There is a parallel between the core basics of survival and those things that nature takes from us in one of these powerful hurricanes. When I think of survival and the very basics, there is shelter, water, food and fire. As the powerful winds and punishing rains of Hurricane Harvey approached Texas people were most concerned with these survival basics.
It was immediately apparent that there were many people unprepared to deal with the aftermath of this storm. Most resources were gobbled up in storm prep and no one really knew when trucks would return to Houston to restock shelves.
The struggle to find resources immediately after Harvey was no surprise to many. Al Green, a Texas congressman, made these comments about the state of Houston from information he gleaned from constituents.
The thing that people most need is security. And when people are not being rescued — people are still waiting to be rescued — that is an immediate need. Just having security. We also have people who have been out in the weather for some time and they need to get themselves properly warmed in a place so that they can have food and proper clothing. So, when people go to shelters, we’re trying to make sure that they get the food and the clothing that they need. People also need to know that at some point we’ll start a recovery, and when that recovery starts, that there will be resources available to help them get housed immediately. I remember going through this with other storms, and sometimes the housing can become difficult to acquire. But housing is important, short-term and long-term housing. Those who have had their property damaged, they need to know that there will be the resources available to them to get repairs. (Source)
Food
Whether people were evacuated from their homes and forced to leave their pantry’s behind or if they were hoping to fill their pantry after the storm, the hurricane cleared shelves of most basic food staples. Many supermarkets were left bare by those preparing for the storm.
The trucks could not traverse the flooded streets of Houston and some stores were suffering from flood water damage. This meant the shelves would not fill anytime soon.
Related: When Grocery Stores Go Empty; A Back Door Shopping Strategy
Water
There is no greater challenge when it comes to hurricane relief than clean water and sanitation. The back-flow of black water as well as the toxic mixture of waters flowing into homes as well as up and down streets. Without proper water storage survivors were left to that which could be found, scavenged or brought by those providing aid.
Many stores were out of water before they were out of food. I talked to one man in Texas who told me that people were buying water before the hurricane and they had no idea why! It was this lack of understanding that just blows me away.
With water you have but three days. Drinking the toxic sludge in the streets could be more of a death sentence than waiting out the dehydration. If your tap is producing water after a powerful hurricane there is no guarantee that it is safe.
Shelter
Following the evacuations, many people were immediately without shelter. Their privacy was taken from them and they were left in a high school gym to contemplate their future. Shelter is always the first thing to go for those who must be evacuated.
For those who dared not evacuate, many ended up alongside those who had following rescue. You cannot will your home to stay on its foundation or not to succumb to the rising flood waters.
Nearly 80,000 homes were affected by Harvey. Along with the damage that was done on the wood and nails of these structures, the Houston area has also taken a severe blow when it comes to real estate prices.
Fuel
The nation took a deep breath when we realized that oil production was impacted by Harvey. There were incredible pictures of gas lines. Cars in four lanes that spanned 20-30 car lengths. This was a gamble in itself because there could be the instance of these pumps running out of fuel before you were taken care of.
Fuel for cars was not the only casualty. Stores that sold 2 cycle oil for things like chainsaws were also swallowed up in flood waters. This meant access to lubricants and mixed fuels was also jeopardized.
Trash Bags
You can never have enough trash bags or ziplock bags” said a survivor of Harvey. (Source)
Local stores of trash bags came under serious stress as evacuation sites were set up all over the region. I know many people who keep a roll of trash bags in their car as well as in their bugout bag. These multiuse bags disappeared fast following Harvey.
Bleach
The people of Houston like many others who have survived the flooding waters of a powerful hurricane are at risk. There are waterborne illnesses all around them, air borne threats from molds and even the mosquito borne risk goes up when due to all the standing water.
When the supermarkets shut down so did the access to bleach. Without bleach your ability to sanitize your living environment and drinking water goes out the window. A good way to get rid of those pesky buzzing blood suckers is to add bleach to those stagnant water pools. This kills the larvae before they can become airborne mosquitoes.
Related: Disinfect Huge Amounts Of Water With Bleach
Tarps, Rope and Plywood
Tarps, rope and plywood were all in short supply even before the hurricane made landfall. This collection of items is example of things you should have on hand long before the hordes head out to buy them.
Following the hurricane these items were unable to be restocked because of the serious flooding. That meant leaky roofs or other damage to homes was postponed until more stock came in.
Enmity
I have never seen racial and social enmity in this nation at such a level as I in 2017. When the storm hit, the water rose and something else seemed to disappear in the wake of hurricane Harvey. I watched people of all races lifting and sharing, helping and giving.
Enmity in the nation also disappeared as desperate neighbors cried out for help. Sloshing through those rising waters we saw the true face of America. We saw the idea of what America should be. People were making sacrifices for those around them. The hurricane forced us out of isolation and I was glad to see we hadn’t lost our ability to be good neighbors.
If you are still expecting the government to bail you out in a natural disaster you must be a blind man. It comes down to learning, practicing and executing a preparedness plan. You must have the tools you need to survive. You need the resources to survive as well.
Don’t wait until the hurricane is blowing by the Bahamas to head out and get the items you need. 2017 has pried open the third eye of the common man. For those still asleep at the wheel I fear they will never be prepared. I feel they will never wake up.
As of October 18th, the Houston reservoirs had discharged all the water from Harvey. This is great news for the people of Houston but we all know those reservoirs will fill again someday. Be prepared.
You may also like:
The Only 15 Rules for Your Prepper Pantry
The 8 Most Dangerous Medicines on Earth… Are You Taking Any of These? (Video)
Vacuum Sealing Could Be Hazardous to Your Health
Great article! Addresses major needs when disaster hits and emphasizes the NEED to be prepared before disaster hits. My sentiments exactly. Think of it this way, what do you use in every day living when things are as they should be? That is what you need to have in reserves. I fill Tupperware tubs with everything I can think of I use on a daily basis. Nails, duct tape, food, toilet paper, feminine products, cleaning supplies, paper towels, camp fuel, charcoal, and the list goes on. Seal them as water proof as possible and keep in a safe dry place. Use if you need to while times are good, rotate stock. Just good wisdom. Thanks again for article
Shoe boxes are $1 now and I once got a shopping cart half full for .50¢ each.
Stackable, label…efficient.
I don’t know what you would use a shoe box for. They deteriorate over time, rats and mice chew through them, not air or water tight, lids would have to be taped down or something, bugs can get into them. I just don’t see a use for them when food grade 5 gallon plastic buckets are $7 with a sealable lid.
I’d suggest dumping the shoe boxes for something more durable if prepping for disaster is your goal.
JJ probably meant plastic shoe boxes. I have never seen cardboard shoe boxes for sale. These could be useful for storing medical supplies or smaller items on taller shelves. Especially if you are space limited.
maybe they were talking about a shoe box sized plastic container. I have never seen shoes sold in anything but a cardboard box, so I just took them at face value.
Paper and cardboard attracts roaches, moisture, and get moldy if they get wet. It didn’t make sense to use regular shoe boxes for emergency storage… maybe I misunderstood the original post.
Besides bleach, citric acid and vinegar will change the pH of water to make it inhospitable to mosquitoes.
I know that if you have old tires around you can put just a little oil in them to keep mosquitoes away. I am not sure that anything will work when you have a whole city full of standing water areas.
My sister is in Tampa during Harvey and was responsible for getting supplies to feed a group of people. She said the first things off the shelves besides food and water was CAN OPENERS!!!
Get dozens of army issued can openers.they are called P-38. Get the larger ones though because the standard smaller ones are hard to work and tires out muscles about the second can in. Work great but eventually do lose their sharpness so get a lot. They are cheap
Just found out the larger ones are P51
I thought that a P-51 was an airplane…
…joking.
Well, he did say it was larger…
So was the P-38. Opened a lot of cans of whoopass on the Japanese, it did.
I always saved, still have, and sometimes use, dozens of P-38s from my grunt days [66-68]. When dull, I carefully sharpen them, taking very little metal off! ALL are still functional.
We bought them by the dozen. Passed out to children and grandchildren. We did the same with 3.5 in lock back knives. As the grand daughters reached 21 we are offering them a hand gun.
Still have my P-38 from my first case of “C”s from 1968. Never leave home with out it, on my key chain always.
I forgot about those handy little tools. probably I should order some of those as well as a few can/bottle openers tonight. 🙂 P-38 are a pain to use, but they beat the heck out of using a knife when you need to get into canned goods.
I’m sure a lot of people in the Houston area did have a lot of these things stocked up, but it didn’t do them any good. When you are being rescued from your flooded home you can’t take your stockpile with you. You are lucky to be able to take anything at all with you. A stockpile is only good if you can shelter in place safely. Some things are impossible to prep for. Harvey was one of them. Thank God for the people that came from other areas to help them.
Always good to keep as much as you can in food grade 5 or 6 gallon buckets with the rubber seals. When you get back to your property they should be okay to open up and start using contents.
I like this idea. gallon buckets with seals. ^5
Sorry to inform – the standard 5 gallon bucket – even with a gasketed locking lid – can’t withstand total immersion in water for a more than a few days without allowing leakage past the sealing ….
5 gallon buckets are going to tend to float around in a flood anyway. I can’t comment on whether the gasket will leak or not as I haven’t tested this personally, but the 5 gallon buckets from the store seem to seal just fine even with things like oil in them that would tend to seep past a seal anyway.
I understand that underwater is under pressure, but blanket statements like the above with no verifiable references seem questionable to me unless I have tested it myself.
Probably some of the best storage containers are 55 gallon barrels. I pick up several every month or two, There are the blue food grade suitable for water that have had flavoring syrup in them, and the metal food grade that have dry goods shipped in them. The metal ones have a lid with a sealing ring. They both cost between $10-$15 each around here used.
I also use the food grade 5 gallon buckets for things like rice and beans. These dry goods go into individual old water bottles (12-16 oz drinking water) before going into the 5 gallon bucket. This way if a bug gets into one, or it goes bad for another reason it does not ruin all the food in a 5 gallon bucket. Even if the 5 gallon bucket did leak a little the food would be fine being sealed in individual air/water tight bottles.
These bottles are good for anything small enough to go into and out of the hole that you want to keep dry and package in smaller units… ammo, oatmeal, spices like salt, sugar, and pepper, etc. The 5 gallon bucket keeps them organized and helps to keep mice and rats away from the smaller and thinner plastic bottles.
It also makes it easy to measure the correct ratio of water to rice – 1 bottle of rice to 2 bottles of water, and each bottle holds approximately on meals worth of rice or beans. Throw a little salt in the bottle with the rice or beans when you are packaging it, and you are set.
Sorry for the long post, but maybe it will help some folks with their prepping procedures.
Ever see a bucket of a fluid stored upside down – try it yourself – you’ll learn a thing or two about proper gasketing …
Every choice of equipment has advantages and disadvantages. As suggested test what ever system you use. Some silicon grease on the gasket for a better seal… super glue, caulk, mud and so on.
For small items, Smucker’s peanut butter jars. These seal up so well that you can keep acetone in them indefinitely. I use them for salt and sugar. Keeps them dry and free flowing in humid weather, never cake. Only drawback is that they are glass, so can be broken if handled too roughly. .
Chad,
the glass is definitely better than plastic due to the chemicals leaching our of most plastics over time. I could never get the peanut butter smell out of those particular bottles, and pickle bottles had the same problem.
I’ve had better luck with just either buying canning jars, or else reusing the ones that my honey comes in.
Still the glass is better than plastic, and packed into a 5 gallon bucket with some padding breakage is not an issue…
I have a lot of used water bottles due to providing water to our organization’s events, so I try to re-use them rather than throwing them away.
When your home is flooded the force of that water rushing in your home Can be tremendous. With such violent force the glass jars will not hold up even with padding.
Flooding from Harvey didn’t come in a rush. It was a slow rise. I live near the outlets of Barker and Addicks dams in Houston. It took about a day for the water to rise to the height of my house.
Actually, when my house flooded, the rains from Harvey had stopped. I evacuated (with my wife and small children) in bright sunshine. After going down the driveway (where the water levels went from one inch to three feet, I waded a hundred yards up to higher ground.
Awesome You are also recycling the bottles! Great post!
Using the small water bottles inside the 5 gallon buckets is a really good idea and I appreciate you sharing it. Thanks and blessings to you and yours…
Put a chunk of dry ice in the bottom of your larger storage container and put dry foods in to fill the drum to within 8 inches of the top. Let the dry ice sublime into CO2 filling the drum from the bottom up, stopping all lifeforms- and then seal the drum. The top zone will be mixed with air and not vermin-proof. Slowly remove items from the drum to keep CO2 in there. Caution when sticking your head in a drum, there is no air in there.
Steve,
Good point. I tried doing this with the rice/beans/etc in the individual bottles, but it was a fine line on when to cap the bottles. Too soon and the pressure builds up quickly. Same warning with the larger drum… make sure all of the dry ice is melted first. I did want some pressure, but it was a fine line with such small bottles.
Second point, is that much of the spoilage of food will come from oxidation, so by removing the oxygen it should extend the shelf life of the product as well.
Hi DP, I have been stockpiling foodstuff for several years. I have used the mylar bags ans O2 pkts to preserve meal size foodstuff and putting those into 5 gal. buckets and using lids to seal the buckets.I have everything from beans to sugar stored in this fashion. I have checked on the buckets and the contents several times over the years. the mylar bags are holding up beautifully. My only complaint is that I spent a small fortune on special lids that fit the bucket tops with a good seal then have an inner lid that opens in the middle of the bucket. Everyone of those lids has had the plastic split open (in the inner spinning lid) and the manufacturer won’t replace them. So, I’ll never buy them again.BUT I’ll continue to use the mylar bags.
This is a very helpful post! It makes sense to store beans, rice, etc. in smaller water bottles inside a 5-gallon bucket. I can’t lift a 5-gallon bucket full of anything much [marshmallows, maybe], so that would make the smaller containers supremely usable.
I think it’s important that people understand that you can create a survival kit or bug out bag with small items and at a low price if you shop wisely. In your home or apartment you need to stock up on everything you need to stay clean, healthy and well fed. You’ll also benefit from larger tools such as axes, pry bars, tarps, tools to make repairs, and adhesives to fix and reconstruct your home, maintain your vehicles, execute self rescue if you’re trapped in your domicile, and for any reason that comes up requiring a tool box. After all the cool stuff is purchased, food,water, cleaning products, hygiene products, and that mundane stuff is what keeps one going. And if you don’t have it, you’ll miss it terribly.
I have taken note of people stocking up on toilet paper and trash bags, etc. It’s not clear to the uninitiated and uninformed that they really mean they have MORE than enough for normal times. I hate to use the term “hoard”, but people need to understand their needs will be greater and can easily exceed their normal usage and consumption of what they usually buy. And they can shop all year, taking advantage of sales and coupons. And it is NOT hoarding to buy extra supplies. The stores will order more. Nobody is going to deny themselves whatever they want to buy, so shop and get your stuff before a disaster hits. Forget the judgment of people who can’t see the light and don’t plan.
Buy one or two extra of the necessaries and you will not notice over a year or so and you will be well stocked. Those 5 gallon water jugs are great and can be sealed if to do not keep 35 or 50 gal water storage containers. Those smaller ones are easier to move around and keep fresh if you rotate them. If you have the resources and can rent a small storage unit away from your home in a flood, fire or hurricane safe location you can set up a little stockpile that will be available when your home is gone or your property is not livable and then you can at least have a startup storage A good tent or camping supplies kept there or even a camping trailer is worth the investment for those who live in flood prone areas.
As other people have alluded to, all of the preparation and stockpiling in the world will not help you when the government comes and forces you out of your home at the point of a gun.
Just another good reason to not live in or near a city.
Hopefully you see the writing on the wall before that happens and can hit the road with your stock piles in tow
I know that folks like their bug-out bags, but that is a move of desperation and a last resort for me.
I suggest planning on bugging-in with enough supplies for 6 months to a year minimum with seeds and other supplies to become self sufficient after that.
If you have to bug out, then try to keep a trailer loaded with as much as you can carry, and have a plan in place well before hand.
If you have to bug-out on foot that is a disaster – not a long term survival plan.
DP, I agree with most of what you say. I have always thought bugging in would be best unless you are underwater or your house has blown away. I am fortunate that I don’t live in an apartment or in the interior of a city, as I think that in the case of TEOTWAWKI, those would end up being dangerous locations. I really like your idea earlier of using smaller containers inside a five-gallon bucket to help keep the varmints out. I also think that you need to stockpile for at least six months, preferably a year. And have a plan to become self sufficient after that. I hope I never have to bug in or bug out, but with the way things are going……
Ever see a bucket of a fluid stored upside down – try it yourself – you’ll learn a thing or two about proper gasketing …
Yes, I have seen buckets of liquid stored all different ways in over 30 years as an auto mechanic. Generally they don’t leak much if properly sealed. Maybe a little weeping around the gasket if you are talking about oil or hydraulic fluid which tends to penetrate seals anyway.
If you are that concerned about having a water tight seal, then a little silicone or RTV gasket glue on the seal before you close the bucket would more than take care of it.
I think that you may be overly worried about an issue that does not really present a problem in real life. Like I stated in an earlier post, put your perishables into individual sealed containers before you put them into the bucket, and you are better off anyway.
Of course the gooberment or the military with orders to confiscate won’t be intelligent to go to the food source – the farms – according to you they’ll only be door-to-door in the cities confiscating people’s cans of Campbell soup ….
One word… Katrina.
Door to door confiscation, and BTW, it seems that you have never been to a war zone or other disaster where soldiers and rescue workers supplement their “Goobermint” rations by looting the local populous.
Why would the drive to a farm when there is free food all around them?
Derogatory comments like yours with no actual experience to back up your conclusions… never mind, go on back to your bubble.
Thank you for your message of hope for ourselves as caring individuals–as well as, of course, the practical. My breaking heart over the state of the enmity that has polluted our country had a healing moment as I read your remarks. What will make us truly great again–One Nation Undivided–will be the rise of our compassion instead of our tempers.
Excellent article Doc. I truly enjoyed the read. 🙂
Your last point about working together was demonstrated by the folks in Texas. It was amazing to see the newscasts showing neighbors working together. The national reporters couldn’t find stories that they could “race-bait” on the 6 o-clock news, so they moved on pretty fast. Texans from all walks of life pulled together and went from crisis response to clean-up and rebuild mode, in a relatively very short time. New Orleans and PR folks could take a few lessons.
There were many folks that made a trip of hundreds of miles from out of state to help their brothers and sisters in Texas, may God bless them.
Let’s not forget their selfless sacrifice…
May God bless our Republic, and our People.
Don’t forget betadine and peroxide, bandages. There are two kinds of bacteria, one needs oxygen and the other one does not, so combining the betadine and peroxide to clean a wound ensures killing which one might be in the wound.
The primary tool of survival sits atop your neck, and is made of meat.
LMAO… technically is is made mostly of fatty type materials along with nerves/neurons, etc – no actual meat involved… That is unless you are Rob Reiner…
Not picking on you mmercier0921, just that the whole “meat-head” reference brought up All in the Family flashbacks. lol
After reading this article and the comments, it has made me realize that should I ever decide to move to another state or any area for that matter, to do some research on where it is that I plan on moving to.
Some of the things to look for would be flood history, crime, weather patterns, ect.
A lot of these problems could be avoided.
But I do understand not everyone can choose where they live.
I live east of Houston, and I can tell you that days before Harvey hit, the stores were out of bread. It’s not really even healthy, but people were driving all over looking for it and were almost in a panic for it. I was and always have been prepared, and never thought of bread as a necessity to survive a storm. After the storm, every plastic storage tote was bought up for 50+ miles, I guess to store belongings in damages homes. Now, I have stocked up on totes as well. You never know!!!
All people that have plans to LOOT , either by Orders from a Superior Officer, Out of Desperation WILL Rethink their plans When the old tired men DECIDE that they are the Turning point of Reason AND Start Mowing Down the Looters in 1 last Act of Selflessness for Family .
We Have to let them OUR Enemies Know- There will be a cost, and They WILL PAY for their Actions. Then it becomes too much to lose, with little to gain.
If you are old like I am , DECIDE TO DIE so family can live, My Uncle Sam spent lots of Money Training me To Survive, But My Heart Demands sacrifice For My Family & Loved ones. May God Bless America, & May God D*** Our Enemies Both Foreign and Domestic .
Hi there, I don’t know how old you are, but I’ll be 80 in January. I’ve never been trained by Uncle Sam. However, My hubby was (82) and I’ve learned a LOT from him. I have been stockpiling food and practical items for several years. Financial constraints have prevented me from buying large amounts at a time, but I’ve managed in small increments to stockpile at least enough for 2 years. That will feed me & hubby, my daughter, my grandson and his family of 5.
In addition, we have guns and ammo and are prepared to defend ourselves and family from ANYONE who comes to our door demanding help.
And while I have always been a person who goes above and beyond with helping a neighbor (or stranger) in any way I can. That will stop when the eowshtf.
Radical and dangerous has a point, but I would like to shape it somewhat. As I said in my Listening to Rocks blog (linked above), if you are needy and come to me, I will give you of what I have. It is not a duty, it is a privilege to help those in need. I think I made that point clearly.
On the other hand, if you come demanding, then you are a robber, and I have an obligation to stand my ground and protect, for my family , and even for my unprepared neighbors, what is mine, and I have an obligation to be thoroughly prepared to accomplish that. I was also trained and I have tools and a willingness to use them.
Let us not be selfish if the bad times come. Let us help all whom we are able to help. Who is to say that God won’t honor what we do and the meal and the oil will not run out? (That’s for those of you who have read the Whole Bible!) On the other hand, thieves and robbers are destructive to any righteous nation and cannot be tolerated.
Doc,
I like the way that you think. I revisited your site and bookmarked. I have a feeling that once I have looked around a bit that I may be subscribing as well.
Just be very selective and careful to whom you share with. Vent the individuals, get to know them a little and their situation. Disclosing your stores too soon can be costly to you and your family if the wrong person plans an attack. Just good wisdom.
wannabe,
I would hesitate to share stores with strangers at all in a long term situation. My biggest problem will be friends, neighbors, etc, that have been warned for years to prepare for what is coming.
I can’t stockpile food for 2-3 families that have nothing to offer, and think that I am going to feed them for months on end.
Short term is a different story. Probably, the best way to do it is to provide actual meals only for those who are going to contribute to the general welfare. People are useful when watches need to be set, repairs made, or supplies scavenged.
Each individual needs to be vetted and assessed – you are correct about that. Hopefully, you already have a network of people that are preparing, and are trustworthy.
Even the friendliest neighbor will try to kill you for your food if their kids are starving…
I live east of Houston, and I can tell you that days before Harvey hit, the stores were out of bread. It’s not really even healthy, but people were driving all over looking for it and were almost in a panic for it. I was and always have been prepared, and never thought of bread as a necessity to survive a storm. After the storm, every plastic storage tote was bought up for 50+ miles, I guess to store belongings in damages homes. Now, I have stocked up on totes as well. You never know!!!
Hi. Can anyone bury food, medicines, tools etc in heavy duty black trash bags? How deep should it be buried and will it be kept cold or cool? Thank you
Day,
Good question.
I would not recommend the trash bag idea. chances are very good that it will not be completely sealed against moisture, and it provides no real protection against bugs and animals. On top of that most trash bags are designed to break down over time even when buried because trsh bags often get buried at the land fill.
Other problems include allowing the smell of whatever you buried to seep through, attracting digging and burrowing bugs and animals to any food, and because they are trash bags zero consideration is given to what kind of chemicals might leach out of them over time contaminating the contents.
I would suggest buying a food grade metal or plastic barrel. The plastic is probably better for the long term, but they tend to be used for liquids, and to be completely sealed with the only access being bung holes. For metal barrels use some form of outside water proofing even if it is just paint. used barrels often have the paint scratched off here and there allowing rust to get started. painting them with something like thinned down roofing tar works well.
When burying anything the location must be considered. you want to be above the ground water year round, and the ground is warmed deeper the closer to the equator that you are. Generally speaking, 3-4 feet of dirt should put you below the frost line, and maintain a 70ish degree F temperature.
The temperature drops as you go deeper, and usually bottoms out in the lower to mid 60s in most temperate climates for as deep as you would be likely to dig a hole. (bottom of a shallow well)
If you plan to access the barrels on a regular basis, similar to a root cellar, then you can use foam insulation on top with some kind of camouflaged hatch cover. you can use food grade bags, or plastic containers inside the barrel to keep items separate, but these will also deteriorate over time – so keep that in mind.
Do not place non-food items, aerosol cans, chemicals, guns, ammo, etc, that could contaminate the food into the food and medicine barrels. obviously, things like cooking utensils, dishes, can openers,etc, are safe packed away with the food.
You can also throw a small amount of dry ice into the barrel, and allow it to “melt” completely with the lid left loose (to allow excess gas to escape) before sealing and burying the barrels. This will fill the barrel with CO2, and reduce oxidation inside of the barrel.
I went to get my lawn blower out of the shed today. I keep it in a couple of trash bags to prevent it from ambient moisture in the air and on the off chance the shed might leak. It has been about six months since I stored it away in the shed. The outside trash bag, a heavy duty construction grade trash bad had already started to deteriorate and was flaking into pieces as I handled it. I had to take it over to the trash can to finish taking the blower out of the bag so that I wouldn’t have to clean up hundreds of little pieces of plastic.
The blower was stored in a shed on the shady side of the house. It was not exposed to sunlight and being in the shed on the shady side of the house was not exposed to excessive heat as we rarely have temperatures over 80 degrees F. It was also not subject to freezing as we haven’t had freezing temperatures in this town since 1968.
40 degrees makes us break out the parkas and long johns.
I have seen people face disasters with empty cupboards, depending on going out to restaurants to eat meals. They didn’t think those places would ever be closed after a hurricane or earthquake. I have seen preppers give away foods and clothing because they planned ahead for just those situations. Everybody should prepare for at least 6 weeks of no clean water, no shelter, no groceries coming to them. FEMA takes time to gather supplies, sometimes not being able to get to the disaster sites because roads are blocked, washed out, bridges destroyed. After Katrina, I listened to the Mayor deny access to New Orleans to the Governor of Louisiana saying he had everything under control. Yet we saw local law enforcement leaving the city in chartered busses with their families abandoning the very people they swore to protect. Small wonder that so many residents died after that disastrous storm. AND, National Guard troops going around seizing family firearms was a travesty of justice. One old woman was beat up because she would not surrender a .22 revolver that probably was older than me. That was a crime against humanity. What a shame on the Government Troops supposed to protect people from robbery and other crimes. Nobody should be subjected to such savagery – ever.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but law dogs don’t swear to protect you and me… that has been proven in many court cases. They swear an oath to the constitution, and they enforce the laws (statutes) of the corporation that is pretending to be your government.
This is a well documented problem for educated patriots, mostly because of well meaning people like you who buy into, and support this false narrative.
No offense intended.
Dear friend: I’m hoping that your statement that the world lacks “enmity” may have just been an incorrect choice of terms. The definition of enmity being “extreme hostility,” the term “empathy,” or fellow feeling, would likely be what you had in mind.
Good day to you any your family.