Knock at the Door

The government maintains a list of citizens it views as a threat. These individuals are slated for roundup and detention at the onset of Marshall Law or a national emergency. What would you do if your partner or child was on this list? How would you warn them not to come home if the police came by to pick them up? How would the detainment of this family member impact your ability to survive?

About a month and a half ago I went home to walk the boys at lunch. At around 12:30 there was a loud knock on the door. Now being your average freedom loving anti-social paranoid Libertarian dog lover I decided to ignore it assuming it was someone pedaling candy bars or Jesus. The dogs were of course going crazy. I walked into the living room and peeked out the curtains to see who the offending intruder was. Thinking Jehovah Witnesses I was surprised to see two men in black tactical gear with Sheriffs Department embossed on there back leaving my building.

Instantly a knot formed in the pit of my stomach and I broke out in goose bumps. As the two walked to their unmarked car parked halfway up the block I tried to come up with a reason for them to be here. No tickets, no lawsuits...nothing. There was no reason for the sheriff's department to come knocking at my door. My bodies response to this visit was way out of line for someone who had committed no crime...or anything.

As I calmed down and shook off my desire to bug out to the cabin the reason settled in.

The idea that I could be captured and disappear without any trace really upset me. Under normal circumstances I would get a jail house call and could request a lawyer. But today's police state is not normal. My blog entries and comments I have posted could easily label me an enemy combatant if not a terrorist. For that matter anyone who expresses political or social views in public forums could be a target.

I shook it off and went back to work. But for the next few day I kept the curtains and windows closed worried that the black shirts would be back for me. I forgot about it.

About two weeks later Ryan and I walked down to get ice cream. It was around 9 pm, just after dark. A half a block from the house we saw two sheriff's deputies get out of there car and walk towards our place. Ryan spotted them first and nudged me about the time I saw them. We casually turned up the side street and walked a block to the park. Why we did this I do not know, again neither of us had done anything wrong but we both are very vocal about our political views.

We sat in the park for about 10 minutes and Ryan decided to go confront the officers. "I have done nothing wrong I don't have anything to worry about" he said. I on the other hand was trying to figure out how to get the dogs and fifteen buckets of food out of the back of the house and into the truck without being seen. Plus I was cussing myself for not having everything I needed already packed in the truck and ready to go.

We decided that he would go confront the officers and I would wait ten minutes then follow. If it was all clear he would turn off the back porch light. If the light was still on I would assume he was detained and get hold of a lawyer. Granted it sounds extreme and paranoid but we do live in a police state where it is legal to remove and indefinitely detain citizens...their rights being stripped at the whim of an out of control executive. Plus this is Colorado Springs, a city with a brutal police force which does not tolerate political dissent.

Anyway, the storm troopers were gone, the light was off, all was well and they have not been back since.

When the ICE agents pick up your spouse or child what plans do you have in place to deal with the loss. ICE is running full scale practice drills right now on illegal immigrants and drug dealers. They coordinate with local and state authorities creating a quickly deployed dragnet capturing the target people and anyone else who happens to be nearby.

There is an assumption that entire families will be detained but I suggest that this will not be the case. The mass arrests currently preformed by ICE seize and detain the targeted individual leaving the family and many times just the children remaining to fend for themselves. What happens when your spouse or children come home to an empty house not even realizing you have been incarcerated?

What plans have you made for this very likely capture and detainment scenario.


***I picked this up over at Survivalist News this morning...it makes my point

According to a senior government official…”There exists a database of Americans, who, often for the slightest and most trivial reason, are considered unfriendly, and who, in a time of panic, might be incarcerated. The database can identify and locate perceived ‘enemies of the state’ almost instantaneously.” … One knowledgeable source claims that 8 million Americans are now listed in Main Core as potentially suspect. In the event of a national emergency, these people could be subject to everything from heightened surveillance and tracking to direct questioning and possibly even detention.

Down Side

Last weekend I showed the great view from my retreat cabin. Here is the down side to self building.

A couple of weeks back we had a big wind storm come through. It tore up a section of roofing. I tried to fix it but obviously did not do the job right. So today when the storms came it poured in right onto the couch. But hey that life.

Tomorrow I am will talk to the local roofing distributer and get a quote on a metal roof. It will cost more but hopefully the rain will stay outside.

Stay Dry

Instant Coffee

Instant Coffee is the most rancid substance on the face of the earth.

I got up this morning and could not find my coffee pot, there was plenty of coffee but the pot was no where to be found. My guess is that I left it at the house but can not be sure until I check. Usually I get up and fix a pot of coffee on the wood or propane stove. It is strong, black and full of grounds...I am not a great coffee maker but it is decent and gets me going in the morning . But today was different.

As I sat here pondering how I was going to get the dried coffee into a liquid and then into my body I remembered that I had stashed some instant coffee in one of my survival boxes. So I rooted around until I found the little red jar.

I read the instructions then getting irritated by not have any coffee yet just dumped a bunch into the bottom of the cup. Boiled some water, stirred it in and presto instant coffee. Pleased with myself I took my wonderful cup of morning delight out onto the deck to sip casually in the sun.

Raising the mug to my lips I took the first sip of my creation. It was the most horrid tasting substance to ever enter my mouth...and that is saying alot. But like a true addict I choked down the foul black brew. I sit here now fully awake and charged for the day but still have that nasty taste in my mouth as a reminder to make sure I have all my supplies when leaving for my retreat.

Shaving on a Budget

How will I shave in the post collapse world. Money will be tight or non existent and what is had should be spent on items that keep you alive. But common things like grooming are necessary and give you a feeling for normalcy. Is shaving a necessity or a luxury.

I shave my head so purchasing decent razors is now a necessity but a four pack of Gillette Fusion blades run about $14 bucks. This makes them a luxury. I hate cheap two blade disposables and can only get a couple of shaves out of them before they dull. Plus at the rate I go through them they quickly become just as expensive as the Fusion's.

I have thought about purchasing a straight razor and with practice could probably use it to shave my face. Unfortunately there are several divots and troughs in my head which makes shaving even with nice razor difficult, it could be outright deadly with the straight razor.

I could just let it grow out...but I like it really short and have gotten used to it shaved. If I let it run wild I would have to wash it and deal with combing and such...possibly a pony tail.

But I have a solution!

Save a bundle on razor blades with the ingenious new razor sharpener, Save A Blade™.

Save A Blade´s patented Micro Honing technology sharpens old, dull blades to like-new condition saving you hundreds of dollars every year and it works on all types of razors.

Get up to 200 smooth shaves from a single blade.

The Gillette Fusion blades are horrible expensive but they shave great, especially when you are shaving your entire head several times a week. I could get about 2 weeks out of one blade if lucky. I started using the Save A Blade and can now get roughly 2 months out of one blade. Granted this is not the 200 smooth shaves they advertise but it has saved me a good deal of money. The only problem is the lubrication strip wears completely off, but I can deal with that.

An 8 pack of blades should last me about 16 months. I picked up the Save A Blade at Walgreen's for about $10.

Or I could just get come clippers and keep it burred down and forget about razors all together.

Buy the way I am not selling this thing just letting you know my experience with it.

Hot Day

It has to be 2000 degrees here today. Cabin is hot, my ass is sweating, the dogs are bitchy, a bear got into my compost pile, the atv had a flat, I smell horrible and the beer is hot.

But what a view.

Really it was a great day and it is starting to cool off. The up side is that the hot tub has sun warmed all day and is perfect...shouldn't need any heating...don't want any heating.

Been working on a new window seat to store five gallon buckets under. I dug up this old foam rubber RV mattress, a nice thick one. Cut it in half for two pieces roughly 2 1/2 feet wide. They are alittle over 6 feet long so I should be able to store 24 buckets under the two finished benches.

I had to spritz the dogs down with water several times today to cool them off. They don't care for the water...they like being cooled down but apparently the act of getting wet is a trigger event for them. As soon as I pick up the spray bottle they run under the bed. So I just switched to the stream and can pretty much soak them before they reach their bug out shelter.

Stay Cool