Stuff and such on Feb. 1

It's February 1st and I think it ought to be a national holiday. I don't like January weather and I am glad it's gone. We were in the deep freeze most of January and a reminder fr0m the calendar that is it about over for Winter is a good thing. It's really not even half 0ver as but I can dream that it is. In a few months I can start dreaming about all the heat and humidity of Summer.

I wanted to say that while I profess to being a constitutionalist and a Populist and a group oriented person, I am really a monarchist. Yes. I am a Monarchist. Remember that passage in the Book of Matthew where the Christ is asked how men should pray and he gives them the Lord's Prayer? I always remember that part about THY KINGDOM COME. I really want to see that Kingdom established. I want to serve the Father of us all. What a difference between the Father and the candidates we have for President!

I'm trying to get a woman down in Alabama to write an article on herbs and such. She will when she gets time, she says. She is a good person and you will like what she has to say.

I have been thinking about barter items for when TEOTWAWKI comes and we might set up a bit of commerce with the local survivors. Cigarettes would be a nie item to have. You catch a guy in the right mood and he might let you have his beautiful daughter for a cartoon of cigs.

You can buy Gambler Tobacco in sealed bags for about $6 for 6 ounces. Or, you can buy 16 ounces for $16. Is it geting through to you that cigarette tobacco is going for $1 an ounce? You can get a good stuffing machine for about $42. Filtered cigarette tubes cost about $1.65 for 200 tubes. I can knock out a couple packs of cigarettes in about 10 minutes. You can keep the cigs in sandwich bags and they won't go stale if you seal them up. But if you become a known source of smokes you might get visitors that you don't want so be careful. When they come to trade always let them see a gun or two. That can have a lasting impression. DO NOT HAVE THEM TO YOUR HOUSE FOR BUSINESS. Never let them come to your residence. Anyone with alcohol or tobacco will get visitors at all hours of the day and night and that is not good security. Don't do thi unless you have very good security.

I would like to mention Cajun cooking. Cajun cooking is a state of mnd. It is the making of food for your table that tastes good and is good for you. And the secret of it is to use whatever is local. Real Cajuns serve what is grown right in their area. They serve a lot of Shrimp. We don't have Shrimp in southern Indiana but we can find mud flats that grow crawdads! Damn straight we can. And they are good. Make a little a sauce from some of those tomatoes you are growing in your garden and you have a good hearty meal that will break the tedium of a survival diet. The old timers say that Beaver is a delicacy and I believe them though I haven't tried. Killed a beaver just last week to keep him from killing our 4 acre pond but I never skinned him. Dogs got him. But in TEOTWAWKI I would be skinning that beaver and brain tanning it's hide and putting that mutha to good use. Waste not, want not, is the buzz for TEOTWAWKI. Don't waste a damn thing. The stores aren't going to re-open any time soon.

Although I have read this womewhere I can't remember, a bicycle is good transportation for local business. Just for running around to close neighbors. I would take no trip to outlying areas on a bicycle. You are too vulnerable. Always go in groups if you travel to outlying areas. A lot of people you meet will come from the bottom of the gene pool and that can cost you your life. Not that you can't help somene. But it is better to help from a position of strength than a position of weakness. 'Nuff said.

I'll go now. Sty alert and stay alive.

Michael