On a little state road overlooking the Texas Arkansas border. I am about 50 miles south of Texarkana. I don't see anything . What the hell, Give me a fence or a bunch of cars to work around or something. Seems like they are making this easy. Soffitrat is about 120 miles away and I still have my trike, now loaded down with 6-1 gallon milk jugs of water in addition to the rest of the gear and ammo. Think I will sit tight and see if there are patrols or something. I brought one thing that I hope may 'ease' tensions some IF I do run into 'the new border patrol'. A Gadsden Flag. One can hope anyways.
When we started getting plans together to head out and 'see the world', we started having internal issues with “I don't want to do anything” and the usual suspects were also the ones that at one time had been dependent upon the Government for support. Several of them were former pillheads. Within one week of my leaving out, there was a confrontation with one that ended up in him dead and swinging in the breeze. No judge, no jury, none needed. He had been caught redhanded with stolen goods and the owner took matters into his own hands. Hopefully, that was a lesson that won't need retaught. I had no idea what the motivation was behind the theft but it really doesn't matter any longer.
Granted when things start improving, there will need to be some sort of justice system. I am thinking a system setup similar to the one envisioned by Heinlein in 'Mistress' will be sufficient. Both sides 'purchase' a Judge(shared cost), both sides agree to abide by the judges decree BEFORE trial, The judge hears the case and decides the merit of the accused and accusers then makes his decision. (if you have never read the moon is a harsh mistress, do so. Libertarian rant fest but well worth the read with many great ideas on how to set up , or not, a government)
While sitting here waiting, I am having a conundrum. Do I Return home to drag the family here, or do I retreat home to hope for the best. Obviously, I am going to wait and see what I find but the hint of an actual republic in Texas is tempting. Then again, where we are is complete anarchy and a welcome relief to the crap I dealt with the first 43 years of my life. Hard work yes, but the end results are mine to keep or share as I see fit.
There are never any guarantees in life. Well, there is one. You will die. Can't get around that one. There is some control over the method of your death however.
What would we do if given the choice again. Our founders had a choice to make and did so. For several years, we ran without a constitution and everything was just hunky-dory. I am sure that there were some issues, but if people are fully in control of their own lives, they tend to make better decisions. We were in control to some extent but there were so many rules and regulations to 'abide by' that sometimes not making a decision was safer than trying to do anything. Safety is now back in our hands, decision making is now back in our hands. Will we screw it up and piss it away like we did the last time? Like the Romans did? Like the Russians did? Like the French did? The only thing I know, no matter what direction we go in, I won't be alive to see the fall of it this time. That will be many generations down the line. I can only teach my kids what I know and hope they are strict enough on their kids to pass it on and keep the lessons taught for generations to come.
Just saw 3 ATV's go flying down the road. Now that I see them, I also see a rut they have been making. Time to go sit and wait for them. I would rather have a peaceful meeting than a violent confrontation. I know I saw longarms on the racks of the ATV's and I wouldn't expect people to be running around unarmed in a war zone (and this area is one though rather calm for one) ATV's that are running?. Either they didn't get hit hard with the EMP down here, or they had things prepared in advance. More questions without answers. For now. Soon enough, soon enough.
Morning. I hear a couple of ATV's coming in the distance. Time to set up my 'trap' and see if I catch a bear or the bear catches me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, well, That went much better than I expected. Made it to John's house in less than three hours once I was able to establish that I am 1) not a spy and 2) that I am here to 'work as an ambassador for Kentucky' (that last is still leaving me a bit tickled. That was the Captains idea since it is obvious that I had walked quite a long way to get here.)
Sitting here on the porch overlooking his 'estate'/shooting range enjoying the smells coming off the BBQ and a cold beer. After the initial meet and greet (considering we know each other from the web but had never met.) Getting the scoop on things was a real eye opener. I am copying the original Paper that was published the day after the EMP's went off. (apparently they did get one down here but it was detonated too high, there were some failures but nothing like up north.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We the people of Texas, having seen the corruption and systematic dismantling of the Constitution of the united States, have unanimously voted to revoke the charter with said entity as is a prerequisite of our Original agreement. The recent events of the Federal Government attacking the citizens of its own country with non-lethal weapons, with the intent of subduing a faction that stood for the original intent of the the Constitution , was an onerous and crucial mistake. A blatant disregard for any of the original Declarations in the Bill of Rights: The Entity that calls itself the Federal Government is now charged with Breech of Contract, Multiple violations of the all of the Amendments of the Bill of Rights and given future death tolls due to the original breech, War crimes to include Genocide.
We the PEOPLE of Texas hereby Rescind any and all affiliations with said entity, vow our lives and honor to defend OUR land from intrusion by said entity and now consider any interstate contracts with states unwilling to withdraw support from said entity, null and void. Any encroachment upon or within the borders of the Republic of Texas will be dealt with in extreme prejudice. Indirect attacks will result in immediate retaliation upon the City of Washington, in the District of Columbia.
The PEOPLE have spoken that it is time for Responsible Government and simple laws.
Forthwith, all immigrants, have 30 days to either approach a house of law to swear allegiance to the Republic or remove themselves from our country. After 30 days, you will be considered a potential spy or terrorist and dealt with on an as come basis. All entitlement programs created by the former Government will be suspended within 30 days except in cases of severe health issues: Considerations for these will be made within that time period. All In-state commerce is now subject to a flat tax rate of 9%, there will be NO Income or entitlement taxes: This will include commerce between business's. Import Tariffs are being decided upon, please bear with us while we make the transition.
For the interim, the Coinage of the united States will be acceptable for transactions. Current yield will be against the Canadian Dollar for price setting. Until our Republic is able to establish a new currency this will have to suffice: again, please bear with us while we make the transition.
Federal Prisons within the borders of Texas will have a review of the inmates to determine those guilty of political crimes vs violent crimes. Those that have been incarcerated for non-violent, victim-less crimes will be released. They are free to return to their former homes. Those that wish to remain within Texas will have a full review of their cases to see if they are fit to return to society and those that are, will receive temporary accommodations to ease their transition. For all others, there will be a review of cases by a panel of judges and peers to determine new sentencing. The prisoner will have a chance to make their case again in front of said review. For
Capital punishment is back in full force, no appeals with execution to be delayed by no more than 48 hours.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is more where that came from yet more than I care to put down here.
Here is my issue: Government was the problem. Not The People. Granted that is an arguable point but as a whole, the people themselves were pretty harmless against the entire mess. Collectively, they were a nightmare unleashed. The powers that were elected represented that nightmare.
And here I sit reading something that on the surface sounds danged good but my suspicions run very deep now. You can color a turd whatever color you want, put some shine on it and fact remains, its a turd. If it weren't for the fact that there were a government encroaching upon my little slice of anarchy, I probably wouldn't have found need to come here. Sadly, I see the flip side of the coin too. Anarchy is a power vacuum and nature abhors a vacuum. So long as there are powerbrokers in the world looking to expand their power base, we will have to form groups to defend our ways of life. To not do so is to accept the inevitable bullet to he temple or the ovens.. Choice is yours.
You can pick it apart until the sun collapses and never come up with a satisfactory answer. Philosophers have been debating these points since Ancient Greece(documented) and probably longer than that. I know that there are better thinkers than I that are just as stumped on this dilemma. I am just a tinkerer looking to make lives simpler, not rule the world.
Showing posts with label My Fictions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Fictions. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
firelight musing
I am camping outside of Bradley Arkansas tonight. I had a good day meeting up with some good folk from a town called Stateline earlier today. 3 pounds of Jerky and my old brass for 50 rounds of .30-30. That Doe turned a profit for me today and she is still feeding me. Have to make sure I send a thank you to the real powers that be for her sacrifice. Information was plentiful and free. Felt good to be able to talk to someone again. Being on the road with the dead sure gets lonely.
Seems I am getting close to a world of shit. Shreveport is supposedly a trip back in time to Stalingrad during WWII. Fighting in the streets while people are still trying to get by within. Texarkana is supposedly not so bad off but still a place to avoid if at all possible. Not positive but it seems that the Texans have finally decided to use that clause in their original charter. They have seceded from the union (for what that name is worth any more) I may run into issues at the border. Pretty funny: Never thought I would be a border jumper. At least language won't be an issue.
We started hearing about trouble in West Virginia 10 months before I started on this little trip. Here we were in TEOTWAWKI and we were prepping again. This time, more hands made things a little bit easier. Our only limitations were how fast we could get the harvest done. We managed to can up most of the harvest from the spring planting, We still had quite a bit from the last harvest so no one was hurting. Having old mines around helped lots in setting up caches. None of the older ones are well documented and you stumble over them from time to time. There were three within running distance from the homestead. One, we turned into a shelter. I didn't know what to expect but having somewhere defensible to fall back to is never a bad thing. If things got really bad, bugging out was an option too even though the majority felt standing ground was more likely. We started keeping a shooter on the watch points which cut into help. Better to be safe than sorry. I had rigged up a simple bell system to the watchpoints back to the homestead. There were three bells and each on an adjacent wall to the point. We would know which direction to expect trouble. I hope that hey have not needed them in my absence.
What we were hearing about was FEMA troops going around and gathering up able bodied people and all that they could load into trucks of peoples supplies. They were leaving NOTHING behind except people over the age of 50, usually with no food or anything else.(conscription/slavery: whats the difference?) We had a couple of 'refugees' wander through. Just like a government to want to help by stealing. We had a meeting that night to discuss what our options were. No one wanted to run, we were settled in and growing. Much more than we were just before things flip-flopped. It was decided to send out two parties to see what the rest of the world was like and if we could find communications that still worked; something that we could return with. My dad and a cousin headed north to find friends he had up there and to find my sister if possible. I decided to head to Texas since the majority of my blog and forum friends were there. We had a group from another family that saddled up to probe what was going on in the east. All in all, three parties, totaling 8 people. I chose to go alone since I know what I am capable of and that its easier to hide one person than two when needed. There have been a couple of times where I wished I had brought another along. Even just for the company. Squirrels don't make very good talking companions, nor do birds.
History doesn't always repeat itself but it does rhyme. I forget where I heard that or who said it. Damn if they weren't right though. We aren't Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, or the Khmer Rouge. At least I hope this country hasn't sank that far down the list of crap. That pit in northern Arkansas may have been some evil mutant zombie biker hoard. Part of my mind prefers to think of it that way. People do strange shit when they get desperate. Maybe I shouldn't try to delude myself though. Keep an open mind since there is always the possibility of a government going that low. ALWAYS. It may take decades to reach it, but the chance is right there at the top. One thing that is also a given: The people doing what they have to, to get by. When things broke apart after the EMP's went off, people pulled together pretty quickly in my area. I can't say that is the case everywhere I have been the last couple of months, but there are pockets here and there. One given is the ethics of those pockets. They tend to be warm kind hearted people, but cautious. With reason of course. They are willing to get their hands dirty, enjoy a good laugh and the occasional 'cuttin up'. But they get up everyday and do what needs done and only ask for strength from on high, not 'help'. These people were also the ones that were hard off before everyone was made hard off. They knew how to do for themselves with little to no outside help. The suburbs on the other hand went sour quickly. I have been near some while avoiding major towns and what I have seen looks more like a mass exodus than struggling to get by. More than a few were nothing more than burned out homes. Some are just destroyed by what appears to be tornado weather. Not any real way to rebuild using the old methods now, nor is there a source for materials like we had with the chain stores.
Rather curious to see what I find on the border tomorrow.
Seems I am getting close to a world of shit. Shreveport is supposedly a trip back in time to Stalingrad during WWII. Fighting in the streets while people are still trying to get by within. Texarkana is supposedly not so bad off but still a place to avoid if at all possible. Not positive but it seems that the Texans have finally decided to use that clause in their original charter. They have seceded from the union (for what that name is worth any more) I may run into issues at the border. Pretty funny: Never thought I would be a border jumper. At least language won't be an issue.
We started hearing about trouble in West Virginia 10 months before I started on this little trip. Here we were in TEOTWAWKI and we were prepping again. This time, more hands made things a little bit easier. Our only limitations were how fast we could get the harvest done. We managed to can up most of the harvest from the spring planting, We still had quite a bit from the last harvest so no one was hurting. Having old mines around helped lots in setting up caches. None of the older ones are well documented and you stumble over them from time to time. There were three within running distance from the homestead. One, we turned into a shelter. I didn't know what to expect but having somewhere defensible to fall back to is never a bad thing. If things got really bad, bugging out was an option too even though the majority felt standing ground was more likely. We started keeping a shooter on the watch points which cut into help. Better to be safe than sorry. I had rigged up a simple bell system to the watchpoints back to the homestead. There were three bells and each on an adjacent wall to the point. We would know which direction to expect trouble. I hope that hey have not needed them in my absence.
What we were hearing about was FEMA troops going around and gathering up able bodied people and all that they could load into trucks of peoples supplies. They were leaving NOTHING behind except people over the age of 50, usually with no food or anything else.(conscription/slavery: whats the difference?) We had a couple of 'refugees' wander through. Just like a government to want to help by stealing. We had a meeting that night to discuss what our options were. No one wanted to run, we were settled in and growing. Much more than we were just before things flip-flopped. It was decided to send out two parties to see what the rest of the world was like and if we could find communications that still worked; something that we could return with. My dad and a cousin headed north to find friends he had up there and to find my sister if possible. I decided to head to Texas since the majority of my blog and forum friends were there. We had a group from another family that saddled up to probe what was going on in the east. All in all, three parties, totaling 8 people. I chose to go alone since I know what I am capable of and that its easier to hide one person than two when needed. There have been a couple of times where I wished I had brought another along. Even just for the company. Squirrels don't make very good talking companions, nor do birds.
History doesn't always repeat itself but it does rhyme. I forget where I heard that or who said it. Damn if they weren't right though. We aren't Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, or the Khmer Rouge. At least I hope this country hasn't sank that far down the list of crap. That pit in northern Arkansas may have been some evil mutant zombie biker hoard. Part of my mind prefers to think of it that way. People do strange shit when they get desperate. Maybe I shouldn't try to delude myself though. Keep an open mind since there is always the possibility of a government going that low. ALWAYS. It may take decades to reach it, but the chance is right there at the top. One thing that is also a given: The people doing what they have to, to get by. When things broke apart after the EMP's went off, people pulled together pretty quickly in my area. I can't say that is the case everywhere I have been the last couple of months, but there are pockets here and there. One given is the ethics of those pockets. They tend to be warm kind hearted people, but cautious. With reason of course. They are willing to get their hands dirty, enjoy a good laugh and the occasional 'cuttin up'. But they get up everyday and do what needs done and only ask for strength from on high, not 'help'. These people were also the ones that were hard off before everyone was made hard off. They knew how to do for themselves with little to no outside help. The suburbs on the other hand went sour quickly. I have been near some while avoiding major towns and what I have seen looks more like a mass exodus than struggling to get by. More than a few were nothing more than burned out homes. Some are just destroyed by what appears to be tornado weather. Not any real way to rebuild using the old methods now, nor is there a source for materials like we had with the chain stores.
Rather curious to see what I find on the border tomorrow.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Profit where you find it.
This doesn't look fresh. I see flowers growing around the dead.
Even so, caution dictates I ease into this. I am no hero, I don't even play one in my own mind. I creep back down my side of the hill to the trike. Stashing it is easy enough for now. I figure if shit gets strange, it will be much easier to hightail it back to the trike for reinforcement. Even so, the PSL is going with. The Winchester is fine but I want the ability to reload quickly if needed.
I creep back up the hill to survey a bit more. No real way around to the other side without taking days to do it. This was a pretty good spot to set up whatever went down here. Only one thing to do.
Walk in like I belong right there by God's decree.
Oh to be home by the fire with Granbehbie prattling on about whatever Mama is teaching her this week. Much preferable to Intel gathering in an unknown AO.
Strolling up to the scene with a confidence I don't feel inside, I can see that whatever happened, took place sometimeago. The corpses don't stink. They look rather dry actually. Looks to be about 4 or 5 hundred rounds of spent brass around them. The Hummer looks like blackened swiss cheese.
No hardware. No M4's, No mags, no support gear like canteens. Nothing. They have been stripped of everything but the clothes they were wearing. The hummer is empty too.
I am guessing that who ever ambushed them took it all but burnt the hummer since it was shot to shit.
National Guard.
Well, at least they died in this country and not another third world country halfway around the world like so many of ours were/are doing. I still wonder whats going on now that things have flipped to the other side of the looking glass. Did O abandon them there? Were they pulled out to 'help' against the rising resistance before he blew it all up? More unanswered questions. Who knows when or even if we will find out.
Time to get the trike and keep on, keeping on. At this rate, I will be on the road for 5 months before I reach my destination. Still, gonna have to keep my eyes wide open. Seeing lots more signs of trouble more frequently. May even have to figure out a different route with fewer towns on the way. That may be hard to do since I am getting closer to the Gulf.
We started seeing Aircraft in the stratosphere about two years after the lights went out. Heck, most of us probably wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for the little ones. They spotted the contrails and wanted to know what made those 'funny clouds'. No real way of knowing what or who they belong to but the likelihood of them being commercial is pretty slim. Did they bust out the old spy planes? Are they moving troops and gear?
Dammit, TOO many damned questions. NO answers. Not knowing drives me flat nuts. Not having a way of finding out pushes me a little further to complete hopelessness. I won't quit though. Can't. Too much at stake.
We had one 'visitor' to our little compound not long after the planes were spotted again. This guy came riding up on a horse and walked right up to the doors like he was on a mission. I saw the whole thing from the beehives. My Daughter answered as she was on teaching duty that day. Not even three seconds later we all heard the gunshot. Seems this guy said he was from the government as a census worker. My kid didn't need to hear anymore. She rammed her .45 right into his throat and squeezed the trigger before the guy could react. I asked her what made her do it.
“ Fuckers think they can just ruin the world then want to know how many of us lived through it? Fuck the rat bastards! Hell, He was probably a scout for a raiding party anyway.” she spat back. “Besides, I am not going to let anyone take what we have put together here just because some dumbshit elsewhere can't get off a couch.”
I raised her right.(proud papa moment.)
And we got a horse for the cost of one .45ACP round. You count your profit wherever you can find it. My dad took the mess away, but I doubt he buried the guy. Probably fed the hogs.
Asking around, this guy seemed to come out of nowhere. Ours was the first stop. Since we are on the western side of town and the first place you really bump into, I figured he was a scout. Now, seeing the hummer, I am sure of it. I knew the military vehicles would be alright with EMP's even if fuel would be an issue. If this guy had been from whatever is left of the Government, he wouldn't have been on horse.
We started a watch at that point. Having the mountains around there is a huge plus. Great vantage points for lookouts without giving away position. You really have to be in shape though. Getting around in the hills is not for the timid or weak. Most people, in vehicles or not, won't cut through the hills when the roads are relatively clear. Horses make it easier, ATV' made it real easy before the computers fried. Now, unless we are hunting, we stick to the roads. I am guilty of it too. I have stuck to the side roads this whole trip. Who knows how many times I have been spotted. I am just lucky so far that I haven't been held up.
No loss is a profit these days.
Even so, caution dictates I ease into this. I am no hero, I don't even play one in my own mind. I creep back down my side of the hill to the trike. Stashing it is easy enough for now. I figure if shit gets strange, it will be much easier to hightail it back to the trike for reinforcement. Even so, the PSL is going with. The Winchester is fine but I want the ability to reload quickly if needed.
I creep back up the hill to survey a bit more. No real way around to the other side without taking days to do it. This was a pretty good spot to set up whatever went down here. Only one thing to do.
Walk in like I belong right there by God's decree.
Oh to be home by the fire with Granbehbie prattling on about whatever Mama is teaching her this week. Much preferable to Intel gathering in an unknown AO.
Strolling up to the scene with a confidence I don't feel inside, I can see that whatever happened, took place sometimeago. The corpses don't stink. They look rather dry actually. Looks to be about 4 or 5 hundred rounds of spent brass around them. The Hummer looks like blackened swiss cheese.
No hardware. No M4's, No mags, no support gear like canteens. Nothing. They have been stripped of everything but the clothes they were wearing. The hummer is empty too.
I am guessing that who ever ambushed them took it all but burnt the hummer since it was shot to shit.
National Guard.
Well, at least they died in this country and not another third world country halfway around the world like so many of ours were/are doing. I still wonder whats going on now that things have flipped to the other side of the looking glass. Did O abandon them there? Were they pulled out to 'help' against the rising resistance before he blew it all up? More unanswered questions. Who knows when or even if we will find out.
Time to get the trike and keep on, keeping on. At this rate, I will be on the road for 5 months before I reach my destination. Still, gonna have to keep my eyes wide open. Seeing lots more signs of trouble more frequently. May even have to figure out a different route with fewer towns on the way. That may be hard to do since I am getting closer to the Gulf.
We started seeing Aircraft in the stratosphere about two years after the lights went out. Heck, most of us probably wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for the little ones. They spotted the contrails and wanted to know what made those 'funny clouds'. No real way of knowing what or who they belong to but the likelihood of them being commercial is pretty slim. Did they bust out the old spy planes? Are they moving troops and gear?
Dammit, TOO many damned questions. NO answers. Not knowing drives me flat nuts. Not having a way of finding out pushes me a little further to complete hopelessness. I won't quit though. Can't. Too much at stake.
We had one 'visitor' to our little compound not long after the planes were spotted again. This guy came riding up on a horse and walked right up to the doors like he was on a mission. I saw the whole thing from the beehives. My Daughter answered as she was on teaching duty that day. Not even three seconds later we all heard the gunshot. Seems this guy said he was from the government as a census worker. My kid didn't need to hear anymore. She rammed her .45 right into his throat and squeezed the trigger before the guy could react. I asked her what made her do it.
“ Fuckers think they can just ruin the world then want to know how many of us lived through it? Fuck the rat bastards! Hell, He was probably a scout for a raiding party anyway.” she spat back. “Besides, I am not going to let anyone take what we have put together here just because some dumbshit elsewhere can't get off a couch.”
I raised her right.(proud papa moment.)
And we got a horse for the cost of one .45ACP round. You count your profit wherever you can find it. My dad took the mess away, but I doubt he buried the guy. Probably fed the hogs.
Asking around, this guy seemed to come out of nowhere. Ours was the first stop. Since we are on the western side of town and the first place you really bump into, I figured he was a scout. Now, seeing the hummer, I am sure of it. I knew the military vehicles would be alright with EMP's even if fuel would be an issue. If this guy had been from whatever is left of the Government, he wouldn't have been on horse.
We started a watch at that point. Having the mountains around there is a huge plus. Great vantage points for lookouts without giving away position. You really have to be in shape though. Getting around in the hills is not for the timid or weak. Most people, in vehicles or not, won't cut through the hills when the roads are relatively clear. Horses make it easier, ATV' made it real easy before the computers fried. Now, unless we are hunting, we stick to the roads. I am guilty of it too. I have stuck to the side roads this whole trip. Who knows how many times I have been spotted. I am just lucky so far that I haven't been held up.
No loss is a profit these days.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
You take what you can get.
You take what you can get.
Was hoping that I would find a town. Well, people anyway. I found the town. And a pit that wasn't quite covered up. Don't want to go into details but what I saw reminded me of pics from my old history books. I think the smell was the worst part of it. I hadn't smelled anything like that since I was in Kuwait near the highway of death. Twice is more than enough in one lifetime.
I found some rounds for the winchester in an old workshed back out of the way. No food to be found anywhere. It looks like whomever dug the pit also raided the town for anything and everything edible. Looking at it any other way leaves too many questions unanswered. I have a lot of those these days. More questions than answers. Oh to have the news resources of three years ago. So much of this could be avoided if we had some reliable way of getting in touch with others.
The biggest unanswered question now is; Who did it? Raiders or FEMA? I may never know.
Venison gets old after awhile. You take what you can get though. The other option is using another round to get something different. I can't be greedy, I have food and rounds don't grow on trees. If I had brought the .22 I could get a rabbit or squirrel: a .30-30 will turn one of those inside out. If I were home, I could get more by reloading. Being on the road; not an option. 260 miles to go to the Texas border, gotta be frugal. Went ahead and pulled the PSL out today and reassembled it. I may not need it but the land is getting flatter and that last town has me nervous. I would rather be able to scope out a situation from a distance and alleviate issues if need be than wait until said issues are within 200 yards.
After the first year, things had really settled down to a working system. There were rough spots. People getting a little cabin fever going, loneliness, and whole lots of depression in normally upbeat people. Had one suicide, well, we think it was a suicide. No real hunger considering the lack of variety. Beans, chicken, potatoes, chicken, beans, occasional bacon or ham, beans, eggs, beans, side of beef that stretched really thin, beans, corn, beans. You get the idea. Did I mention beans? There were times when the inventor in me really wanted to come up with a way to capture the gases we were emitting. God, I could have ran a generator on that.
We had a Doc, that was one of my real concerns. No real medicine to speak of. The hospital had been looted pretty quickly. The pill heads took everything that wasn't solidly locked up in a safe. What we had is antibiotics for cattle and horses, some Over the Counter painkillers and a whole lot of 'Shine. The alcohol was extremely important since we had no other way of disinfecting other than boiling. Hard to do that with some of the stuff the Vet, I mean Doc, used.
When things stopped working there were very few people in the little town near us. Many probably stayed put when they realized that the game was up. Safer that way. Don't know if they are doing well or not. Things have changed a lot and there is a serious lack of communication. Maybe this little trip will pan out and things can start moving forward soon.
Burned out Hummer in the ditch.
I am on a hill overlooking the scene. Looks like an ambush site. I can see two corpses near the hummer, lots of brass and nothing else. Don't know if I want to really know but I may find some answers too.
((this thing is unpredictable right now. It is literally writing itself.))
Was hoping that I would find a town. Well, people anyway. I found the town. And a pit that wasn't quite covered up. Don't want to go into details but what I saw reminded me of pics from my old history books. I think the smell was the worst part of it. I hadn't smelled anything like that since I was in Kuwait near the highway of death. Twice is more than enough in one lifetime.
I found some rounds for the winchester in an old workshed back out of the way. No food to be found anywhere. It looks like whomever dug the pit also raided the town for anything and everything edible. Looking at it any other way leaves too many questions unanswered. I have a lot of those these days. More questions than answers. Oh to have the news resources of three years ago. So much of this could be avoided if we had some reliable way of getting in touch with others.
The biggest unanswered question now is; Who did it? Raiders or FEMA? I may never know.
Venison gets old after awhile. You take what you can get though. The other option is using another round to get something different. I can't be greedy, I have food and rounds don't grow on trees. If I had brought the .22 I could get a rabbit or squirrel: a .30-30 will turn one of those inside out. If I were home, I could get more by reloading. Being on the road; not an option. 260 miles to go to the Texas border, gotta be frugal. Went ahead and pulled the PSL out today and reassembled it. I may not need it but the land is getting flatter and that last town has me nervous. I would rather be able to scope out a situation from a distance and alleviate issues if need be than wait until said issues are within 200 yards.
After the first year, things had really settled down to a working system. There were rough spots. People getting a little cabin fever going, loneliness, and whole lots of depression in normally upbeat people. Had one suicide, well, we think it was a suicide. No real hunger considering the lack of variety. Beans, chicken, potatoes, chicken, beans, occasional bacon or ham, beans, eggs, beans, side of beef that stretched really thin, beans, corn, beans. You get the idea. Did I mention beans? There were times when the inventor in me really wanted to come up with a way to capture the gases we were emitting. God, I could have ran a generator on that.
We had a Doc, that was one of my real concerns. No real medicine to speak of. The hospital had been looted pretty quickly. The pill heads took everything that wasn't solidly locked up in a safe. What we had is antibiotics for cattle and horses, some Over the Counter painkillers and a whole lot of 'Shine. The alcohol was extremely important since we had no other way of disinfecting other than boiling. Hard to do that with some of the stuff the Vet, I mean Doc, used.
When things stopped working there were very few people in the little town near us. Many probably stayed put when they realized that the game was up. Safer that way. Don't know if they are doing well or not. Things have changed a lot and there is a serious lack of communication. Maybe this little trip will pan out and things can start moving forward soon.
Burned out Hummer in the ditch.
I am on a hill overlooking the scene. Looks like an ambush site. I can see two corpses near the hummer, lots of brass and nothing else. Don't know if I want to really know but I may find some answers too.
((this thing is unpredictable right now. It is literally writing itself.))
On the Hoof
((Alright, ya all win. All 10 of ya. LOL Heres the next installment.))
\
Walking is easy. At least for me. Even when I was in the Corps, I could out walk anyone. Running, well, not so much but walking, even under load (which I am not) was a breeze. One trick to know, comfortable socks and boots are essential.
When the truck broke in Memphis, I found some retirees tricycle. This has made moving the gear I refuse to leave behind so much easier. I am not riding it; just load it up and lean into it; Ho Chi Mihn trail style. Getting 150 pounds worth of gear moving is easy with 22” tires. So much easier than trying to lug it around on my back. It also makes getting down hills a breeze: literally. Fall in the south can be brutal. Any breeze you can get is welcome relief. The one downside is size:It won't hide easily. I only hope I don't run into any 'Postman' scenarios. So far, so good.
Six months after 'The Shit Hit The Fan', life in my little pocket of the world was actually reasonable. Most of the area were ready for it without ever realizing it. Most people in the Appalachians never really did get much past the Great Depression. No fault of their own really, just bad economics and greedy power brokers that were able to talk fast. No property owner in the southern areas held mineral rights to the ground they owned. It was worked out that way back in the 1800's at the start of the coal boom by lawyers that saw opportunities. Due to this, most people would live on land worth Millions and only be able to claim the the top 5' of topsoil and rock which was worthless. They never did get payback. But they never did quit either. That was the saving grace for awhile. Gardens in every yard, chickens and hogs scattered profusely, even wildlife afoot. Lacking money wasn't so hard, most people never had a lot to start and barter had never really gone away. Knowing how to make something rev with spit and paperclips became a point of pride. Knowing how to plant when things didn't rev only slowed us down; it didn't stop us.
My little family had settled in fairly well. Its nice to not have to worry about the kids now that the trains aren't running. No coal leaving, bleeding KY dry of life. No trains to worry about running over curious little kids. There is only one steam engine in the area and I have no idea how hard it would be for someone to get to a mainline. Or if they would even be able to convert it back to using coal instead of propane. No worries on that yet.
The kids were a little miffed when I started the school up. They thought they were done with that forever. Ha! Fat chance of that around me. No way am I going to let the little ingrates inherit the world with a crappy leftist education rotting in the brain. No way. They settled into it pretty quickly when they realized that school was only 3 hours a day. One hour each subject for the younger kids, the whole three hours on specific subjects for the older kids. Plus the older kids helped 'teach' the younger ones, continuing their education through reinforcement. They have to help out around the stead but we make it as much fun as possible. No video games to stagnate the mind or body and the change in the way the kids were developing was staggering, even in just six months. Maybe it was all the real food; Not a mish-mash of processed crap and a sedentary existence.
My secondary role was as the 'mekanik'. I didn't just fix things, sometimes I had to come up with the whole 'fix'. In one case it was making a waterwheel out of old PVC gasline to get water to some gardens. No power to use other than the water itself. Damn thing worked so well, we had to divert half of the out put into a ditch to run it back to the river. Teaching the older kids about gravity and the difference between gas pressures VS hydraulic pressures was worth the headaches the questions gave me. A lot of the adults were listening pretty intently too, I guess they figured out they needed to learn something new too.
Bagged a doe today, right in the neck at the base of the skull. She fell like a stone. Means I am going to be taking a few days here locally to process as much meat as I can. I hate to waste any of it but there is only so much I can take with. The local feral dogs will find it I am sure. Couldn't find any hickory but I did find what smells like mesquite when burning. Should do well enough to make a bunch of jerky with. I have to say though, backstrap is so much better than ANY beef I have ever had. Thats going in my belly while I wait for the rest to process. Mmmm, mmm,mmm. Good stuff. A few Dandelion leaves fried up with what little fat I could find on her (around the heart which chops up just fine) and I have one hell of a meal. If there are are any zombies within 5 miles of me, I am going to be having company, albeit unwelcome company.
Hoping to find some .30-30 rounds in the next town. I haven't seen any traffic perse, but I have seen fields harvested. Someone around here is up on things. Maybe they will be up to some trading.
\
Walking is easy. At least for me. Even when I was in the Corps, I could out walk anyone. Running, well, not so much but walking, even under load (which I am not) was a breeze. One trick to know, comfortable socks and boots are essential.
When the truck broke in Memphis, I found some retirees tricycle. This has made moving the gear I refuse to leave behind so much easier. I am not riding it; just load it up and lean into it; Ho Chi Mihn trail style. Getting 150 pounds worth of gear moving is easy with 22” tires. So much easier than trying to lug it around on my back. It also makes getting down hills a breeze: literally. Fall in the south can be brutal. Any breeze you can get is welcome relief. The one downside is size:It won't hide easily. I only hope I don't run into any 'Postman' scenarios. So far, so good.
Six months after 'The Shit Hit The Fan', life in my little pocket of the world was actually reasonable. Most of the area were ready for it without ever realizing it. Most people in the Appalachians never really did get much past the Great Depression. No fault of their own really, just bad economics and greedy power brokers that were able to talk fast. No property owner in the southern areas held mineral rights to the ground they owned. It was worked out that way back in the 1800's at the start of the coal boom by lawyers that saw opportunities. Due to this, most people would live on land worth Millions and only be able to claim the the top 5' of topsoil and rock which was worthless. They never did get payback. But they never did quit either. That was the saving grace for awhile. Gardens in every yard, chickens and hogs scattered profusely, even wildlife afoot. Lacking money wasn't so hard, most people never had a lot to start and barter had never really gone away. Knowing how to make something rev with spit and paperclips became a point of pride. Knowing how to plant when things didn't rev only slowed us down; it didn't stop us.
My little family had settled in fairly well. Its nice to not have to worry about the kids now that the trains aren't running. No coal leaving, bleeding KY dry of life. No trains to worry about running over curious little kids. There is only one steam engine in the area and I have no idea how hard it would be for someone to get to a mainline. Or if they would even be able to convert it back to using coal instead of propane. No worries on that yet.
The kids were a little miffed when I started the school up. They thought they were done with that forever. Ha! Fat chance of that around me. No way am I going to let the little ingrates inherit the world with a crappy leftist education rotting in the brain. No way. They settled into it pretty quickly when they realized that school was only 3 hours a day. One hour each subject for the younger kids, the whole three hours on specific subjects for the older kids. Plus the older kids helped 'teach' the younger ones, continuing their education through reinforcement. They have to help out around the stead but we make it as much fun as possible. No video games to stagnate the mind or body and the change in the way the kids were developing was staggering, even in just six months. Maybe it was all the real food; Not a mish-mash of processed crap and a sedentary existence.
My secondary role was as the 'mekanik'. I didn't just fix things, sometimes I had to come up with the whole 'fix'. In one case it was making a waterwheel out of old PVC gasline to get water to some gardens. No power to use other than the water itself. Damn thing worked so well, we had to divert half of the out put into a ditch to run it back to the river. Teaching the older kids about gravity and the difference between gas pressures VS hydraulic pressures was worth the headaches the questions gave me. A lot of the adults were listening pretty intently too, I guess they figured out they needed to learn something new too.
Bagged a doe today, right in the neck at the base of the skull. She fell like a stone. Means I am going to be taking a few days here locally to process as much meat as I can. I hate to waste any of it but there is only so much I can take with. The local feral dogs will find it I am sure. Couldn't find any hickory but I did find what smells like mesquite when burning. Should do well enough to make a bunch of jerky with. I have to say though, backstrap is so much better than ANY beef I have ever had. Thats going in my belly while I wait for the rest to process. Mmmm, mmm,mmm. Good stuff. A few Dandelion leaves fried up with what little fat I could find on her (around the heart which chops up just fine) and I have one hell of a meal. If there are are any zombies within 5 miles of me, I am going to be having company, albeit unwelcome company.
Hoping to find some .30-30 rounds in the next town. I haven't seen any traffic perse, but I have seen fields harvested. Someone around here is up on things. Maybe they will be up to some trading.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Feedback please.
It's been three years since they burned the sky.
The truck died about the time I hit what was left of Memphis. Been on foot since. Still about 300 miles to go to get to east Texas where I am hoping to meet up with some friends from long ago. I hope they are still there.
I guess I should start at the beginning, or should I say the end: it gets confusing sometimes since I am still upright and breathing when I should be coyote droppings like the rest.
The year is 2012, I had just turned 43 and things were getting pretty rough in the world. We were involved in Five international “Kinetic Engagements” and things at home weren't very pretty either. The upper midwest was essentially a free fire zone though no one really knew 'who' was on what side. The Unions went terminal before things really went crazy so there was no way to be certain if it was internal or just economic strife reaching critical mass.
The Patriot movement was getting more aggressive while not actually making any show of real force other than showing up armed at TEA party events. No one really expected things to go the way they did but wanted the Powers that Be to know, with certainty, that they were ready.
Only no one was ready for what came next.
Obammy was sitting at 23% approval rating and falling 3 months before the elections. When my birthday rolled around in September, it was sitting right around 19% or so. But the number is really irrelevant now. It was low enough that the Paul/Palin ticket was pretty much a shoe-in. Obama was losing his teeth even after conniving Trump to switch sides. Things were getting uglier by the day . The dollar had to be tracked on a 24 hour basis since it was no longer the Reserve currency. Gold was holding steady at $1985/oz. No one wanted it to cross the $2000/oz cut-off that would call for confiscation. Silver was trading at 8:1 with gold. Holding a roll of silver dollars made you the mayor of whatever town you were in. Jobs? If you could find anything that wasn't directly working for the Government, you were lucky. We hadn't gone into hyper inflation since the Government was in charge of the banks now and there was NO actual cash trading hands any longer. You would get a Debit Card from an employer that held your 'money'. You had thirty days to spend it then they started deducting 'service charges'. It wasn't pretty.
Being involved in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Iran and Israel, we had the Majority of our troops overseas. The ones here were either on medical leave, preparing to discharge, or being held in custody for 'war crimes'. The only ones that didn't fall into that list were Obamas 'chosen few' that were loyal to him completely. Only we didn't know it then. When they cut the trunklines of the net by using a MOAB on Memphis, we thought that the Chinese had struck. We were still that naive.(or was it mass denial? )
Thank God for geeks though. I don't know what group was able to do it but they rerouted all traffic through the Birmingham backbone. It only held for a few weeks but it was enough to get information through. While it took three days to do, the damage was done. People were dying en mass. Transportation was down due to lack of information. No one was able to get food or fuel due to being forced into a cashless society.(its for the security of the nation, think of the children! I hope whomever managed to put a bullet in that bitches head had an orgasm while watching the gore explode all over Harry Reid. Too bad they missed him though.)
Having information back up opened up the Pandora's box that O really wanted opened at first. The Patriots, Tea party, Militia's, and others managed to get their dope together for once. And that was what brought about burning the sky. O (at least I believe it was him) gave the order to blow 5 EMP's over fly-over country.
Everything I have learned since then is second and third hand information. If it isn't pre-1970's Tech, its toast. I managed to get my truck running by using an old Weber-Carter Carburetor and an old points distributor from a junk yard wreck. It cost me $3silver. The FI fuel pump still worked but I had to rig up a relief valve to reduce the pressure to keep from blowing the bowl off the carb. She ran pretty damned good on a mixture of Moonshine and kerosene. Smoked a little but she always did. Considering she had 250K when all of this started, I am just glad she lasted as long as she did.
We weren't too bad off at first. We had the gardens, I had already 'gone green' with solar power. For some reason, I didn't lose all of my panels. Maybe it was the mountain between me and the Cincinnati burst; I can't say for sure though. My kid showed up 3 months later with her little family in tow. Funny to see the Granbehbie riding a bike but she held her own the whole way they tell me. Things went down hill fast in Cincinnati. Riots were already breaking out due to the non-existent food supply within the city. That was when my daughter decided it was time to split. Good thing she did too. I was prepared to go get her with little hope of being able to pull it off. Not sure what happened to my sisters. One was in Cincinnati but no one knows where she is now. The other was in Colorado and winter was fast approaching. I doubt either one made it with how long it has been.
I need to find more .30-30 rounds. Holding off rebuilding the PSL until I am in country where I will need the reach.
(((This is what happens when I eat chili before going to bed. Maybe premonitory or just bad vibes and good food with too much spice. dunno))))
The truck died about the time I hit what was left of Memphis. Been on foot since. Still about 300 miles to go to get to east Texas where I am hoping to meet up with some friends from long ago. I hope they are still there.
I guess I should start at the beginning, or should I say the end: it gets confusing sometimes since I am still upright and breathing when I should be coyote droppings like the rest.
The year is 2012, I had just turned 43 and things were getting pretty rough in the world. We were involved in Five international “Kinetic Engagements” and things at home weren't very pretty either. The upper midwest was essentially a free fire zone though no one really knew 'who' was on what side. The Unions went terminal before things really went crazy so there was no way to be certain if it was internal or just economic strife reaching critical mass.
The Patriot movement was getting more aggressive while not actually making any show of real force other than showing up armed at TEA party events. No one really expected things to go the way they did but wanted the Powers that Be to know, with certainty, that they were ready.
Only no one was ready for what came next.
Obammy was sitting at 23% approval rating and falling 3 months before the elections. When my birthday rolled around in September, it was sitting right around 19% or so. But the number is really irrelevant now. It was low enough that the Paul/Palin ticket was pretty much a shoe-in. Obama was losing his teeth even after conniving Trump to switch sides. Things were getting uglier by the day . The dollar had to be tracked on a 24 hour basis since it was no longer the Reserve currency. Gold was holding steady at $1985/oz. No one wanted it to cross the $2000/oz cut-off that would call for confiscation. Silver was trading at 8:1 with gold. Holding a roll of silver dollars made you the mayor of whatever town you were in. Jobs? If you could find anything that wasn't directly working for the Government, you were lucky. We hadn't gone into hyper inflation since the Government was in charge of the banks now and there was NO actual cash trading hands any longer. You would get a Debit Card from an employer that held your 'money'. You had thirty days to spend it then they started deducting 'service charges'. It wasn't pretty.
Being involved in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Iran and Israel, we had the Majority of our troops overseas. The ones here were either on medical leave, preparing to discharge, or being held in custody for 'war crimes'. The only ones that didn't fall into that list were Obamas 'chosen few' that were loyal to him completely. Only we didn't know it then. When they cut the trunklines of the net by using a MOAB on Memphis, we thought that the Chinese had struck. We were still that naive.(or was it mass denial? )
Thank God for geeks though. I don't know what group was able to do it but they rerouted all traffic through the Birmingham backbone. It only held for a few weeks but it was enough to get information through. While it took three days to do, the damage was done. People were dying en mass. Transportation was down due to lack of information. No one was able to get food or fuel due to being forced into a cashless society.(its for the security of the nation, think of the children! I hope whomever managed to put a bullet in that bitches head had an orgasm while watching the gore explode all over Harry Reid. Too bad they missed him though.)
Having information back up opened up the Pandora's box that O really wanted opened at first. The Patriots, Tea party, Militia's, and others managed to get their dope together for once. And that was what brought about burning the sky. O (at least I believe it was him) gave the order to blow 5 EMP's over fly-over country.
Everything I have learned since then is second and third hand information. If it isn't pre-1970's Tech, its toast. I managed to get my truck running by using an old Weber-Carter Carburetor and an old points distributor from a junk yard wreck. It cost me $3silver. The FI fuel pump still worked but I had to rig up a relief valve to reduce the pressure to keep from blowing the bowl off the carb. She ran pretty damned good on a mixture of Moonshine and kerosene. Smoked a little but she always did. Considering she had 250K when all of this started, I am just glad she lasted as long as she did.
We weren't too bad off at first. We had the gardens, I had already 'gone green' with solar power. For some reason, I didn't lose all of my panels. Maybe it was the mountain between me and the Cincinnati burst; I can't say for sure though. My kid showed up 3 months later with her little family in tow. Funny to see the Granbehbie riding a bike but she held her own the whole way they tell me. Things went down hill fast in Cincinnati. Riots were already breaking out due to the non-existent food supply within the city. That was when my daughter decided it was time to split. Good thing she did too. I was prepared to go get her with little hope of being able to pull it off. Not sure what happened to my sisters. One was in Cincinnati but no one knows where she is now. The other was in Colorado and winter was fast approaching. I doubt either one made it with how long it has been.
I need to find more .30-30 rounds. Holding off rebuilding the PSL until I am in country where I will need the reach.
(((This is what happens when I eat chili before going to bed. Maybe premonitory or just bad vibes and good food with too much spice. dunno))))
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