DUDE’S CORNER
Miscellaneous Cogitations
THINKING ABOUT 9-11
My question is always this: What did you do on 9-11 when the planes hit those buildings?
Did you just sit at home and watch it on tv?
I was on the west coast. I left home. No one knew what was going on in my mind. I thought that we are the next target so I’m not going to sit in the middle of these media and film industry structures in the L.A. area, very likely a target. Well, it didn’t happen that way, but the highways were clear so I had no trouble traveling. I went to a place in the high desert and camped out for a few days. Call me crazy, but no one knew what was might come next. I never saw anyone else for 3 days, so all you preppers could have been ahead of the crowd – I don’t know. But many just stayed home and watched tv. In my view, that’s not real smart to be sitting ducks
THINKING ABOUT BUGGING OUT
Here is something that most writers on survival all seem to be repeating each other.
For instance, “getting out ahead of the crowd.” It could be any scenario where you have to get out and evacuate. My question is — how are you getting your info ahead of everyone else? No one can tell me the answer to that simple question.
I know a short cut very well – but everyone else knows that same information. Plus, you are all not starting from the same place at the same time. If you are going from A to Z, you have all manner of roads that feed into the same major arteries.
Have you ever been on a remote highway and been stopped by a wreck? I have and it is amazing how fast the traffic piles up on a remote road. Now just think of thousands of people in a panic trying to bug out of town. No tow trucks to remove the crashed cars because they’re they are bugging out too.
OK, and now you have all your handy- dandy gear crammed into your transportation you and your family are a prime target for the bad guys. Let’s face it — in real life, the good guys don’t always win. Now, you might really be a badass, but so are a lot of the bad guys out there. Do you really want to endanger your family?
They will think, “Ohh, look at that really cool pickup crammed with gear. I want it. I’m going to take it.”
But, let’s say you make it to your special location. What if someone else got to it before you? The last thing you want is to be involved in is a firefight.
Maybe you think you will get to your spot, and that you will be able to defend it. Maybe, maybe not. Ten of them and one or two of you is not good.
For that matter, how many will even have enough gas to get out more than a few miles?
There is a lot more I can think of but I hope this gets you thinking.
[Editor’s note: Dude isn’t saying that bugging out is futile, but that you really should think it all through realistically. For the record, Dude has often lived in remote areas, probably following the advice of the great survival writer Mel Tappan, who always advocated living in remote rural areas. Plus, when he live d in the city, Dude was very active with Neighborhood Watch, which is a great way to know your neighbors, and he was also a strong advocate of everyone taking CERT training.]
FINAL WORDS
What should you do? I say grab a few books of Christopher’s – you know, his plant books such as “Guide to Wild Foods” would be a good choice. So would his more recent “Urban Survival Guide.”
Turn off your cell phone, relax yer mind, and try to think like a hunter gatherer.+
Slow down. Why are you in such a rush? By slowing down, you will see so much more, adding to your own woodslore.
Enjoy the simple sun on your face and the wind in your hair.
Listen for the critters when you slow down. The tiny sounds are more visible, so to speak. Look for the stories in stone and in the tracks of the critters.
I think by practicing a few of these simple ideas, your experience of life will contain more joy and the spirit of adventure, and less fear.
by SELDOM SEEN DIRTTIMEDUDE
