[Hal O'Peridol]

I have a friend who I've known for years who is a 'prepper'. I am getting to the point of refusing to even engauge in conversation when he starts talking about his prepping activity.

He's gone on a frozen chicken buying binge, and is considering buying a third freezer to store it. Aside from canned goods that's is main storage method. I asked him what happens to those three freezers full of meat when the brown and blackouts happen and got a blank look.

Hs answer was "I've got a wood stove for heat, and I will start canning it if the power goes out.

He has:

No jars
No lids
no rings
No experience
No thermometers
and the list goes on.

His whole prepping group it like this, I don't get it.

Last year they prepositioned 'supplies' out at a friend's acerage as part of a bug-out plan.

During fair weather, a 6 hour one way trip across a large/high mountain range, through a pass that is closed 8 months out of the year. 275 miles one way.

Other rout takes 7 hours through a major metropolatin area and then across a high mountain pass subject to inclement weather closures. 350 miles one way.

Both routes full of check points/funneled travel routes.

The site has no water, little to no fuel, and the owner lets his dogs run and kill deer 'for their food', at least he did prior to shooting a a couple of people he thought were tresspassing. He's in jail, no idea where the dogs are.

I find myself distancing more and more from this person, as his plans have all the makings of a trainwreck, and he won't listen to anything that brings up potential flaws in those plans.

 

[Tempest2]

Clearly they're all just playing make-believe.

This is the place where thread contributors are invited to share their own "pathetic preppers" report, but mine is kind of thin. I had one buddy, since passed, who lived in a semi-hoarders level mobile with about 50 junky long guns, including a junky .50. He thought of himself as a prepper, but was badly overweight and had no real plan.

The thing I hear most is people who accumulate some odds and ends - both material and in terms of planning - none of which amount to any kind of realistic prep. Like your friend - except they're not as actively wasting time and resources. The other thing I hear is individuals whose only vision is some kind of radical Euell Gibbons live-off-the-land fantasy, minus any real skills or know-how (kind of like your report).

The recent discussion here about no-kidding-leave-right-now-or-die emergencies, like the forest fire sweeping toward your compound, was illuminating to me, with an interesting and different set of demands. Thankfully that's not an issue for me, but it could be not too far from here.

 

[bigwagon]

Sounds like a form of mental illness, not unlike some types of hoarding.

 

[DK PHILLIPS]

firsts health.
mental, physical!
having few friends living, many acquaintances ...
now know HAL why...haaaa

 

[kentuckyguy]

Oh its fun for him.

Aint no different than the rest of us piling up stuff around ourselves, while thinking that we need it lol.

Give me his info and I will be glad to talk to that old geezer and we can eat that chicken together.

That would be a better friend than usual friends who only talk about vacation trips , and how they worked around the house for 2 days straight.

 

[Big Coulee]

kentucky ------- You sure hit the nail on the head. I sure get sick and tired of hearing about their good deals on trips they made and the deals they made on used pick up trucks they made. No one around here is even prepping for anything or pays much attention to what is going on out in the mad mad world. Most folks (including myself) are busy getting their winter's wood supply laid by and loading ammo. Such is life in the remote woods / mountian areas.

 

[timmct]

Big Coulee...If I was still in the Big Woods...I'd be WAY more interested in the guns I no longer care about!

 

[IamElmerJFudd]

Hal, failing to plan is planning to fail. Go buy yourself a couple of hundred pounds of charcoal because your friend is, no doubt, going to have to throw one hell of a cookout starting about 2 days after the power goes out, and he's going to need the charcoal. Oh, and don't forget a couple of cases of barbeque sauce.

 

[DK PHILLIPS]

Hal, failing to plan is planning to fail. Go buy yourself a couple of hundred pounds of charcoal because your friend is, no doubt, going to have to throw one hell of a cookout starting about 2 days after the power goes out, and he's going to need the charcoal. Oh, and don't forget a couple of cases of barbeque sauce.

got 10 bags ready bought end winter years sales,
enough dried apple, pear, apricot to cook all my freezers wrappings, bags, salt><>

 

[SfcRet]

Clearly they're all just playing make-believe.

had one buddy, since passed, who lived in a semi-hoarders level mobile with about 50 junky long guns, including a junky .50. He thought of himself as a prepper, but was badly overweight and had no real plan.

the other thing I hear is individuals whose only vision is some kind of radical Euell Gibbons live-off-the-land fantasy, minus any real skills or know-how (kind of like your report).

oh s&it, I haven't heard that name in decades not since the grape nuts commercial.

 

[BlackPowder]

A reasonable amount of prepping is a reasonable amount of prepping. Owning a few guns, knowing how to use them, having contingency plans for food, water, shelter, electricity, bugging out, natural disasters, a reasonable amount of emergency supplies for plausible to likely events… This is great.

Sadly I see a lot of people who spend money to scratch an irrational itch.

 

[Valkoinen Kuolema]

Hal, failing to plan is planning to fail. Go buy yourself a couple of hundred pounds of charcoal because your friend is, no doubt, going to have to throw one hell of a cookout starting about 2 days after the power goes out, and he's going to need the charcoal. Oh, and don't forget a couple of cases of barbeque sauce.

You just don't get it man! It's like a nuclear reactor. Once the freezer is full of frozen chickens the frozen chickens will keep the freezer frozen indefinitely.

 

[Tempest2]

I'm embarrassed to report I had a fully functional colleague good at his job who nevertheless reached his fifth decade of life without realizing a gas furnace also uses electricity. It was during the "polar vortex" he learned the truth, triggered by me laughing at an online blurb from someone in Chicagoland, which had a power outage at the same time, just learning that very thing.

Related, during that same cold snap in Michigan there was a midnight fire in a gas pipeline pumping station that threatened to stop service to hundreds of thousands of homes. The Texas windmill farce a few years later was bad, but when the gas keeping millions of people from literally freezing in 20-below temps is at risk, this creates the potential for literally thousands of hypothermia deaths.

The response of our elites is to keep making the system ever-more fragile and at-risk; after that event the governor of Michigan went on a new kick, to shut down a natural gas pipeline that serves millions in the Midwest and Canada.

All this nonsense is gonna trigger a man-made tragedy at some point - which is not news to anyone reading this thread.

Don't do this either in a 'polar vortex.'

 

[IamElmerJFudd]

All told, the 3 freezers full of chickens and no generator guy, and the no clue what to do once they make it to their unimproved bug out location that they may never get to if the roads are blocked group are at least thinking about their own survival and that puts them far ahead of the curve over probably 90% of the population who never thinks about it. They may seem silly and ignorant but they can be taught. The ones you really need to worry about are the ones that have never thought at all about their own survival and never bought supplies to have on hand in an emergency and are probably living paycheck to paycheck, so there's no extra money to buy supplies with anyway. People do weird shit when they are cold and hungry and forced into unusual situations. The people with no plans and no supplies laid by are the ones who may become violent. They're not evil, just desperate. I applaud you all for being experienced preppers who can remain self sufficient in an emergency and recognize the short comings in other people's plans. I hope those people don't take offense at a few constructive suggestions, because the better they (your friends and neighbors) prep the less they could be a burden or a threat to you.

 

[Sidney Smith]

Sounds to me like your friend has it all mapped out in his head. That won't get him too far once the power goes out.

A lot of these "preppers" are only prepping in the mental state only. They may have ideas of what they'll do if it hits the fan, but are waiting for it to actually go south before they'll put their plans into action. Nothing wrong with a little fore thought, but if you haven't got the material to back up those ideas, then you're screwed.

Your buddy will see just how far his mental preps will get him. As was said, better buy him that charcoal and enough fluid to light a bonfire

 

[Tempest2]

...I hope those people don't take offense at a few constructive suggestions, because the better they (your friends and neighbors) prep the less they could be a burden or a threat to you.

You got me thinking now, that kind of threat might be substantial. When the curtain goes up, people like that will know or quickly learn how short they've fallen - and will also know a person who did it right and is well-stocked...

Hopefully they'll be well-along on their (one-way) 600 mile trip to dig up chickens before they figure it out. Might be best to not say a word. :-(


Reminds me of the "endangered species on your land" problem and solution: "Shoot, shovel and shut up."

 

[IamElmerJFudd]

The natural state of a community is order, not chaos. We thrive with other people's help and approval and we gladly offer our help and approval when we can. If you're prepping it is just as easy to explain what you're doing and why, and get your friends and neighbors to start prepping themselves. Hand out free prepping guides from the Red Cross or the local emergency management office to get them started. Ask your neighbors if they have everything they need yet or if they need any help obtaining supplies or figuring out any of the information in the guides. When someone says, "I'll just come to your house." and they will, you can either tell them very firmly and clearly that they will not be welcome at your house and that's why you gave them the prepping guide, or you can tell them that if they expect to come to your house they have to share the expenses in advance and buying the extra supplies for them will cost $1000 (or whatever amount you feel is adequate). The problem with that is they might just take you up on your offer. You should also consider buying extra supplies just to have for trade or to share with whoever shows up. You can surely save yourself some blisters if you can get somebody else to cut firewood for an hour in exchange for a peanut butter sandwich, but you need to have a surplus so you're not taking food out of your own mouth. I have an abundance of can openers, lighters, pocket knives, tooth brushes, work gloves and other things (just for an example) that I keep for trade goods, because barter may be the only form of economy we have left after the bad thing happens. Other folks spend their money on 80 inch flat screen T.V.s. To each his own.

 

[DK PHILLIPS]

All told, the 3 freezers full of chickens and no generator guy, and the no clue what to do once they make it to their unimproved bug out location that they may never get to if the roads are blocked group are at least thinking about their own survival and that puts them far ahead of the curve over probably 90% of the population who never thinks about it. They may seem silly and ignorant but they can be taught. The ones you really need to worry about are the ones that have never thought at all about their own survival and never bought supplies to have on hand in an emergency and are probably living paycheck to paycheck, so there's no extra money to buy supplies with anyway. People do weird shit when they are cold and hungry and forced into unusual situations. The people with no plans and no supplies laid by are the ones who may become violent. They're not evil, just desperate. I applaud you all for being experienced preppers who can remain self sufficient in an emergency and recognize the short comings in other people's plans. I hope those people don't take offense at a few constructive suggestions, because the better they (your friends and neighbors) prep the less they could be a burden or a threat to you.

well put... with dry goods you regularly, eat piled in coolers you have margins and research what's going during the panics>
time to think...the in place at your property line with the cushion...
first key to safety..
knowing your aware the "newborns cry mommy".
.I'm hungry, cold, don't come a knocking when your stomach a talking!"

 

[Hal O'Peridol]

Fudd, My friend is an intellegent guy, has a great job that requires critical thinking. But he has blinders on when it comes to this. I have breached the subjet several times with him but get nowhere. I have come to the conclusion that after working and knowing him for over 15 years he just doesn't value other peoples input once he has made his mind up.

 

[Big Coulee]

Hal ------ I agree with you, Mr. Fudd is a very intelligent man in my opinion. However I only know of Fudd by what he has posted in these forums and from those postings I'm able to pretty much identify that he has made up his mind and nothing or no one could ever make a dent in it. That attitude isn't all bad, even the Bible tells us to "not be blown about by every wind of doctrine". Although during my nearly 90 years of life on this earth I've encountered a number of folks with the same attitude Mr. Fudd appears to display. Nearly all those folks I've known with such an attitude are now dead. Some were older than myself but most were many years younger. I'm only aware of one or two of these individuals who are still alive and they are both several years younger than I am. Don't be too hard on Mr. Fudd, he is only doing what he believes is right.