Jim:
I wanted to address a couple of things some of your readers have brought
up recently. There's been a lot of well thought out letters on retreat
sites that aren't in the west. That's great, I live on the
east coast myself. I want to hear more about other locales, as I'm
sure Jim
does as well. If your state isn't on his list of retreat locations,
don't take offense. As long as you're applying some of the same logic,
ideas, and planning to your retreat location then you're doing far
better than most survivalists, let alone sheeple.
Jim also makes the distinction that
there's plenty of bad places to be in the West as well. Think about
it, is living in Los Angeles better than living in the hills of West
Virginia just because it's out west? Heck no, and you won't hear Jim
saying that either. It's all about personal responsibility. It's your
life, your
plan, and you have to make choices. You are the only one that can decide
your requirements. Likewise, you are the only one that can decide which
path to take when requirements, reality, and resources conflict. I
live in Virginia. I'll be the first to admit that where I live isn't
exactly the 100% best location as a survivalist. I have a fairly nice
urban set-up here,
but I make no bones about the fact that it's untenable in some scenarios.
It's where I choose to live for a variety of reasons. Those are my
requirements and my choices.
Speaking of requirements competing for resources, David brings up a
great point about money. During the timeframe that Jim actually started
writing "Patriots" all
of us that were in "The Group" were
pretty darn poor. Most of us were college students, or recently graduated, so
we weren't exactly "rolling in the dough" at the time. I
can remember searching
the seats of my 1965 Barracuda for quarters to buy a burrito. My character in
the book is a pretty close approximation of what most of us had in
terms
of guns, gear, food, etc at the time. Now I have a job and have a bigger
budget for survival stuff. Anyway, even though I find it easier to
buy this or that, it's also easier to screw up and buy the wrong this
or that. When I was dirt poor, I probably was a little more careful
exactly how that money was spent. No, I wouldn't want to trade back
into those days financially, but the point is there is always a way
to maximize the situation that you are in.
Money is an important resource, but it's only one of several. Just
work your preparations into your budget. It doesn't have to be big
dollars. Five or Ten dollars a week will buy a lot of medical supplies
at the local drug store in a couple months. A few dollars extra buying
a couple of cans/packages of food at the grocery store over what you
need will add up
fast. "Overbuying" logistics can be done in very small
amounts so you don't really feel the increase. Just a couple bucks
a week will
do
the job well. It also makes rotation easier, as it's stuff you use
daily anyway. Since you use it daily, you are also more accustomed
to that food as part of your diet, so when a problem comes, you aren't
all of a sudden having a change
of diet adding to your stress. Thrift shops can be outstanding places
to get gear, as can be various Internet boards. Networking with others
will help things out. Even if it's just over the net, we as survivalists
can help each other out in trading to level out various things we need.
Maximize your training. It doesn't cost much to actually get into and
stay in shape. That has huge benefits beyond anything you can buy.
Taking a hike with your map and compass doesn't have to be a big affair.
Even the most urban areas have some sort of park system worthy of exploring
and getting some good out of it. Go camping for a couple of days, and
practice the things you've read about in books or on the net. You'll
get a big surprise how well (or not) all those things you've read about
and think you know really work. There are an endless list of things
you can do
for training that are free, or low cost. You are better off with training
than with gear anyway.
I have to agree with Jim, if there's one priority where money should
go, it's food. The easiest way to tell someone that's truly prepared
from a poseur is to ask, "How much food do you have stored?" rather
than any question about guns.- "Doug Carlton"
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