GETTING INTO THE WEEK

I have had some fine emails this week so far. It is very heartening to know that others are working toward the same goals that I am. I am a bit troubled by the storage container trip going on with Jim Rawles right now but if sealed plastic buckets is what has to be then so be it. I went to the steel can with a lid because I don't have mice in the building and all but one of my rice bags are sealed. All of my beans are sealed. From what I have been reading, there are numerous places to pick up good buckets for little or no money. Lids and gaskets are another story but can be had without too much trouble. If you go read Mr. Rawles, which I do, pick up on what he has to say about "food grade" buckets.

We are starting to buy canned goods and store them. Stuff we can eat every day and enjoy. We are keeping an eye on the expiration dates of these foods. I can see a magic marker being used in the future to mark cans with easily identifiable dates.

It has bothered me in the past about the main body of people in this country who will not prepare for any type of emergency. They act like they don't even want to hear about it. You would think, intellectually, that with the news about food shortages and gas prices that survival blogs would be getting hits like Matt Drudge. But it is not happening. I can only come to the conclusion that there are supposed to be a certain percentage of victims and ignorance is what makes them that way. Lemmings do the same damn thing! And I intend to avoid the Lemming stampede with every shred of energy in this old body. To hell with not living because I was too damn lazy to even think! It would be a disgrace.

I was just sitting out on the porch thinking about my metal can storage. I am for sealed food grade buckets and all of that but I can't see why a little bit of applied intelligence can't make the 35 gallon can adequate. You can always seal the big cans. That is what caulking compound is for. And you can further seal the rice and beans and what not that you put in there. And you won't take up nearly as much floor space with the big can as you will 6 or 7 buckets. If you are short of storage space you might look into sealing the big cans. Just a thought. Ask around and see if this is feasible or not. I'd like to know.

I watched a DVD of The Last of the Mohicans just a few days ago. I've seen it three times now. What a story. Of course it is a lie, just a figment of Jim Cooper's imagination. But the story line is really good. Those Mohicans were hellish survivors. They tried to be upright and honest in their dealings with their fellow man but they were dealing with politicians and career soldiers and you know how that is. But in the end ol' Daniel Day-Lewis was headed for Kain-tuck-eee with the pretty girl. He was headed for a place he thought would afford him freedom. I reckon we are all looking for that place.

Freedom. That great intangible that seems so priceless to the men in this world. You will please note that I said "in" the world and not "of" the world. But I am not going to get on this subject this morning. It's too vast, though simple. I just remember that passage of scripture where it says that "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." If you don't feel liberty then God aint in it. And that which he has not planted wil be plucked up.

THE COX CLAN ABOUT TO MEET

Jim Cox is stirring up his clan down in Kentucky. Read some of what he has to say.

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Hi Mike,
Try this one it doesn't have anything other then words. I'll start sending you funnies.
I get them all the time, but most have to be downloaded. I'll send you all the ones that
don't.
I have been in physical therapy and RN has been taking care of me. I check your
website for golden grains of your knowledge two or three or four times a day. YOU MUST
KEEP CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, WE DEPEND ON YOU. AND YES I WOULD PAY A SUBSCRIPTION
FEE TO ACCESS YOUR SITE OR BUY FROM VENDORS THAT YOU SUPPORTED.
Our clan is patriarchal, which means that family leadership passed from my oldest brother,
to my older brother then to me as we each turned 65. I am only 62 but my older brother
has "suggested" that since I have began to have health problems I sign over the family
house and land to his son who is only 25. I am pondering it, I will have to turn it over to
the oldest male when I turn 65 anyway. The house is a two room log cabin on five acres
of land high up near the Appalachian trail. We have a spring and
a cave on the land. We have concealed the cave, and bricked in the entrance with a three
foot opening at the top for the bats to get out. If my health is good enough we will gather
there in May. I will be bringing 20 metal trash cans and two of the others will to. We are
planning on transferring our food into the cans from the wooden shelves. Which was a stroke
of genius on your part to suggest it.

I am following your advise very carefully in order to survive. I don't drink, smoke, swear,
and have never raised my voice to RN. So she says she allows me, to have what she calls the one
"vice"
(which will save her life). I AM STAYING ALIVE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE.
You have a responsibility to us to keep writing. RN went to the store this morning and came
back with the groceries and 20 pounds of rice for my "hobby" and three cases of vegetables
on sale for my "hobby". I am following your advise and buying extra every time I go to the store.
I have sold my stock and I am in the process of getting off the grid. Now, were you aware that I
have gone to other websites that you listed because YOU recommended them?
Let me give you an example of why medical skills are important. I got a call today from my
granddaughters other grandfather and ask if I would pick her up at school because had a rash
and RN was home. I picked her and and the minute we walked through the door RN asked her what
she had rubbed on her face. And she said yesterday her mommie put on some new suntan lotion.
RN said, Hmmmm, she has contact dermititis, I'll get her in the shower, get a towel. She wrapped her
in a towel and gave her a quick wash and her face rash cleared instantly. It is good to have
a medical person who understands quick solutions and can sew me up. I do not want my society to end,
but if it does I will STAY ALIVE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE.

Respectfully
Jim
*********
Jim gives me a lot of credit that I am not sure I deserve but I can relate to that part about being a voice crying in the wilderness. Anyone can see the planet is turning into a wilderness at a rapid pace. And there are several voices crying out about it. But that comes from people lovers and not from people haters. I want to point out that the Cox clan is going into their retreat AS A CLAN. There is a bunch of them. All kinds of people and skills and what not. They have a foothold on that mountain that they have owned for many years. And they have the shooters to defend it. And they know how to hunt and garden. They have a cave at least big enough for storage and a spring for water. Not a bad set-up at all. It can be better but we will be up grading our preparations the day the bombs drop. It never stops.

That business about going to the mountain as a clan is what I really enjoy. Having enough people to do a thing is vitally important. Growing food and pulling guard will be the first business at hand. Everybody has a job and no one without a job.

I thought about the age requirement of their clan. If you get to be 65 you turn over the ownership of the property to the next oldest son. That leaves all the older guys free to advise and council on things to be done. Society has errored on not keeping their elders around for advice. It's criminal. Any place you go seek a job they want to know how much experience you have. Except when it comes time to campaign for an election. Then experience doesn't seem to matter all that much. I reckon because the power brokers don't want an experienced man in there because they don't want anyone telling them to shove their funny business up their butts. The Cox Clan will have vigor and experience both. Wonderful combination. Destined for success.

They will have SOME trouble with the ladies because the women don't want to cook over a wood fire in the house in the Summer. And this is why the good God made Summer kitchens. You cut down some Locust trees and get your upright poles and you get them into the ground. You have the younger boys take the bark off with draw knives. If you ain't got any draw knives they ain't hard to fabricate. You use rough lumber for nailers going around the poles. These nailera are what you fasten your scren wire to when you get about done. You frame a rough roof out of lumber from a local mill or small diameter logs. Nothing fancy, just something to hold sheet metal securely. If you put a plate down for the roof you can use small logs for rafters and just cut a birds mouth notch to hold to the plate. My mentor never used anything less than a 20 penny nail to build something like that. We also always used 28 ounce ripping back hammers with waffled heads. You locate your wood stove where ever you want it and then put up your roof sheeting accordingly. Cut a hole for the stove pipe in your roofing sheets to best take care of that and you should be pretty much set. It's easy to write about this but not so easy to do the work. What ever does best is what you should do. Take a good crew and a couple days and enjoy the fun of doing things together. Use your best older man as job superviser.

Stay alive.

Michael

mboone@rtccom.net