A New Era of Individual Responsibility?

COVID19 will be a part of the world's vocabulary for many years to come. Discussions of the impact it has had on countries, cities, towns, neighborhoods and families will be ongoing for many years. We don't even know what those impacts will be, for they have yet to play out in real time. History in the making, right in front of our eyes.

If you or yours have suffered a loss as a result of this virus, our hearts and prayers to out to you. There have been many difficult situations and fears that have been heart breaking. I look forward to the time that I can go into the nursing home to see my mother again. Visiting through the window with someone in the advance stages of dementia is very difficult. She doesn't understand and it just breaks my heart.

After the initial scare of a raging pandemic that was predicted to kill millions and millions of people, leading to shortages at the store, and overwhelming the ability of the medical industry to cope, we are now in the stage of trying to regroup and regain a sense of normalcy. The resulting stay-at-home/lock down orders have highlighted some of the tendencies of governments to initiate and strengthen their desire to control the lives of the people they 'govern', showing they aren't in the position to serve the people, but to control them. Some of the serfs are not happy with this. Most of us initially complied under the false narrative of the severity of the virus and pending threat of death by a virus - the invisible enemy, President Trump calls it. 

But this isn't an analysis of the advice given to the President by his task force members that are also trying to roll out their own agendas of control. Personally, I think this has been a bioweapon unleashed upon the world as a backlash for leaders and countries backtracking from the One World Government and attempt to control everyone and every country in it. Control. Ultimate control of everyone through the monetary system, the food supply, medical attention, the ability to work and provide for the family. All of it. The whole package deal. Life. And everything that it entails.

No, this article isn't about that. You can read many different articles and opinions about those topics. This is about the changes some people appear to be making in their lives. For instance. Why are the Mom & Pop mail order chicken hatcheries unable to fulfill orders until late summer now? Why are seed companies out of seeds? Why are gun and ammo suppliers seeing record all time sales and shortages? There are shortages of radios - alternate forms of communication. Why are the shelves at the store that hold beans, rice, pasta, flour and other staples mostly empty? Why are the news stories on the mainstream sites showing how to make bread, how to bake, how to cook?

Frank and I have discussed for years that if just a tiny percentage of the population of our country woke up one day and realized they would run out of food, went to the store and bought enough for a week that the shelves would be empty. Then along came COVID19. And it happened. And it continues to happen. And the prices of everything are going up, except for oil and gasoline. It appears they will continue to go up. Excuses for that? Supply chain disruption, it's China's fault, it's...... It really doesn't matter what caused "it" and what is going to continue causing our new normal to unfold. The fact of the matter is the future will unfold whether we like it or not, vote for it or not, or deal with it or not.

Frank and I chose our life style decades ago. We have worked toward this level of self-sufficiency for a long time and have realized many of our dreams. Now we are working on new dreams, how to maintain as much independence as we can, as long as we can, while we 'grow' into old age. We are in a time of change in our lives. The parallel is that now the whole world is in a time of change with no real sense of the direction it will take. A true time of cognitive dissonance where normal has flown out the window, never to be seen again. Where did it go? How did it leave so fast? Amazing, isn't it?

Now people are searching for ways to manage, ways to provide for their families, ways to continue to be independent without leaning on the government, food banks, or other means of income. Will this lead to a new era of individual responsibility or an ever growing population that expects everything to be provided? 

The few times we have been out and about in a very limited fashion over the last month or so, we have noticed more garden spots. Some large, some small, some in tubs or buckets. We find that to be very encouraging. We have heard of some folks that are focusing more on food and provisions, for the time being anyway. Will it continue? Will this be a wake up call for some that priorities need to be changed and focused on the real things in life? I think once the restrictions are lifted there will be a rush to regain the old normal, only to find it no longer exists. Some behaviors will be driven by fear of the virus and the effects it will have. Government overreach in it's many facets will be here to stay unless people stand up and install those that would reverse the heavy handedness that has shown up in some areas. At this point, I would say the future is an open book with blank pages. If things are allowed to continue the way they have been going it's just a matter of time before we are all locked down, tracked, banned and told to sit back and shut up. But that's not my focus here.

Take stock of your shelves. How long will your food last if you could never buy one more scrap of food? Without Food, You are Dead. I wrote about it not long ago. Control of the food supply can and will control you. Period.

What can you do to supplement, stretch, extend your food supply to the maximum extent possible? What do you need to learn to increase that supply even more? We have been writing here on and off for a number of years about our attempts to grow food and raise animals to increase our self-sufficiency. If you haven't been reading here very long, check the list of articles and pages that may lead you to some information that may benefit you. Frank has written extensive articles on radio communications that will explain how to set up a network of communication for your family or area in case cell phones are down. There are many articles on gardening, raising goats, chickens and pigs. We have written about reusable products you can make, like the masks that are being made around the world right now. If you have questions, ask. We and other readers are always ready to share our experiences in the hopes it may help another.

We're all in this together folks. Some days it looks like we have fallen over the cliff of no return to soon crash at the bottom with a resounding thud. Other days? It just looks real dicey. We have yet to see if more serious food shortages and economic calamities are right around the corner. At this point, I think the virus is the least of our worries. I can only hope it is a new era of individual responsibility which will lead more people to step up and take care of their own instead of holding out their hand for more while they scream about someone not wearing a mask.

Pay attention. Take notice and take stock of your shelves and yourself. No one is coming to save you. If They show up at all, don't get on the bus.

Until next time - Fern



By the way. Does anyone know why some of the pictures in our last few articles have disappeared? All of them were taken at the same time, none were downloaded from the internet. I haven't researched the problem, it just wasn't that important to me. It may be a simple fix.

What are you doing NOW?

Hopefully, the holes in your supplies and preps are filled like Frank talked about in the last post.

We have all been reading/listening/watching the data and advice on how to avoid/diminish the chances of infection from COVID-19 and taking every precaution available to us. Some are still going to work, some aren't. So now what?

During President Trump's press conference yesterday [Monday, March 16th] one of the reporters asked him to reassure the American public. She said people are scared. How true. We all are. Not only are we worried about our own personal health, the health of our families and friends, but the nation and world as a whole. One thing is certain. When we see the other side of this, we being whoever is left, things will not be the same. We will not be living in the same world we left behind just a few short days ago.

The economies of the world are and will be changing. The manner in which people physically interact with each other will have changed. So many other aspects of life will be changed in ways we can't even begin to imagine or fathom at this point.

Frank and I have been describing events as 'unbelievable' for some time now. You know, our political sphere, the anger and division among the peoples of our nation, etc. We had a brief laugh yesterday when I reminded him of this, because the situation we find ourselves in NOW is truly UNBELIEVABLE!!

Frank has long thought some type of contagion or plague would be the mechanism TPTB use to bring down the world, bring down the population numbers. So far, the death rate from this virus has not greatly diminished the global population, but in the long run, will it? At the beginning I was one of the people saying the standard, run-of-the-mill flu was killing many, many more people, what's the big deal? Obviously, something is very, very different than the average flu or the whole world wouldn't be shutting down. 

So what are we doing? For one, we are not going anywhere except for a few select places in our general area. We have to go 25 miles to make it to a town that has a big box store, a pharmacy and regular grocery stores and we are just not going. We are stocking up on more animal feed.

We have baby chicks hatching and more coming in the mail in the next day or so.

The garden is tilled and partially planted with turnips, kale and cabbage. We have a few carrots out there that have overwintered. We are in a heavy rainy period, so it's mostly mud, but it's good, healthy, fertilized mud.

 












The tomatoes, peppers, carrot and beet seedlings are planted in the greenhouse. I cut the tops off of the large tomato plant that has been growing out there all winter and put them in water to root. I also ordered more seeds. Seeds are gold, better than gold. They represent more food. Food that may become more precious than any 'thing' we can have.

 

The garden? Well, with age and aches and pains, it was going to shrink quite a bit this year. Now? I have altered that plan quite a bit. I will be adding more human and animal crops to the garden in the hope we will have enough to eat.

We have revisited our plans if we lose power and water. They have changed somewhat over the last few years. And as always, we discuss the protection of our home and each other.

My thoughts go always to keeping us fed and healthy. Frank's are of protection and safety. We naturally focus on our own strengths, talents and areas of responsibility.

The uncertainty of our times and the outcome on the other side of this event, for lack of a better description, is a daunting experience. So, tell me, what do you see for our future six months from now? A year from now? What do you think the world will look like? Do you see riots and anarchy around the corner? Food shortages? There is a lot of hype about medical supplies/services being inadequate for a pandemic. 

Please share. What are you doing now? And what do you see for our future? I agree with President Trump. We're all in this together. 

Blessings to you all. Stay safe and healthy.

Fern

Time to Fill the Holes

Hello Everybody, Frank here.

I'm not really sure where to start this, and I'm certainly not going to start off with some stupid joke, even though Humor is the Essence of Survival.

Fern and I, as I'm sure many of you are praying for our country and our world. There is nothing new that is going to be said here that you probably haven't heard somewhere else. You are all aware of the coronavirus. It's got a couple of other names, but for uniformity, we are just going to call it the coronavirus. As stated many times before, I do not believe or trust my government, and I certainly do not believe or trust a communist, dictator's government. I trust even less, the news media.

That being said, the information we have to go on, which is sketchy to say the least, would indicate that perilous times are upon us. A few reminders here.

• As Ol' Remus says, "Avoid crowds". This is critically important.
• Wash your hands.
• When Fern and I leave the house, we now carry a sealed sandwich bag with a washcloth in it that is saturated with 91% alcohol. We also carry surgical gloves. We have not started wearing masks yet, but yes, we have them. These are very basic and simple things to do. You can find a more detailed list in several other places.
• The NBA has cancelled it's basketball season. College conferences all around the country are cancelling tournaments. Here in Oklahoma, they have wisely cancelled the state basketball tournaments. They waited a little late to make this command decision about the state tournaments, but how can you justify the NBA and college conferences cancelling and you still allow high school games to be played? But my hat's off, somebody finally made the command decision.
• I'll get to the point of this in just a minute. Even before President Trump's statement last night, airlines were cancelling flights, both international and domestic.
• Cruise ships are also cancelling.

The point of this? This thing is real. People a whole lot smarter than I am either know something is coming or can see that something is coming. Our country is effectively, very slowly, shutting down. I hope you got to watch President Trump's talk last night. It was direct, to the point. It appears that this thing is going to get out of hand.

Did you hear what he said about nursing homes? Fern's mother is currently in a local nursing home. Now, think about this. I am 70 years old, I have had open heart surgery. When do we decide not to go see Fern's mother again? I am in that high risk target. Tough decision.

We have already filled all of the holes we need to fill in our supplies, and if push comes to shove, we could probably not leave our house for a year or more, with or without utilities.

I keep hoping this thing will just pass over like a blip on a radar. Is this the apocalypse we read about in the Bible? Is it the end times? Is this another Noah type event? I really don't know. 

But I do know that our government is taking some extreme measures. Let's give credit where credit is due. Extreme measures are needed during extreme times. I've got the distinct feeling that extreme is about to get significantly more extreme. 

Maybe a bank holiday? You are familiar with the repo market? Are you aware that the Federal Reserve, which is not a government agency, has been pumping billions of dollars every night into the banking industry just to produce some stability? That is about to increase significantly. I know you've been watching the stock market the last few days. The world markets are collapsing. Some will say, oh this is just another blip on the radar, and it might be. I wouldn't bank on that.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we are in uncharted waters. I am glad, genuinely glad, that President Trump is our leader. Is he perfect? No.

NOW is the time to fill holes in any supplies you need. Use diligent precautions when doing so. We still don't even know exactly how the coronavirus is transmitted, and it truly doesn't make any difference how it started. If you are standing at the bottom of a hill and an unoccupied automobile is rolling toward you, it doesn't make any difference whether it was intentional or unintentional, man made or God made. It doesn't make any difference, you need to move out of the way before it runs you down.

Hopefully, this thing will pass. But with the preparations our government and other world governments are doing, somebody knows something that is not being released to the general public. Prepare now. That storm is here. Those dark clouds are upon us. Whatever analogy you want to use, use it.

I wouldn't expect our government to tell us the truth if they knew something was apocalyptic. Even if this virus only kills a few hundred million people, the world economy will come to a screeching halt. Anarchy will reign. As you've heard here, be prepared to do the unthinkable. 

By the way, Sam's and Wal-Mart are out of Spam. We are in trouble.

Fern and I are going to live everyday to the fullest. We have started planting the garden, I have re-purified my water well. We have inventoried and cataloged our medical supplies. We will do the best we can until the Big Guy pulls our number.

Remember, Humor is the Essence of Survival. If you have any doubt that God has a sense of humor, then go look in your bathroom mirror. Then go get your wife or husband to do it, or if you live alone, get your cat to do it.

Also remember that you and your immediate family come first.

If you have thoughts on this, or you have information about grocery store shelves, or who has what that others don't, then please share. After you read this, you need to get an alcohol swab and wipe down the screen on your computer.

I hope to see all of you again soon. Exponentially, we are on the uphill side of the hockey stick. Pay attention. 

DON'T GET ON THE BUS.

We'll talk more later,  Frank
 

A Thought on Coronavirus

Hello Everybody, Frank here.

There is a lot of talk about the Coronavirus. Some say we're all going to die, others say it will be gone in a couple of months. Since we know that our government lies at every opportunity, I can only believe that other governments do also.

A former advisor to President Donald Trump did an interview. Fern and I found it interesting and we hope you do too. I like the man that did the interview, his name is Steve Bannon. He can be a bit abrupt, but I think he is brilliant. Does everybody agree with everything others say? No, but I did like his interview. If you have about 50 minutes to spare, watch Mr. Bannon's interview. Here is the link.

Pandemic! Coronavirus Is Out of Control in China

I would take this virus seriously. Do you have what it takes to be in your house for a number of days without going out? If someone comes to visit do you know how, and have the precautions to quarantine them for a couple of weeks? Remember, we don't know what is true and what is not coming from the news media or the government. As always, you are on your own. 

Nobody is coming to save you.

And as Ol' Remus says, "Avoid crowds."

There are a lot of things happening in our world right now. Our political arena has become a joke, even the Supreme Court has jumped into the fray recently. Now all three of our branches of government are not working together. I don't believe anything I hear anymore from anyone. We just don't know where this virus thing is going to go.

So, no joke. Have what you need to take care of you and yours. All they have got to do, a little humor here, is find a way to put this virus in a bag of Cheetos, and half of our population would be gone. But no joking, do what you think is necessary, and I would do it very soon, while our supply chains are still functioning. There is a possibility our just-in-time inventories could experience some serious hiccups soon. One little shut down leads to two, then three, then the dominoes begin to fall. The economy staggers a little. You get the picture, you've seen it before. The picture that is.

If you would, watch the video, and by all means, quit eating Cheetos. If you're of this type of persuasion, only drink American made beer.

So, maybe it's time to go turn on the TV to watch Oprah, and grab a bag of Cheetos, or maybe to do what you should have already done. You know what that is. Prepare. If you are prepared, good. If you're not.....it's your call.

We'll talk more later,  Frank