GO FIGURE

All I can say is that the market has gone nuts. The DJIA it almost up in bull country again. And we have 3,000,000 foreclosures to go through as yet? And Gold is down? Oil is below $130 a barrel and I can hardly beieve that! Even the filthy dollar is up 6/10's of a cent. It's okay with me. It does not make any sense but I gave up trying to make sense of insanity a long time ago. This country is populated with a lot of fools and crippled people. And I guess when you take a look at things from another angle maybe some folks don't have a choice. If you are putting away any money where you gonna stash it? You can go to stocks and bonds and commodities. Lots of ways to participate, but these investments are where your money can go. And there is always real estate. Want a mortgage?


The well guy came today and we took measurements and talked about what I had to order and all that jazz. I gotta buy a $529.00 cast iron pump. For another $400 I could get a stainless steel pump. I passed on that one. I gotta have 32' of PVC drop pipe cut in 8' lengths with a pump rod in it for $196. A cylinder is going to cost me $279. A foot valve is gonna cost $22.95. Two brass adaptors to make it all fit together with the pump itself cost $62. And I get an extra set of leathers for $11.95. Then you gotta throw in another $99.08 for freight to UPS and you come ut with $1200.01. You can't get much closer to $1200 and still miss it! And then the pump guy has to get his work bill for installing the damn thing. That will end up putting the bill at $1500. Thank God we don't have a mortgage! And the well was already dug so we don't have that little fee! I guess we really get off cheap.


I think I have found an out that will sell me bean seed at a tremendous savings. It's a local thing but it sure will save me a bunch. The cheapest bean seed I can buy is $150 for 50 pounds. This guy will sell it to me for $50, same species and same weight. I can test the seed by trying to sprout the stuff. If it ain't no good, I don't buy. Pretty straight forward deal. I am thinking about becoming the BEAN KING in this area. Sell beans at half the store bought price. I'll make money and I will make friends Can't beat that.


Lots of talk about what we will do AFTER the SHTF. This is a good time to discuss this issue.



I thought, and still think, that food production is the coming thing. If you can grow food you can make a living. If you can grow chickens, gather eggs, milk goats or cows, make butter, make cheese or most anything else having to do with animal protein, your success quotient is looking good.



I am pursuing vegetable growing. At least at this point in my survival journey I am doing this. It is hard work and I don't know if I could manage without the Handmaiden. She has helped a lot. But if I can get this years crop in I will be in far better shape than ever before. I will have corn and bean seed for no money. Pretty damn nice in this day and age of fixed or fluctuating incomes. And the list of things to do in vegetable growing is on-going and mostly endless. You are limited by your knowledge, good non-hybrid seed, ground to grow it, and labor. Those are the biggies. You conquer these areas and you can become a food producer. It's not easy and it can be very frustrating. Little things, like the Handmaidens bug spray, can be terribly important. It works and it is easy to make. It is not harmful and can be used on your beans and rice at the supper table if you wish. Things like this are wonderful.



Anything to be used as tools or clothing will be useful. Leather fits both categories. If you could round up some horses to help with the labor, could you make the harness? Could you make some boots for you to wear while you plow behind these horses? Could you make good Winter protection to keep you warm while you hunt some meat? Let's say you are fortunate enough to find or fabricate a plow and a cultivator before the SHTF. But you must harness that horse to that implement and that harness must bear the strain of that horse pulling on it. I'm telling you, the making of leather for clothing and tools will be of utmost importance. The Big Box store may not be there when you need things. And if Mercantilism hangs around for a while in the towns and cities, just think of how wonderful it will be to not need them. And think of the wonderfulness of not needing a bank to finance your enterprise. Go it on your own, within your group! After survival and sustainability have been achieved, what is left over is for barter.



And what ever area you choose to pursue, you better wake your brain up! You will be responsible for buying, selling, marketing strategy, security, and keeping track of all your deals. The old startegy of going to work and going brain dead has to stop. You could go off into fantasy land on the production line. A repetative, mind numbing occupation will almost force your brain into fantasy while you perform the mindless ritual of production. But YOU cannot live in this world any longer. You must watch and observe and counsel and meditate. You have to become alert! If you snooze, you lose. Period.



And I cannot stress this enough. Wherever you are, you are the man on the scene. And you better wake the fuck up and get with the program! No one can make your core decisions. Others can talk in generalities and make suggestions, but you have to live there and you have to make the choices. I am hundreds of miles from most of you, in some cases I am thousands of miles away. I can not be there to exercise YOUR brain. You have to do that yourself! You know what works in your area. You can learn the basic needs of survivalism from reading. But the application has to come from within your group, from within your brain, from within whatever inspiration God will grant you.



As others have so well pointed out recently, your brain is your best survival tool.



Stay alive.



Michael



mboone@rtccom.net