Guns and Trouble

When people we didn’t know checked on us the first few days after the storm, I believed they had our best interests at heart. When strangers visit now, more than three weeks after Helene struck, I am not so sure. I can’t help but wonder if they are scouting around, looking for damaged, empty, or abandoned homes to loot. Whenever possible, I try to intercept them before they get very far up the hill.

To send a subtle signal, I’ve been wearing my Glock in an outside-the-waistband holster so that anyone who walks up the hill to “check” on us will know that I am armed. I also have left our steel shooting targets out on the driveway where they are visible to anyone who approaches the house. They each have a dozen or more marks where the bullet has hit the paint, most of them centered on the target.

I consider this a deterrent. A way of saying, “No easy pickings here. Try somewhere else.” You could argue that it also says “These people have guns we can steal,” but around here, everyone has guns. I am leaning towards the threat of the first outweighing the lure of the second.

Of course, with the road washed out, no one can drive up and rob us or loot our neighbor’s empty home. They could only carry what they could hike down the mountain with. It’s enough to make me want to ask the DOT if they can put in a drawbridge so we can treat the creek like a moat.

As I have said before, I usually carry concealed, but there are times when it makes more sense to carry openly. The best combination might be one visible gun as a deterrent and a concealed backup for a surprise.

Times Get Tougher

As times get tougher, I want you to consider carrying full time. If you don’t, or if you leave your gun in your car console or carry a mouse gun as your primary weapon, it may be time to rethink your strategy.

As the election draws closer and the possible fallout from it looms, I think you should carry full time. Civil unrest or political violence may never reach your street, but one day you may find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Your best bet is to disengage and leave the area, but if that is not possible, your gun might be your last, best chance.

As inflation reasserts itself on the financial landscape, muggings, burglaries, carjackings, purse snatching, follow-home robberies, home invasions, and other crimes that can generate quick bucks will increase. Consider carrying to protect yourself and don’t keep all your money in one location.

When the coming recession hits its stride and people lose their jobs and their homes, some of them will turn to crime. If you will not start carrying, you should at least be armed at home.

Because friends don’t let friends go around unarmed.

It Will Get Worse

A video I watched the other day illustrated how in the past 100 years, the dollar has gone from a silver dollar to a silver certificate redeemable for silver (you could walk into any bank and get silver dollars in return for a silver certificate), to a federal reserve note redeemable for…nothing. Then it showed what the future holds for fiat currency, with a ten trillion dollar Zimbabwe note, followed by a .556 cartridges. The implication is the end of fiat currency is hyperinflation which leads to violence and often to revolution.

It’s a compelling case, and a warning we should all take seriously. Because when the SHTF, it’s too late to stockpile ammo.

There’s a reason gold and silver keep going up, and it is because people and countries are losing trust in fiat currency. They want something that will be valuable even when the dollar is not. Whether the future holds inflation, financial collapse, or both, you can expect it will also include some violence. So in a way, the rising cost of gold and silver means you should consider buying lead and brass.

Hurricane Relief and Recovery

Locally, the bustle of hard work has died down. There are fewer emergency vehicles and less heavy equipment on the road. Cell service is once again fairly seamless as most of the towers have been repaired or replace. While our end of town has no high-speed internet, we know two families who have Internet from their normal wired provider. We are still relying on Starlink and are thankful to have it. Besides giving us the ability to make phone calls, send texts, surf the web, and send email, I got to watch NFL football on Sunday after missing it for three weekends. It was a pleasant break.

But as relief efforts die down, the volunteers go home. While there are still people missing and presumed lost in the flood, the search and rescue effort is over. There is no longer anyone to evacuate. Providing relief—emergency food, water and medical treatment—may be over, but the longer job of rebuilding and recovery is just starting.

That’s going to take far longer than three or four weeks. The initial focus seems to be on shoring up roads to keep them from collapsing and rebuilding bridge abutments or replacing bridges. Repairing the roads so they are good as they were before will probably take at least a year. We have also seen numerous excavators in creek and river beds working to redirect the water to its original course and rebuild banks that were overrun and worn away. The power of rushing water and its ability to move rocks and boulders has to be seen to be believed.

Our Work Continues

On our homestead, we are continuing to cut down trees, but the burn pile is about as large as I want it. I turned my attention instead to splitting wood, making room for future logs. We continue to pace ourselves, putting in a few hours of heavy work each day rather than eight hours of strenuous work in a single day. This way, I may wake up a little sore and stiff, but it fades after a hot shower. Then I can get out there and do it again. (Getting older is no fun.)

Our 88-year-old neighbor returned home for a day to check his mail and vote. We drove him up the mountain in the Polaris and he was happy to see his home remained in good condition. We are hoping he will be able to move back within two or three weeks. It just depends on how fast DOT can repair the road and install a new culvert so the propane truck can refill his tank.

New, Old Wheels

A friend lent me his 2004 GMC for the duration, and because it has seatbelts, air bags and comfortable bulk, we are now able to take longer trips. I am enjoying it and his satellite radio, but I miss the rearview camera on my truck. His truck is larger, and after backing into a curb, I have learned to be careful backing up.

I picked up eight bags of chicken feed the other day, plus a bag of scratch. We now have 14 bags (700 pounds) of feed on hand, and I have set up a pallet in the garage to store them. I usually liked to have eight or nine bags on hand, but I have raised that to 12. My intent is to not get caught with just a few bags ever again, especially heading into winter. I was getting complacent, but Helene took care of that. Just goes to show you that even experienced preppers need a wake-up call sometimes.

The drive to the general store to buy the feed was the longest trip I have taken since the storm, and I saw areas of the county for the first time post-storm. We had it bad with flooding, but we were not alone. Other areas also had flooding and far more downed trees. I feel bad for the people downstream from us.

Having use of the borrowed truck will allow us to get back to our regular activities. I am delivering an order of six pounds of honey on Thursday and will finally get to make bank deposits and run a few other errands while I am out. We also plan to go to Sam’s Club and maybe a Kroger to fill in some holes in our pantry.

I guess the enforced vacation is over.