by
M.J.W.
Survival Blog

It all feels
so strange – I live, eat, and breathe “prepping.”
Sometimes I look in the mirror and ask “who are you?!”
In trying to remember when the change in me began, it is traceable
back to the financial collapse of 2008. Even before then, I had
become very concerned about privacy – or the lack thereof.
In my professional life, I am a security and privacy consultant,
so I know a lot about how little security and privacy exists in
our networked world. I understand in minute detail how online access
to the most sensitive and confidential information has led to record
breaking hacking incidents and identity theft. The massive amounts
of information about each individual that has been compiled into
databases by various entities are the target of extremely organized
“information criminals” and readily available to the U.S.
government. Because of my job, I am often one of the first to hear
about a serious hacking event and be a part of the incident response
team that performs a root cause analysis – how “they”
(the criminals) did it. In most cases, there was nothing sophisticated
about it – human error allowed the vulnerability, subsequently
exploited by criminals. I can be found shaking my head over and
over about the stupidity of it all at any given moment during a
work week. What I know to be true, from real life experience and
my professional career – there is truly no such thing as privacy
and security in the online world. As a career technologist, I see
that technology has created more problems for us than good done
for us – think: Tower of Babel.

The anxiety
about the lack of privacy and security in the online world morphed
into anxiety about what was happening in the physical world. I watched
with dismay as our retirement plans started to devalue at a frightening
pace, along with the value of our property. I became increasingly
anxious about our ability to survive comfortably – in the manner
to which we were accustomed. As the economy stumbled into a numb,
sickening, downward spiral and we watched most of our wealth seemingly
disappear overnight, I turned with a genuine concern towards my
husband who seemed to act as if nothing really was affecting him
– not in the way it was affecting me. I thought that maybe
I was over reacting to the horror of what was unfolding. Ah, but
no, he was internalizing the stress – laughing outwardly. The
stroke that debilitated a large part of his brain and many physical
capabilities told the true story. I remember thinking, “game
over man”. We were more fortunate than many. My friend’s
husband also had a stroke a few months later, but he died instantly.
IÂ’m not sure which is worse considering what is to come, but
I am grateful that I still have my husband with me. It was six months
before he could shower himself by himself and remember to take his
pills. After 2 years of speech and communication therapy, a year
of physical therapy, and continued home exercises, he is almost
himself again. He still cannot drive any unfamiliar route or for
more than about 15-20 minutes at a time. His memory is terrible,
his speech slurred when tired, and he is slow in responding sometimes,
can become confused, and he must rest more than the average person
must. I manage our lives with patience and am now the sole breadwinner
– I am so thankful to God that I have the ability to earn a
living. I love this guy and I am grateful that God spared him –
if just for my selfish reasons. His laugh is back, his smile is
huge, and he can make fun of himself and remains the great optimist.
He is active in the volunteer community and he is truly an amazing
person – a survivor.

There are many
true tales such as ours. That is not the point. The point is, the
tragedy of what has happened in America has affected us all and
in unexpected ways. There is not an untouched person among us. I
realized that I must prepare for what is coming, and I must do most
of the preparations relying on my own strength. I am cognizant of
the fact that SCHHTF (could have hit the fan) while we were in the
middle of the initial health crisis – we were graciously granted
more time to prepare. I am hoping, really, that my story will embolden
and strengthen those among us who are feeling alone in preparations
or who have large burdens to carry. It can be done. We cannot give
up. We must not curl up into a ball and become frozen with anxiety,
stressed, heartbroken, and worried. We must march on.

Preparing to
get out of Suburbia, and convincing your family that it is the right
thing to do, while accommodating a disabled person, is challenging.
It has taken a good year or two of convincing our six grown children
and their spouses that prepping is critical. This past Christmas,
they all received Go Bags replete with hand crank/solar NOAA weather
radios, MREs, emergency water pouches, blankets, snacks, first aid
kits, flashlights, candles, water proof matches, etc. The light
bulb came on for my husband as we packed our Go Bags from boxes
of supplies. Our grown children thought I was crazy and over-reacting
to their dadÂ’s stroke, but I have successfully convinced them
that the issues in the world are much bigger than our personal struggles
and we should figure out how, together, to survive the coming mayhem.
I would say that 90% of my family and extended family are on board
now. (Make a mental note: it has taken 2-3 years to get them on
board). I have successfully convinced my elderly parents to stock
up on food and water supplies, and keep the gas tank full. So, everyone
is emotionally onboard – what next? Action. Action. Action.

The last six
months I have devoted every spare moment to finding a piece of property
to relocate to – one that would accommodate the 16 of us (including
parents, children, spouses, grandchildren). I have no need to include
my siblings because they have prepped for their families independently
with properties in Washington and Idaho. Our home is in Nevada by
virtue of necessity. Now, imagine a lone woman – born and bred
in Suburbia; trying by herself to find property with a well, septic,
and water source; far enough out of town to be somewhat difficult
to reach, but close enough to be near a major medical facility;
not in the “line of drift” from the “golden hordes”
of California; not too difficult to access, but not easy either,
and “handicap accessible”. Doesn’t this sound so
overwhelming? It is. I am not deterred and I found a spot that meets
our requirements. To some preppers, finding a spot 20-30 minutes
outside of town is not good enough. To some, cocooning in place
is the only option. For us, we found a compromise that will at least
provide us with the opportunity to develop a sustainable lifestyle
that is not dependent on the modern necessities (or should we say
‘niceties’).

In our case,
I had to find a piece of property that was in fairly good condition
because my husband is disabled and I work full time (from home).
I finally found a little piece of sustainability in a well-developed
acre with a good sized home, fenced, with a deep and highly functioning
well, solar panels for water heat, propane, and septic. I realize
this well maintained property will need more than me to manage it,
but IÂ’ve called in the troops (my family and friends) and with
the aid of some hired help, I believe we can accomplish what we
must. My first concern was to get out of town. My second concern
was to provide for off the grid living if necessary (solar, generator,
propane). I have been stocking up on food and water for a year,
and started a large garden inside our suburban home from heirloom
seeds that are now soaking up the sun in portable containers in
the backyard – just waiting to be transplanted into their new
home. The property has several out buildings, one of which will
be converted to a chicken coop with very little effort, one will
be used for tools, and the spare garage will house the generator
and supplies. Fortunately, our good friends own a tractor with all
the attachments and live close by. Moving near friends into a like-minded
community was a major criterion for the mission. The acre, already
fenced with well laid out corrals and sections that will each have
a specific purpose (pigs, goats, fruit trees, vegetable garden,
chickens, and rabbits).

Inside the
home, which is a daylight basement home, the upper floor is the
entrance floor and fully handicap accessible. The downstairs or
basement, is beautifully finished and could conceivably provide
sleeping space for up to 8-10 people (the upstairs can provide sleeping
space for up to 6 people). The property boasts 3.5 baths –
critical with potentially 16 people coming to visit. From the upstairs
kitchen and deck, we have a view of the entire valley that leads
back into town – should trouble come our way we will see it
coming. However, our home is not visible from the lower roads, backs
up to empty BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land (read – desert),
and wonÂ’t stick out. The valley has a large number of one and
two acre properties consisting of fairly independent, tough minded,
country folk. Most properties have horses, chickens, cows, llamas,
goats, etc. I can bet a silver dollar, it is an armed community.
The county sheriff has chosen it for his own residence.

We are packing
now and will move in a few weeks to our new little spot. Trust me,
I realize what cleaning out a chicken coop looks like. I will liken
it to all those diapers I changed and washed when my kids were little.
IÂ’ve already arranged to trade eggs from my coop for horse
manure (for the garden) with some friends. [Reader Doug F. added
this comment, via e-mail: “Absolutely do not use horse
manure in your garden unless you want a garden full of weeds. Use
only well-composted cow or sheep manure.”]

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the rest of the article

May
26, 2012

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