Barbara Fix - Survival: Prepare Before Disaster Strikes

Table of Contents

SURVIVAL

Prepare Before

Disaster STRIKES!

by

Barbara Fix

CCB Publishing

British Columbia, Canada

Survival: Prepare Before Disaster Strikes

Copyright 2011 by Barbara Fix

ISBN-13 978-1-927360-11-8

First Edition

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Fix, Barbara, 1951-

Survival : prepare before disaster strikes [electronic resource ] / by Barbara Fix.

Includes bibliographical references.

Electronic monograph in PDF format.

ISBN 978-1-927360-11-8

Also available in print format.

1. Emergency management--Handbooks, manuals, etc.

2. Preparedness--Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title.

HV551.2.F57 2011 613.6'9 C2011-907682-9

Additional cataloguing data available from Library and Archives Canada

Cover art designed by: Juno Atkings.

Fair Use Notice: This work contains minor excerpts of copyrighted material, the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. It is believed this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.

Extreme care has been taken to ensure that all information presented in this book is accurate and up to date at the time of publishing. Neither the author nor the publisher can be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Additionally, neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the express written permission of the publisher.

Publisher:

CCB Publishing

British Columbia, Canada

www.ccbpublishing.com/

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the one-percenters who dig for the truth and prepare accordingly, and to my family members, who may not be used to a backyard that is shared with bears, coyotes, wolves and cougars, nonetheless come for visits over a campfire to enjoy the night skyviewed best where city lights and pavement ends.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Juno Atkings, graphic artist extraordinaire (who designed this book cover), self-taught editor and code de-coder, whose friendship and tireless help made this book possible. I would also like to thank Paul Rabinovitch, owner of CCB Publishing, who saw the need for Survival: Prepare Before Disaster Strikes to be in print and guided me through the process with the aplomb of a true professional.

Chapter 1

Introduction

Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water,about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope.

Hal Lindsey

Preparedness has caught the attention of people from all walks of life: rich, poor and everyone in between. We all want the ability to be able to cook, eat and heat our homes during a disaster, whether an economic collapse, Mother Nature or a nuclear disaster has brought it on. Survival: Prepare Before Disaster Strikes is an easy to follow, economical guide to survival for those living in the city or the country.

At a time when the dollar has a nose bleed from its incredible dive into oblivion, when what we once took for granted has become a waiting game, seeking insurance against hunger is a reasonable goal. Many of us gambled on the equity of our homes and on jobs, but that gamble has crumbled like stale bread left too long in the sun. The crumbs we depended upon have been picked up and blown in the wind, carried to newly developing nations while on our soil we watch the division between rich and poor become greater than all other industrialized nations.

Never has there been more reason to prepare. It does not have to be done on a large scale, just small inroads, chinking away at that nagging feeling of unrest we are all feeling. Frugality, penny-pinching call it what you will, but your journey should start with a squeeze-every-nickel budget.

When your pantries and basements begin to fill, your mood will lighten, and your feeling of helplessness will turn to resolve. Resolve translates to strength, and with strength, you can change your future.

And dont think you cant do it. I did, a single woman, every bit in debt as most of the nation. I left my oversized home in the burbs and now homestead in North Idaho. Most of my family members see my resolve to prepare as unnecessary. But I continued to ignore them. I started by cutting the umbilical cord from a shop till you drop mentality. Now, many years later, I call a 900 sq. ft. cabin in the wilderness home. It has a well and a shed that holds enough food for twenty-two family members for one year; many of whom have placed bets on how long it will take for me to come to my senses until the day when my resolve is needed. I plan to give them dish duty as penance.

I built this land-locked ark on research and determination, just as you can. Along the way, I made mistakes that I will share with you, so that your journey is made easier, and you in turn can make your own mistakes to share with others. I started with bags of rice and beans. I added to them, one sale at a time while researching that which common knowledge said could not be done; a way to preserve fresh eggs for months and cheese for years.

Today, waxed cheese hangs suspended from rustic rafters in my small kitchen. Its said it will last for yearssome say up to 30but that could be wildly optimistic. Recently, I taste-tested a slice of cheddar, then two years old, and it was delicious! In a crock sit eggs submerged in water glass that will last over winter.

When research warned yeast would be lifeless in 2 years after Id already bought a boatload of it (Hey! We all suffer temporary setbacks), I looked for a workable solution. A trusted preparedness site promised sourdough was renewable as long as you fed and cared for it, just as you would any other living thing. But each recipe I found online said it must be refrigerated. Refrigeration was not part of my survival plan. How can the grid be trusted when it is vulnerable and run by bureaucrats? Days later, my laptop revealed that sourdough starter crossed over with Columbus in 1492. And it had hitchhiked in crocks against the chests of men brave enough to climb unfamiliar mountainsides during the Alaskan Gold Rush. There were no refrigerators in Columbus day and none on the backs of bearded men in the 1890s.

Refrigeration, I came to realize, was born of cushy lives. With that revelation came another. I had lost the ability to think for myself. Like many of us, I had grown complacent with my cushy life and had lost the ability to survive. If you doubt this, just think back to Hurricane Katrina.

Our forefathers knew how to survive. I suspect their DNA was set to intuit survival much like a newborn calf knows to head for the udder without invitation. But somehow, over the ensuing decades there was a disconnect. For answers, we depend on the experts to tell us how to live. Unfortunately their advice is dependant upon grocers, the electrical grid, municipal water, and natural gas to bath, heat our homes, provide light, and to cook.

But there is hope. By the time youve finished reading this book, you will have an understanding of sustainable preparedness; how to survive if the plug is pulled on the grid and municipal water, how and what to store for survival, and why the smartest gardeners buy heirloom seed. The bravest of you might graduate to raising chickens and goats, and should you choose to, youll be able to preserve farm-fresh eggs and cheese and keep sourdough starter on the counter without it escaping its crock; possibly laying claim to the kitchen and part of the living room.