by Mark Goodwin
"I suppose we haven't thought about it much, because we’re out here. If we lived in the city, I guess we would be preppers too. But I guess if folks get scared, they will panic all over. I don't expect riots in London, Kentucky but they could probably clear out the shelves at Kroger pretty quick." Adam said.
"I think that’s a good assessment of the situation." Matt stated.
"So if I were to decide that I want to get ready for some type of event like that, what should I do? Where do I start?" Adam asked.
“I recommend you start with some long term food storage, 6 months worth at a minimum. The easiest and cheapest way to kick start it is with dried beans and rice. Even with this radical inflation, they are still relatively cheap. If you seal them in a Mylar bag with some oxygen absorbers, they will last 20 years or more. Make sure you get white rice. While brown rice is more nutritious, it still contains the bran which has fat and will rot. You can only store brown rice for about a year.
Then, I would make sure you have a good water supply. Are you on a well or city water?" Matt inquired.
"They ran the pipes from the city about 5 years ago. We got on because the well dried up a couple times during droughts. I can still run the pump on the well. We also have a good creek." Adam answered.
"I would put a hand pump on the well and keep it primed. Just use it once in a while. Also get some rain catch barrels and start filling up your old juice and soda bottles with water when you empty them. You have plenty of storage in the barn, so fill it up." Matt stated.
"Wow, you think we would lose power and need a hand pump?" Adam asked.
"If the currency collapses, there are no paychecks. Maybe the guy at your power plant will work for the joy of doing it, but I wouldn't count on it. He’s going to have to think of some way to feed his family too.” Matt said.
"So I guess I should look at alternative power sources also, maybe a generator." Adam pondered.
"A generator makes a great yard ornament, but it won't be good for anything else when we run out of fuel. I would go with solar. You can start small and build on with solar. Keep in mind, the power going out is probably an extreme example and may not be likely, but you never know. In Argentina, they had brownouts and low voltage when their currency collapsed in 2001.” Matt said.
"That is a lot to digest. Do you know a good site where I can learn a little more about prepping?" Adam asked.
"I read PrepperRecon.com. That guy is pretty thorough. He even has a 7 Step Survival Plan that will walk you through the whole process. He does a podcast every weekend. Go back and listen to his archived shows on prepping." Matt suggested.
"Is he on iTunes?" Adam asked.
"I'm sure he is. I listen to him on Stitcher." Matt replied.
"Well, I'm going to let you get back to that beautiful wife of yours" Adam said. “Thanks for the info and take care."
"You too." Matt closed.
CHAPTER 6
“I am for doing good to the poor, but...I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. I observed...that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.”
-Benjamin Franklin
Pastor John Robinson was a few minutes early to the meeting with the head of the benevolence ministry at Liberty Chapel. He waited patiently and sipped his coffee. Ron White was right on time as usual.
"Good morning Pastor." Ron said.
"Good morning Ron" Pastor John replied. "I spoke with Steven and the title is clear on the Young farm. Mr. Young wanted the church to have it when he passed. He worked that farm since he was 20 years old. I want to use it in a way that will honor his memory. It is a fully functional farm with all the machinery and out buildings. I think the highest and best use is food production."
"Pardon me for saying so sir, but isn't that mission creep? Do we want to get into the farming business?" Ron asked politely.
Pastor John replied "I understand your point, but we’re already in the feeding people business with the benevolence ministry. If we can get these people involved in producing food and feeding themselves, I think it will pay for itself. We will have to pay a few staff members, but we will be producing the food instead of handing out grocery store vouchers. It will give those in need a sense of integrity to be involved in providing for themselves. You can't put a price tag on that. It will also be a good outlet for the troubled youth program. They can be around some of the strong men in the church and be mentored while they learn some useful skills. Single moms can come in through the week when the Fellowship Grill is closed and use the kitchen for canning. A couple of the moms can take turns watching the children. This ministry will also quickly weed out the freeloaders. Paul wrote in II Thessalonians 3:10, `The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.’ ”
CHAPTER 7
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
-Thomas Jefferson
Matt woke up late. He had started working from home two days a week. The office was closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays now to conserve electricity and support staff expenses. He did his morning routine. Every day he started with a few minutes of prayer before he got out of bed. He listened to a couple of worship songs as he did his morning stretches. He started his coffee and sat down to have cereal with some fruit, usually an apple or blueberries. As he ate his cereal, he would read a chapter or two from the Bible. This morning he was reading Deuteronomy 28.
“Blessings for Obedience
28:1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:
3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.
6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
7 The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.
8 The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.
9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in obedience to him. 10 Then all the people on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. 11 The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.
12 The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. 13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.
Curses for Disobedience
15 However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you:
16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.
17 Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.
18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves o
f your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
20 The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him21 The LORD will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. 22 The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish. 23 The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron. 24 The LORD will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.
25 The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth. 26 Your carcasses will be food for all the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away. 27 The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. 28 The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. 29 At midday you will grope about like a blind person in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.
30 You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and rape her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit. 31 Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue them. 32 Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand. 33 A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days. 34 The sights you see will drive you mad. 35 The LORD will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.
36 The LORD will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your ancestors. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone. 37 You will become a thing of horror, a byword and an object of ridicule among all the peoples where the LORD will drive you.
38 You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it. 39 You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. 40 You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off. 41 You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity. 42 Swarms of locusts will take over all your trees and the crops of your land.
43 The foreigners who reside among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. 44 They will lend to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head, but you will be the tail.
45 All these curses will come on you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the LORD your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. 46 They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever. 47 Because you did not serve the LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity, 48 therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the LORD sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you."
Matt rarely got emotional, but today's scripture and the reality of what was happening to America and why it was happening hit him like a ton of bricks. He couldn't put his finger on why this passage of scripture had disturbed him so much today. Was it because he loved his country? Indeed, he did love it, but he had come to terms with the decay long ago. Was it because his country had disappointed God? Perhaps it was because of the pain he knew was just over the horizon. Maybe it was the understanding that it did not have to be this way if the United States had just been faithful to their God. If they had continued to serve God faithfully, they would still be enjoying the blessings of obedience, but now America was certainly reaping the curses of disobedience. Now the sky above is bronze and the earth beneath is iron. We are borrowing from many, yet lending to none. Maybe it was the overwhelming tragedy of the entire situation that had unsettled him. Indeed, it seemed it would not be long before we would be in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty.
He shook off the unpleasant thoughts and poured his coffee. He went to his office and as usual, started his morning news routine with Drudge Report. The top story was the federal food stamp program. SNAP benefits had been slashed in half with no advance warning. There was simply no funding to fully resupply them. Users whose cards ended in the digit "1" had their EBT cards reloaded with the SNAP benefits on the first of each month. Today was November 1st. The administration had not mentioned anything prior to today because they were obviously trying to push the event past the election. All the midnight, backroom deals could not buy them one more week. Exactly seven days to Election Day and the mother of all financial disasters had just hit.
Matt and Karen were preppers, but there was no way to prepare for what was coming. Matt did not hesitate. He texted Karen and told her to tell everyone at work that she was not feeling well and to come straight home. He preceded the message with the term "CODE RED". They knew this meant get home right away.
Matt opened the safe and got two credit cards out. He also took a few hundred dollars in cash. He stuck his Ruger LC9 in the holster, grabbed the extra magazine and headed out the door. The Ruger was small and compact, it only held eight rounds with one in the pipe, but he liked the fact that it was chambered in 9mm. It was a relatively large round for a concealed carry gun.
Matt's first stop was the Winn Dixie just around the corner. He had no idea what to expect when he walked in the door. Surprisingly, it looked like business as usual. However, there was someone yelling at the cashier because her EBT card did not have as much as she expected. She was throwing the groceries on the floor to bring her balance down to the amount she had on her card. Evidently, this was the first she had heard of the benefit reduction. Other people were stopping to watch the action between the irate lady and the cashier. Not Matt though, he headed straight for the canned meat section. He loaded up the cart with canned tuna, canned chicken, canned beef and canned turkey. When the cart was nearly full, he headed for the checkout. He paid with the credit card without any issue. He unloaded the canned goods into the passenger seat of the truck. He returned to the store with the cart and went straight to the rice and beans. He bought 5 twenty-pound bags of parboiled rice and 100 pounds of dried beans. He bought various sizes and varieties. Matt made a quick pass down the coffee aisle and loaded up on several pounds of coffee as well. He took his haul and headed home. As he was unloading, Karen pulled into the driveway.
"More beans and rice? I thought we were all stocked up on that stuff? What's going on?" Karen asked.
"I think it just hit the fan." Matt replied. "The government was only able to replenish EBT cards with half of what the recipients have been receiving. And, there was no advanced warning."
"What's the government saying?" Karen inquired.
"I don't know yet." Matt replied. "I saw the headline on Drudge, texted you, and ran straight to the grocery store. There are a few things I want to do before we sit down and watch it all unfold. I need you to go fill up your car with gas. Then go to PNC Bank and close that account. Withdraw it all in cash. If they can't give you all cash, take what they will give you in cash and leave the rest. Call me when you know so I can decide what to do about the Bank of America account. For now, I'm planning to keep it open to pay our bills with. Take your gun out of your purse
and put it on your waist. You need to be able to get to it fast today. I don't want to scare you but I want to take every precaution. I'm going to Auto Zone to buy a few gas cans to fill up when I gas up the truck. Meet me at Publix when you finish at the bank."
Matt could tell that Karen thought he was overreacting. He was glad she didn't say it. He thought he might be overreacting as well. But if he was right, things were going to go downhill fast.
Matt arrived at the Publix grocery store before Karen. He gave her a quick call to see how it was going. Karen answered her phone "They're giving me the cash, but it may take a while. They have to get the manager to go into the safe. I can't believe they don't have $4000 in the cash drawer!"
"OK baby, call me when you get to the store. I am going to go inside and get started." Matt said.
Matt went in and saw things were not quite as pleasant as they had been at Winn Dixie. There were several people arguing with cashiers. It seemed most of the EBT card holders were finding out about the benefit reduction at the checkout line. They also seemed to have never heard the term “don’t shoot the messenger" because they were taking out their frustrations on the cashiers and store managers. The lines were backed up into the aisles. It looked like a scene from Black Friday. One manager was catching a rant about discrimination because they had opened two checkout lanes with hand written signs that said "No EBT cards in this lane". There were two other people jumping on the bandwagon about the "discrimination" issue, so the manager took the signs down.
Matt proceeded to the pasta aisle. He filled the cart with several boxes of angel hair pasta and cans of sauce. These were items that took very little fuel to prepare. Angel hair cooks faster than any other pasta because it is so thin. He also got several cans of canned pasta. This is something they would usually never eat, but if things get really bad, you can eat it right out of the can and it is very high in fat, carbs and calories. Normally that is not a positive attribute, but in a survival situation, it is getting the most bang for your buck.