habits.”

So began the school of hard knocks. No longer did I wear a white gi with a belt around my waist. Instead I wore tennis shoes, shorts, a T-shirt, hand wraps and a molded mouthpiece.

Our training was broken into two parts. First, we did calisthenics, hit the bags and shadow boxed. Then, we sparred in the ring with 16-ounce gloves, wearing full protective headgear.

I learned two things: that I didn’t know how to throw a punch and, more important, I didn’t know how to take a one. I dreaded getting in the ring against experienced fighters, but I was willing to pay that price.

That first summer at the gym, I took some tough rounds and suffered a couple of concussions. After one tough round, the head coach for the Lilac City Boxing Club, Dan Vassar Sr., approached me.

“Are you getting tired of getting beat up?” he asked.

At age 34, I joined the boxing club. I started training five days a week.

In the event of a chemical, biological or radiological attack, a safe room is essential to survival. The safe room should ideally be a room in the interior of the home. If no interior room is available, choose one with as few external walls and windows as possible. An adjoining bathroom is also desirable.

To prepare the room, buy enough of the following to cover all windows and doors to the safe room area:

• Weatherstripping.
• Clear plastic sheeting at least 1 mil thick, preferably clear, and wide enough to cover windows.
• Scissors or other cutting tool.
• Duct tape.
• Caulk and caulk gun.
• Staple gun
• A portable HEPA (High Efficiency Particle Arresting) air filtration device.

So your room will be ready when you need it, go ahead and install the weather stripping on your windows and doors, making sure the seal eliminates the transfer of air from outside into your home. Check around your windows for gaps, and caulk those as necessary. Also check for any other places where air might transfer like holes cut into walls or floors for the television cables and telephone wires. If you find those areas you should caulk them as well.

When installing the plastic sheeting, use the staple gun and/or duct tape to hang it. In places where you use the staple gun, be sure to cover the staples with duct tape to seal off any holes or tears in the plastic.

You should also be sure you have access from your safe room to your stored food and water, or bring as much as possible into your room before you seal it off, since you don’t know how long you may have to be sealed inside.

Clothing is an item oft-overlooked when people begin preparing for a survival scenario. But, Jack Spigarelli notes in his Crisis Preparedness Handbook, surviving without the civilized comforts we’ve become accustomed to places a burden on the clothes we wear.

So Spigarelli recommends setting aside enough ready-to-wear clothing, or the fabric and materials to make it, to last at least one year.

He recommends good quality outdoor clothing such as that made by Filson, Pendleton or Woolrich. He writes that tightly woven fabric is more snag and tear resistant and wears longer. However, loosely woven fabrics are warmer.

Natural fabrics like wool and cotton are more absorbent, and wool retains its insulating properties even when wet. But synthetics have greater strength, resist abrasion and mildew better and dry more quickly. Gore-Tex and similar fabrics, which are waterproof but breathable, are essential, and fleece items are important to have, Spigarelli writes.

In his book, Spigarelli has a table of the basic clothing needs for one person for one year. He recommends adapting the list to age, sex, climate and lifestyle, but it is a great reference for a starting point. Here’s what he says you need:

• Eight sets underwear (two long)
• One pajamas or nightgown
• One warm robe
• Two t-shirts
• Two cotton turtle-neck shirts
• One straw hat
• One knit cap or balaclava
• One heavy-duty work belt
• One pair suspenders
• One or two sweaters
• Two pair leather work gloves
• One pair winter gloves, mittens or inserts
• Two pair work shoes or boots
• One pair waterproof boots/overshoes
• Two pair shoelaces per pair of shoes
• 12 pair socks (eight light, four heavy)
• Four pair of jeans, pants, overalls
• One pair heavy wool pants
• Two to four work shirts (chambray, etc.)
• Two cotton flannel shirts (chamois, etc.)
• Two heavy wool shirts
• One water-repellant windbreaker
• One winter work coat
• One heavy-duty parka

For shoes, be sure they are well-fitting and broken it. It won’t do to don a new pair and then set out on a bug-out that requires you to walk many miles. Your feet will be protesting quickly.

And don’t forget to store foot powder. And keep a supply of moleskin in your first-aid kit to help with blisters and other foot sores.

And one final tip; wear a thin pair of socks over a thicker pair to help avoid blisters if you’re going to be on your feet for a long time.

Clothing is an item oft-overlooked when people begin preparing for a survival scenario. But, Jack Spigarelli notes in his Crisis Preparedness Handbook, surviving without the civilized comforts we’ve become accustomed to places a burden on the clothes we wear.

So Spigarelli recommends setting aside enough ready-to-wear clothing, or the fabric and materials to make it, to last at least one year.

He recommends good quality outdoor clothing such as that made by Filson, Pendleton or Woolrich. He writes that tightly woven fabric is more snag and tear resistant and wears longer. However, loosely woven fabrics are warmer.

Natural fabrics like wool and cotton are more absorbent, and wool retains its insulating properties even when wet. But synthetics have greater strength, resist abrasion and mildew better and dry more quickly. Gore-Tex and similar fabrics, which are waterproof but breathable, are essential, and fleece items are important to have, Spigarelli writes.

In his book, Spigarelli has a table of the basic clothing needs for one person for one year. He recommends adapting the list to age, sex, climate and lifestyle, but it is a great reference for a starting point. Here’s what he says you need:

• Eight sets underwear (two long)
• One pajamas or nightgown
• One warm robe
• Two t-shirts
• Two cotton turtle-neck shirts
• One straw hat
• One knit cap or balaclava
• One heavy-duty work belt
• One pair suspenders
• One or two sweaters
• Two pair leather work gloves
• One pair winter gloves, mittens or inserts
• Two pair work shoes or boots
• One pair waterproof boots/overshoes
• Two pair shoelaces per pair of shoes
• 12 pair socks (eight light, four heavy)
• Four pair of jeans, pants, overalls
• One pair heavy wool pants
• Two to four work shirts (chambray, etc.)
• Two cotton flannel shirts (chamois, etc.)
• Two heavy wool shirts
• One water-repellant windbreaker
• One winter work coat
• One heavy-duty parka

For shoes, be sure they are well-fitting and broken it. It won’t do to don a new pair and then set out on a bug-out that requires you to walk many miles. Your feet will be protesting quickly.

And don’t forget to store foot powder. And keep a supply of moleskin in your first-aid kit to help with blisters and other foot sores.

And one final tip; wear a thin pair of socks over a thicker pair to help avoid blisters if you’re going to be on your feet for a long time.

It’s not likely to be a terrorist attack or a sneak attack from the Communist Chinese that forces you from your home. It could be a weather event (hurricane) or other natural disaster (earthquake or fire) or even an accident from a chemical spill or natural gas leak.

Regardless, a bugout or emergency evacuation kit (EEK) is a critical component of any crisis scenario. But what should your EEK contain? Jack A. Spigarelli writes in his Crisis Preparedness Handbook that you can’t prepare for every possible scenario, so to prepare your EEK you must first consider what type of crisis is most likely to befall you.

“To function adequately, the EEK must fulfill some well-chosen criteria,” Spigarelli writes. “The first is to match the anticipated crises. Ideally we would like to be prepared for all possible crises, but that is seldom possible due to cost, space and weight limitations. The EEK should be prepared to handle the high-probability, high-risk crises.”

Spigarelli provides a list of 10 items that should be part of everyone’s EEK:

1. Container: The container should be sturdy and large enough to hold everything you need. It helps if it is waterproof. A backpack is a good place to start, but a plastic bucket with a tight-fitting lid also works well. A plastic bucket can serve many purposes: hold items, carry and hold water, be used as a seat or a toilet. One container per person is recommended for personal items, with another container or two for the whole group.
2. Water: Water is bulky and heavy. Each individual should have a 1- or 2-quart canteen, some purification tablets or other means of purification. A 2 ½ gallon collapsible bucket or jug with a spigot would be a great thing to have if you aren’t using buckets for your container. In the desert, a solar still would be handy. Store a 5-gallon container of water near the vehicle you’re likely to use.
3. Food: It’s best to store foods that don’t need refrigeration and can be eaten without being cooked. Don’t worry about having your meals nutritionally balanced for the short term. Palatable calories are more important. You should have enough for three days for each person in the group. Store foods like canned meats (Vienna sausage, tuna, etc.), stew, jerky, pork and beans, peanut butter, cheese, soda and graham crackers, canned and dehydrated fruits, hot chocolate, powdered milk, fruit juices, chocolate bars, nuts, hard candy, soup, bouillon cubes, protein bars and sugar. If you have babies, be sure to include baby foods, formula and a supply of bottles with nipples. Each container should contain a spoon, fork and sharp knife. A plate and stainless steel camping cup would be ideal. And don’t forget a can opener and some detergent and pan in which to wash your dishes and utensils.
4. Clothing and bedding: Have a change of warm, durable work or outdoor clothing suitable to the temperature you expect. Remember outer wear like a coat and rain gear.

The threat posed by an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) was once considered by the mainstream as simply the stuff of science fiction or lone nut jobs living in rooms lined with tin foil. But people are now coming to understand that an EMP — whether from natural causes or a weapon — poses a real threat to America’s electronics and could send the country into a new Dark Age.

Even the corporate media is onboard, as the mainstream media poster child USA Today ran an article warning of the dangers of an EMP attack in its Oct. 27, 2010 edition. Titled One EMP burst and the world goes dark, Dan Vergano leads with, “The sky erupts. Cities darken, food spoils and homes fall silent. Civilization collapses. End-of-the-world novel? A video game? Or could such a scenario loom in America’s future?”

The answer is a resounding, “Yes it could!”

An EMP could come from the sun. The 11-year solar cycle will hit its maximum in 2012. Solar flares have caused blackouts in the past. Or, it could come in the form of an attack from one of America’s enemies.

There are reports that rogue nations like Iran and North Korea have been working on an EMP weapon that could be launched from a ship or barge off the American coast. And the missile launch — while the Barack Obama administration denies it was a missile, numerous experts have said that’s what it was — spotted off California’s coast by a KCBS camera Nov. 8 shows that America is vulnerable to attack.

An EMP would shut down the nation’s power grid, silence communications and render everything containing electronics — from hand-held games to cell phones to airliners — inoperable. Water would cease to flow as pumping stations shut down. Grocery store shelves would be bare within hours. The banking system would crash.

Those in poor health depending upon machines to stay alive would be dead in minutes. Within days the weak and infirm would be dead from dehydration. As the crisis grew, riots would ensue and people would turn on one another. As an example for how bad it could get, just check out some of the headlines from the Black Friday madness at stores across the country. And those incidents stemmed from anxiety over low-priced convenience and luxury items — not things that meant the difference between life and death.

On Nov. 17 The Heritage Foundation issued a report, EMP Attacks — What The U.S. Must Do Now, that outlined the dangers of an EMP attack and suggested a to-do list for the Barack Obama administration and Congress to better prepare the nation for such an attack.

According to The Heritage Foundation, the U.S. must take steps to:

• Prevent the threat. Regardless of the mitigation and response measures, a massive EMP impact could have a devastating impact on the United States. Washington must pursue an aggressive protect-and-defend strategy, including comprehensive missile defense; modernizing the U.S.

Do you have the personality to stay alive in times of crisis? Believe it or not, psychologists have studied the personalities of those who have survived life-threatening events to see what set them apart. It turns out they all had common traits.

In her book The Unthinkable, Amanda Ripley writes that people go through three basic steps when confronted with a life-or-death scenario: denial, deliberation and decision. During the denial stage, it is not unusual for people to continue performing mundane tasks while chaos reigns around them. The brain is processing information, delaying its decision-making process and assessing the risk.

In the deliberation phase, the mind begins to put together possible courses of action. It’s not unusual, Ripley writes, for people to describe this period as having time almost stand still. They remember in great detail the words or images that would not normally be significant.

It’s this stage, and the decision stage that follows, that usually determines whether the outcome will be a good one.

In his book, 98.6 Degrees, The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive!, Cody Lundin writes that survivors all have common personality traits which take over in the decision stage:

• The ability to keep calm and collected. This is the ability to prevent fear and panic from taking over your world, as both possess the power to incapacitate the body and mind. Prior training can help you deal more effectively with “this ugly pair.” Sometimes you have stop and regroup to allow clarity to surface.
• The ability to improvise and adapt. This allows you to improvise and make use of every opportunity. For instance, it allows you to pack survival gear with more than one function or gear that allows for creating other gear. It can also be thought of as the ability to understand what all can be accomplished with limited resources.
• The ability to make decisions. Rather than getting lost during the decision-making process — or having  your brain freeze, forcing you into inaction — this ability allows you to thoroughly yet quickly formulate a game plan then follow through with it. Lundin recommends you be decisive and take responsibility for your decisions.
• The ability to endure hardships. A survival situation is not comfortable. It will tax you physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Your ability to endure hardship will be tested. The two greatest enemies to survival are a desire for comfort and complacency. Desiring temporary comfort can spur you into making decisions that are irrational, and this impulse must be overcome.
• The ability to figure out the thoughts of others. How can intuition work to your advantage? Put yourself in the shoes of your rescuers. Which direction will they come from? Where might they look first? What will they expect you to do? These are crucial questions to consider if you’re expecting rescue. As for those in your group who are looking to you for leadership, be mindful of their condition. Are they experiencing panic, in danger of hypothermia or dehydration or exhibiting an inability to cope?

If you’re going on a vacation, you plan your trip. Especially if a family is involved, hours are spent determining where to go, what to do, how to get there, how much you can spend and what to do with the mail and the pets while you’re gone. If you’re getting married, you not only spend countless hours planning every detail of the ceremony, but you’ll often hire a wedding planner to help with that planning.

Planning for daily lives can involve a desk calendar, smartphone with calendar apps and email notifications of important events, daily Internet reading of planning blogs and attending periodic planning seminars.

But for some reason, the thought of being in the wild (or a wild situation), either by choice or necessity, doesn’t always trigger such planning efforts. That’s a confusing conundrum, because outdoors, away from constant electronic support and contact and with your own life and possibly the lives of others at risk, the lack of planning can be catastrophic.

Cody Lundin, survivalist and co-star of Discovery Channel’s Dual Survival, listed five steps of planning for outdoor excursions in his book, 98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive! In a chapter that deals with the “Seven Ps” of the military saying, “Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance,” Lundin stresses the need for Physical Preparation, Mental and Emotional Preparation, Materials Preparation, Dangerous Scenario Preparation and Spiritual Preparation.

1. Physical Preparation: Outdoor activities are synonymous with physical stress and unique sanitary conditions. Maintaining a proper level of physical fitness, health and hygiene is strongly recommended.

This is one of those truths you encounter in life that is so obvious, you forget about it. It’s clear that if getting up from the easy chair for a refrigerator run tires you out, there’s no hope in a situation that requires extreme or prolonged physical exertion. It’s just so much easier to tune to another channel and put off conditioning until another day. Peter Drucker, also known as “The Man Who Invented Management,” said, “Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes, but no plans.”  Make a commitment to get in shape and stay in shape.

1. Mental and Emotional Preparation: Self-confidence is the key and is the result of proper prior planning, skills practice, personal belief systems and your overall backcountry experience.

Drucker also said, “Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately generate into hard work.” Pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone during training results in a mental and emotional attitude that will recognize a dangerous situation and act accordingly. Your attitude changes from that of panic to that of, “I can handle this.”

1. Materials Preparation: Pack the right equipment for the job (maintained and in proper working order) and know how to use it.