MAYBERRY MUSING

It's a cold rainy Tuesday morning. Actually, it is not that cold but it damn sure feels like it. There is just something about 'wet' weather that is numbing to the human body this time of year. It is supposed to get all the way up to 52 degrees today and it will not fell warm. It has been a while since we were in the 50 degree range but this event will not make a lasting impression.

Mayberry over at Keep It Simple Survival is wanting to get up a group and buy some land and start building a place of safety. He is taking on a big project. Most of us don't have the money it takes to do a project on our own and most of us are not willing to surrender our self nature to the common good as yet. Nothing is free. There is a price you pay for everything.

Ol' Mayberry is like most of us. He sees a job and he wants to get it done and out of the way. Like he has said on his blog numerous times, he is a nuts and bolts kind of guy. And I think millions of us are like that. We just want to get on with our lives and raise our families and get our homes half-way comfortable and drink a few beers. But we have entered a time of no peace. I quoted Hoagy Carmichael a few days ago from his song 'Georgia' where he said "No peace, no peace I find." Ray Charles made an absolutely wonderful rendition of that song. But like a lot of us, Mayberry cannot find the peace he desires. He cannot find the continuity of society that should prevail in a manner which a man would find secure for his family. He cannot find the justification for trusting the system prevalent in this country to provide him with the where-with-all to maintain a decent life style. He is not a high roller and does not try to be. He wants a job and and a family and a home and a boat for fishing in his beloved Gulf of Mexico. And he will share. You get him enough boat and he will take lots of people fishing. He was raised on that water and he is at home there.

But he feels an ill wind blowing across the country. He detects the wind of change and it is not change for the good. Let us examine the situation for clues. He sees that 23 banks have failed across the country this year. That should not be going on. He sees that FDIC has about a hundred more banks on their endangered list. That should not be going on. He sees the auto manufacturers on their knees before congress trying to borrow money. That should not be going on. He sees that almost two million people have been put out of work this year and that should not be going on. He sees that Wall Street is as crooked as a dog's hind leg and that should not be going on. He sees pension funds slowly losing their money as stocks fall by the wayside. And that should not be going on. He sees the price of gold and silver being manipulated so that people won't sell everything else and buy gold as a store of wealth. But while the getting is good, the rich are buying the gold and leaving town. This should not be happening. Gasoline has been up to $4.25 cents a gallon this year and may lower below a dollar before Christmas. This should not be going on. He looks around and sees Europe and Asia are experiencing the same illness in their societies. He listens as the new president -elect tells the nation that things are going to get worse before they get better. AND THIS IS ALL TELLING HIM SOMETHING. It is telling him that he has to live a different type of life if he is going to make it many more years. It may not be the life he would choose, but it will give his family a living, a chance at eating regular, and a feeling of security when they go to bed at night.

Being something of a thinker, Mayberry has made up his mind that he cannot do this on his own to any worthwhile degree. Even in a basic, simple lifestyle there is division of labor at work. No man can do it all. Grow the food, build the buildings, secure the premises, trade and barter, pay the obligations, hunt for game. To do it right he has to have help. And there is the matter of leadership. Who gets to be boss! Such a coveted position and such a thankless job. No one knows of the hours spent in the dark thinking about all the things that could go wrong in a settlement. It falls on the leader. And if he gets questioned he has to have some sort of an answer as to what they will do in the event of a surprise. Folks working a job can use their position as a snipers post if they wish. In good times it is "I'm working every day and what is the leader doing?" In the bad times it is "I'm working everyday and why hasn't the leader got a way of dealing with these freebooters?" Talk about no peace!

It's all just part of the human family, the good and the bad. But someone has to take it upon themselves to prepare for the times they see coming. And if you don't see the times that are coming, you had better re-read this post. You can read this post and substitute any name you want instead of Mayberry. You can call the person Hermit or Mike, or gott_cha or grumpyunk or Kemp or whoever. I just used Mayberry because he is the one making all the noise down there in Texas. But someone had better make some noise. Someone had better sound the alarm. Someone had better get the ball rolling. And you will do it if you want to stay alive.

Michael

mboone@rtccom.net