My Accountant - A Suprise Prepper

I received a letter through the mail from my accountant.   I typically get these in December,...kind of a reminder for the upcoming tax season.  This time along with the usual magnetic calendar with the accountant's contact information, I received a personal note......and remember this is from a white collar guy who lives in the city and commutes about 2 miles back and forth to work each; is a workaholic; and golfs once in a while - the classic "head in the sand" American:

"Deared valued Client (here he crossed through "client" and wrote my first name).  Just wanted to drop you a line with the annual calendar.  Yep, still in the same building, same floor, same office.  Look forward to see you before taxes are due!  Another reason I wanted to drop you a note is that I am sure you are seeing the same things I am seeing in the economy:  higher prices; lower return on investments; and, federal deficit and debt out of control.   All of these things together and other factors spell bad economic times in the short to not to distant future.   I am advocating that the thinking man prepare for bad times ahead.  Think closely about where you put your investments.  Think about stocking some food and water, maybe two months worth I would suggest.  Think about where you can go and what you can take with you in the event of a calamity.  I am not trying to scare anyone.   But it pays to be prepared, like I was taught in my Boy Scout days."

UrbanMan comments: Wow!  Preparation for bad times and outright Survival Preparation for the Coming Collapse are certainly going mainstream.   Since my accountant opened the door, I will approach him on a conservative basis about better prepping.  He did not seem the type to own a bunch of guns nor have outdoor skills.  I think I'll drop off a copy of "One Second After" or "Patriots" for him to read.              

I guess he is reading the same indicators the rest of us are:  46.2 million in poverty and nobody, the government or private economists, expect it to get better than time soon; With the government running out of money, therefore less money to spend on entitlement programs, this number will be bigger,.....much bigger; etc., etc.

Now with New York Mayor Bloomberg stating with college graduates having no job prospects and with Congress in stalemate the U.S. can easily experience the same types of riots that Egypt, Tunisia, England, and other countries saw, you can start to see how preparedness may be going much more mainstream.

I wonder just how many other people my accountant gave this advice to?  Maybe it'll drive business away from him, or maybe if the collapse hits, he'll have people knocking on his door for help.

It is in our best interests to have more people prepared for hard times as opposed to adding to the legion that will not prepare.   I am constantly balancing OPSEC and dripping survival preparation ideas and tips.  I recently enabled one of our Administrative people, a older single woman, to start growing vegetables.  She can't wait until next April when she can plant again, this time a much bigger garden according to her.   She even said something to the effect "that she'll have food when the grocery stores run out."  

Viva la Food Bars

I received a comment from Anonymous regarding the post 'SHTF While at Work - Get Home Bag':...
...."Most of my friends, prepers I know and yourself seem to carry MRE's or even Power Bars in
their kits or cars. I carry ER-Bars. They're made by Vita-Lifeindustries.com. (I have all I need for a
while, which is the only reason I'm sharing my secret). 

-They are the US Coast Guard standard approved ration.

-100% of every vitamin and mineral you need, zero cholesterol or Transfat

-The 27oz package has (9) Nine, 400 calorie meals. Enough for 3, maybe 5 days if you stretch it.

-One 27oz package is much smaller and lighter then one MRE, with no mixing or cooking needed.
(They also come in a 2-day - 4"x6"x1" size)

-The Lemon cookie flavored bars are moisture neutral. Doesn't contain water, but won't make you feel
thirsty either.

-They are vacuum-sealed in a thick Aluminum package and have a 5-year shelf life.

-And they are CHEAP! Less then 4 bucks each for the large size. That’s Top Ramen cheap!  I have two bars in my Bug Out Bag, 2 in my Car-B.O.B, one in each Molle vest, and a stack in the cabinet for re-supply…..Viva la Revolucion, Putos!"

UrbanMan replies:  I also have Main Stay bars.  I have several hundred dollars worth and I do include one three day bar in each Bug Out Bag I have.  You could stretch them up to nine days if necessary.  They are actually pretty good tasting especially if you put alittle peanut butter or better yet, honey on the bar. They also have a shelf life of 10+ years.  Honey is a great item to add as well.  Never goes bad and it is crystalizes, you can heat it up.     All of my food drums have several plastic, and some glass, jars of honey.  

But what botheed me about your comment was the " Viva la Revolucion, Putos!" comment at the end. 
What revolution are you talking about?  And who are you calling whores?  Hope you are not one those reconquistas or from some other radical fringe group. 

I think that the only good thing about a collapse will be that the loser radical groups and individuals will be exposed, leading to their removal.   Sort of like a well needed house cleaning. 

Oh, thanks for the tip on the ER Bars.

Get Home Bag

VikingRS left us a comment on the post "Survival Lessons Learned from West Coast Power Outage….."The extra bag you talked about at the end of the article is what my friends and me call a GHB; Get Home Bag. I am in the process of getting my BoB together, but I wanted to be sure I had a GHB ready. It has some food (I always carry a metal water bottle), emergency blanket, two knives, fire starter, bug spray, rain poncho, mini first aid kit, pain killers, sunblock, radio, sharpie markers (to leave messages), cheap flashlight, 2 glow sticks, etc. And a book too. All of that fits into a small pack that I got at Walmart in the hunting section that goes around my waist and has shoulder straps.  Also in the trunk of my car I keep a pair of pants, a shirt, 2 pairs of socks, my combat boots, my duster (coat) and a hat.  I have these things so that in the event I am not near home I have supplies ready. Even if the car is unavailable, I have the stuff I would need to make the trek home, or at least start out if that wasn't an option. If the Wife and I take her car somewhere, I throw that stuff in her trunk.  Maybe you could do an article about the usefulness and IMO, importance of a GHB.”

 

UrbanMan’s comments:  VikingRS, good comments about Bug Out Bags and Get Home Bags.  I did not have Sharpies in any of my kit.  I had small waterproof notebooks and pens, but never even thought about Sharpies until your suggestion.  Thanks! 

 

In my mind, the Bug Out Bag and Get Home Bag are essentially the same thing, however the package or bag the items are carried in, and what items are carried could be influenced by different factors.  I actually have two bags in my vehicle I take to work.  I have one of those vacuum packed storage bags in my trunk with a pair of older running shoes, extra 5.11 pants and an old Khaki hunting shirt, extra socks, a ball cap, a watch cap and a pair of lightweight gloves.  I also have a small Eagle Industries hydration bag I keep in the back seat which I refer to as “the Bug Out Bag I Keep In My Vehicle”.   The 100 ounce hydration pack stays full and if I had to Bug Out from work I would augment water with water bottles from one of several refrigerators at work.  

 

I also have a leatherman tool (or is it a Gerber?); a fairly cheap Spyderco folding tactical knife; butane lighter, and fire starting material; a lightweight green gortex jacket; a cut down MRE meal; a metal canteen cup; one small packet of bullion cubes and a couple instant coffee packets; a small first aid kit with a couple travel packets of aspirin; a “AA” flashlight and pack of extra batteries; a small red lens photon key chain type light; and some other small items.

 

I always carry a handgun (Glock 19 and one extra magazine) and if the threat indicators grew I would add a rifle to my vehicle as well. 

 

Some of the factors that could influence what you carry in a Get Home Bag, in my mind, would be:         

 

Terrain.  The terrain you have to negotiate or transit to get to a safe site.  If you had to transit a lot of concrete and asphalt, this would influence a different type of footgear, than if you were traversing forested areas or other rural type terrain.  If you had to cross a river and planned to a bridge, what are you doing to do if the bridge is down, or access is blocked or if it is occupied by what appeared to be a criminal group?  Maybe a small inflatable floatation device and waterproof bag cover would come in handy for an expedient river crossing.       

 

Weather.  Unless you live or work in paradise, you probably have diverse seasonal weather conditions which would make ir important to pack and re-pack your Get Home Bag so that the contents are necessary for the weather conditions you’ll face.  The summer months may make it necessary to carry more water.  The winter months may it necessary to carry warmer clothing items.   

 

Threat.  What are the active and passive threats you could be facing on your movement to the identified safe area or your home.  Passive threats could be radioactive fallout or contagious disease.  Active threats could be roaming gangs, violent crowds, law enforcement or military activity such as patrols and checkpoints if there was movement or curfew restrictions.   

 

Distance.  The amount of distance you have to travel will certainly affect what you carry.  If you have to traverse 20 miles, it may take you two days of fairly careful movement to complete.  

SHTF While at Work - Get Home Bag

VikingRS left us a comment on the post "Survival Lessons Learned from West Coast Power Outage"....."The extra bag you talked about at the end of the article is what my friends and me call a GHB; Get Home Bag. I am in the process of getting my BoB together, but I wanted to be sure I had a GHB ready. It has some food (I always carry a metal water bottle), emergency blanket, two knives, fire starter, bug spray, rain poncho, mini first aid kit, pain killers, sunblock, radio, sharpie markers (to leave messages), cheap flashlight, 2 glow sticks, etc. And a book too. All of that fits into a small pack that I got at Walmart in the hunting section that goes around my waist and has shoulder straps. Also in the trunk of my car I keep a pair of pants, a shirt, 2 pairs of socks, my combat boots, my duster (coat) and a hat. I have these things so that in the event I am not near home I have supplies ready. Even if the car is unavailable, I have the stuff I would need to make the trek home, or at least start out if that wasn't an option. If the Wife and I take her car somewhere, I throw that stuff in her trunk. Maybe you could do an article about the usefulness and IMO, importance of a GHB.”

UrbanMan’s comments: VikingRS, good comments about Bug Out Bags and Get Home Bags. I did not have Sharpies in any of my kit. I had small waterproof notebooks and pens, but never even thought about Sharpies until your suggestion. Thanks!

In my mind, the Bug Out Bag and Get Home Bag are essentially the same thing, however the package, or bag, the items are carried in, and what items are carried could be influenced by different factors. I actually have two bags in my vehicle I take to work. I have one of those vacuum packed storage bags in my trunk with a pair of older running shoes, extra 5.11 pants and an old Khaki hunting shirt, extra socks, a ball cap, a watch cap and a pair of lightweight gloves. I also have a small Eagle Industries hydration bag I keep in the back seat which I refer to as “the Bug Out Bag I Keep In My Vehicle”. The 100 ounce hydration pack stays full and if I had to Bug Out from work I would augment water with water bottles from one of several refrigerators at work.

I also have a leatherman tool (or is it a Gerber?); a fairly cheap Spyderco folding tactical knife; butane lighter, and fire starting material; a lightweight green gortex jacket; a cut down MRE meal; a three day Main Stay Food Bar; a metal canteen cup; one small packet of bullion cubes and a couple instant coffee packets; a small first aid kit with a couple travel packets of aspirin; a “AA” flashlight and pack of extra batteries; a small red lens photon key chain type light; a small FRS radio; and some other small items.

The FRS radio is for use on scheduled voice communications contact times. I also carry a cell phone (doesn't everyone?). In fact I have two. Again, I have scheduled voice contact times in case of an emergency, and the cell phones allow me to send text and e-mails. Both are GPS enabled so if the internet is up, my survival group has a good chance of getting a geo-location fix on anyone in our group trying to make it to safety (we call it Home Plate). During a voice contact, I can send my position relative to "Home Plate",..example: "I am approximately 7 miles West by Northwest from Home Plate." This ads a measure of security to an otherwise open net.

I always carry a handgun (Glock 19 and one extra magazine) and if the threat indicators grew I would add a rifle to my vehicle as well.

Some of the factors that could influence what you carry in a Get Home Bag, in my mind, would be:

Terrain. The terrain you have to negotiate or transit to get to a safe site. If you had to transit a lot of concrete and asphalt, this would influence a different type of foot gear, than if you were traversing forested areas or other rural type terrain. If you had to cross a river and planned to a bridge, what are you doing to do if the bridge is down, or access is blocked or if it is occupied by what appeared to be a criminal group? Maybe a small inflatable floatation device and waterproof bag cover would come in handy for an expedient river crossing.

If you were traversing a great distance through an populated area, you may not want a military looking bag or personal appearance. I would suggest dull, pastel colored backpacks, hydration packs or other bags.

Weather. Unless you live or work in paradise, you probably have diverse seasonal weather conditions which would make it important to pack and re-pack your Get Home Bag so that the contents are necessary for the weather conditions you’ll face. The summer months may make it necessary to carry more water. The winter months may make it necessary to carry warmer clothing items.

Threat. What are the active and passive threats you could be facing on your movement to the identified safe area or your home. Passive threats could be radioactive fallout or contagious disease. Active threats could be roaming gangs, violent crowds, law enforcement or military activity such as patrols and checkpoints if there was movement or curfew restrictions.

Distance. The amount of distance you have to travel will certainly affect what you carry. If you have to traverse 20 miles, it may take you two days of fairly careful movement to complete. If you are one of those people who transit a great distance every day, and in my mind that would be 35-40 mile or more, then I would prepare for several days of travel in case some threat, environmental or terrain factors causes you to hole up or take a long detour from your intended route.

prepare well, Cheers, UrbanMan