THE AWAKENING Discussion Thread

I thought it might be a good idea to start a thread to discuss what we are learning from the actual thread. Areas we are finding we have more work to do, areas we are fine in. Things you might need to change and reconsider, given the nature of the thread.

Any comments will be welcome here.....I figure it's also a way to try and keep the original thread "pure"

Pea

Good idea Peanut. I for one am not a writer but am enjoying the story very much.

Well now that you mention it, one thing has really been bothering me about the scenarios. The story tells of bio releases, but the nature of the releases isn't known. Nonetheless, everybody seems to be going out into the world, some the Walmart even, and getting close to other people. Maybe it's a location thing, where the people going out-n-about are not near where the bios were supposedly released, but I would (will) be doing things differently (I think). I always figured I'd go into lockdown and be faced with the prospect of blowing away anybody who comes near me and my kids. Granted, if everybody in the saga quarantines themselves, the plot might get a little sluggish.

It's just that I keep finding myself saying "NOOOOO!" when someone says they are going out to talk to others. FWIW.

I love the thread. So much talent coming out! It's scaring the crap out of me, but I just can't stop reading!!! It's almost like the line between fact and fiction is blurring a little! Almost too real, but there I am, waiting for every installment!

BRAVO, y'all!

More! More!!

I, too, am thoroughly enjoying reading The Awakening. I have to check several times a day to see if anything else has been added. THANK YOU!! to all who have kept it going. I admit to being surprised that several "characters" chose to go to town to the stores, although that's probably what a number of people will do. I'll be in hunker mode if anything remotely approaching the story happens. It has really helped me rethink my preps and has convinced me that we don't have anywhere near enough guns.

Well, i think it's great that I have 17,000 gal of water in the inground pool in the back-and no way to keep it clean if the elec goes out. Discussed it again with DH and now am looking into solar at least for that (and maybe a little more) do not have the money at present for full off grid. Also looking into the rebate that the state and the local power co are offering.

One thing I hope folks are getting from this is the "Fog of War" factor that's insinuating itself throughout the story. Most especially with any sort of scenario that involves a nation wide effect with both surprise and a partial or complete breakdown of the ordinary communications channels there is going to be a *world* of rumors, wrong information, intentional disinformation, wild flights of fancy, wishful thinking, outdated information and actual true timely facts all being presented at the same time. The government may or may not tell you the truth and, in deed, they may not even know the truth themselves. You may not be able to log on to TB2K to have someone else tell you what they think it means.

It's up to each of us as individuals or families to possess as many methods of gathering information as we can acuire. Just as important is the need to be able to critically analyze what it is you are learning to try to discern truth from non-truth. Unlike being the reader of a story that knows all you'll be just one of the myriad of characters in the story and may not know much of anything about what's happening but you'll have to make potentially life and death decisions based on what you know regardless.

Get the facts. Get as many ways of getting the facts that you can. Analyze the facts you are learning to improve your chances of survival.

.........Alan.

Like some of you, I was horrified that people actually thought they were going to go to Walmart!!!! But as I thought about it, I realized that most likely there would be portions of the country, maybe lots of portions, that had not been directly affected by the first round of attacks. However, what I did glean from that is this; don't ever get so relaxed that you think the enemy could not be at your doorstep. You might not see him now, or tomorrow, but the possiblility is there that at any given moment you could come face to face with what a portion of the country is facing in this story. We take so much for granted in our every-day lives ........the idea of going to Walmart is kind of second nature to us. What is so interesting in the story line is that those who are able to still go to stores etc., have no idea at this point that there are people throughout the nation that are stuck where they are!! We are reading about people like ourselves who have done some amount of prep work, and find that they can get by...........much better than some of their paralyzed neighbors. The avenues of thought that this narrative has opened up could prove invaluable to all of us.

A.T.Hagan: I forgot to mention this; the "Fog of war factor" . I am beginning to realize that this is probably a very real syndrom in situations like those presented in "Awakenings". This is something that needs a bit of discussion so that we become familiar with the concept. I am convinced that this is an element that we are unprepared for. Most of us are not military, so we don't easily focus on this. Thank you for pointing this out.

God Bless, Susan

A.T.Hagan and Susan,
yep, the "Fogs of War" was my biggest problem when writing a section. I have no sure way of obtaining news. My son has a short wave and if we could reach them, we have friends and relatives all over the country. The problem is, how do you seperate rumor from fact - I believe I would have to assume that anything I heard not from a first hand observer would have to be considered rumor.

I didn't consider trying to get to town since my first concern was to get people and supplies to a safe place. I don't feel that we would be in immediate danger in my area but by the time we were it would be too late to do anything. So far, I've only written what I am fairly confident would happen in the beginning.

Really interesting thread.

It would appear that in our saga, we have experienced the first casualty of an up-close and personal nature!! As I read the piece, I was overcome with disbelief!! I guess for a moment I kind of forgot it was "fiction", and was shocked that one of our own was dying!! This is another area that I fear most of us are unprepared to deal with. I actually said outloud, "oh no!! you can't be dead!!" Is this something that we will ever be prepared for, and is there any way possible to prepare for it?

The thread is the best I've seen in a long time. Just got home from work.......have to go check it. I'm afraid I've been holding back thinking, it's not near me, just watch and wait. But, will probably be in it by the weekend.

The last time we started a thread like this (shut it down voluntarily) I couldnt decide whether to move out or hunker down.
This time I had no hesitation at all to move out. Better to be moving and evade than sitting waiting for "them" to come to you.

I sat down with a good state map and actually plotted out my moves. I wouldnt bore anyone with my 3 pages of notes on the roads I travelled, but I have them now and will hold onto them!

That wasnt fiction about my hearing. A real handicap in movement or in combat. I am relying on our pets and turning them into assets that I know now I will use.

Weapons will be important at vital times. Evasion and escape will be the bigger test IMO.

I would wish more would write. Style is nothing! Content is all!

The fog of war that A.T. wrote of is very real indeed. Real to the point of being disabling, of being paralyzing. What to do, and the suddenly-real mortal stakes, all depend upon accurate information.
So, how to mitigate against that fog beforehand? One way of course is planning. Escape and evasion route planning such as Timbo wrote of can definitely help. Just the process of following that thread and thinking thoughtfully and carefully about one's own circumstances can sure help.

Shortwave will be an intermittant source of information, yes, but how many people have a printed list of frequencies to monitor? Not the BBC, not the VOA, but the various ham bands and specific frequencies on each one? That's a thread I'd like to see.

R

Hello all,
the "Awakening" should be published and the poceeds given to keep Timebomb alive.
Jamber

Sorry, proceeds. and don't EVEN mention Timebomb with this project!!
Jamber
Got to get up in 3hours for abusy day excuse mistakes. Good night all.

Hi everyone,

I wanted to say that my DH wrote a chapter for that thread. But I can't seem to get him to write another. So sorry for leaving anyone out there hanging wondering what's going on in Texas.
I have written another chapter but I'm not sure how to work it into the story now( i'll work on it tomorrow) also fair warning, I'm not a great writer but at least that part of the story will continue.
On a side note Timbo, I've done the same thing(with the maps etc.) I now consider that valuable information that I may actually have to use someday.

-Matty

I feel that out in the National Forest is our best bet at survival. We 4, Taz, Chubby Hubby, Bud and Bonnie are all resourceful people and forest/survival smart. We are also well prepped with food, water, guns and ammo. HOWEVER.... we are also Seniors and 3 of us have physical handicaps of one sort or another. On the other hand we are all intelligent. But we have decided that we are going to hunker out here in the Ocala Forest until we have information that tells us we need to change plans.
Because we are physically unable to go out into the community and put up some resistance, and because we have no real means at this time of knowing just what is going on, we will hunker here for now. Therefore, I will start concentrating on use of preps, cooking, etc. Its what I know and I think one of us has to start using the preps and discovering those things that are NOT of much use and those things that we should have... but don't. I will go into bush box cooking, solar oven, grinding grain, making yeast, etc. I will discuss foraging, hunting, preservation such as venison jerky etc. My intentions are to interject those things that I know and stay out of the battles, strategic planning for battles, etc. I feel this is the best way I can contribute to this thread.

Taz....who has to learn how to knock a squirrel out of a tree with a sling shot!

my character died because that is a realistic happening in an assault ...some will never know what hit them ....some will be at work and not make it home for various reasons ...families will be split with preps one place ...them another ...yes , there will be survivors ,but it aint going to be pretty......forests sound safe but fires from bombing a real possibilty..what preps for that?

Anybody watch West Wing last night? They've got their own little "Awakenings" going on! Might be time for me to take a break from the various forms of this, cuz it's starting to nut me out! But then again, if I do take a break, I just KNOW I'll miss something important, like information that tells me to duck, hide, or run like hell!

It is realistic for some, even a lot, of the "good people" to die in something like this. I have seen my share of death, but do not know of any way to prepare yourself for it. It can leave you numb with grief, cut into your very will to survive, cause your judgement to be faulty.
There is also nothing wrong with having characters make some basic mistakes as a good mode of showing these mistakes.
There is also the real possibility of people doing everything right, being prepared, and still being overcame by overwhelming forces.
One of the weaknesses of survivalists is that everybody has different ideas on how and what to prepare for.
One of the strengths on survivalists is that everybody has different ideas on how and what to prepare for. Somebody will be right.
Everybody is doing a great job. Please keep it up and I will try to drop in as my time allows. I am busy with my real time, real world, preps, and I have a lot to get done before the economy collapses , or WW3 breaks out, which ever comes first.

Fog lights

<b>Redeye</b>

<I>Shortwave will be an intermittant source of information, yes, but how many people have a printed list of frequencies to monitor? Not the BBC, not the VOA, but the various ham bands and specific frequencies on each one? That's a thread I'd like to see. </I>

This is an excellent idea. Perhaps some of our more skilled HAMS could craft and post their lists of frequencies that one should listen in on. What I'd do is to take these lists, put them into a word processor to cut out as much wasted space as possible then print them out hard copy and tuck them into the pages of <I>Passport To Worldband Radio</I>. You'd have a pretty good compendium of useful frequencies to monitor. A good portable shortwave receiver like the Sony 7600G or comparable would easily fit into any sort of pack and runs off of AA batteries.

<I>The fog of war that A.T. wrote of is very real indeed. Real to the point of being disabling, of being paralyzing. What to do, and the suddenly-real mortal stakes, all depend upon accurate information. So, how to mitigate against that fog beforehand? One way of course is planning. Escape and evasion route planning such as Timbo wrote of can definitely help. Just the process of following that thread and thinking thoughtfully and carefully about one's own circumstances can sure help. </I>

In surprise scenarios (and even some that weren't surprises a la Y2K) the one thing that even the most prepped survivalist is going to be critically short on is accurate and timely information. It's a Hell of a problem actually and one that even the U.S. military, CIA and other organizations with infinite resources struggle with constantly.

If evacuation is your primary, secondary, or even tertiary plan then you'll be doing yourself a favor by working out your plans *now* while you have the luxury of time, fuel, and no pressure to develop your plans. Never leave yourself solely reliant on one method of transport. At the very least if you have to abandon your car then plan for how you'll walk. Don't overlook motorcycles, bicycles, boats and whatever else comes to mind. A series of progressive abandonment would be a good plan to work on. If you must leave your car then know in advance what you'll carry on your back and what you'll leave behind. There may not be a lot of time for making such decisions in the heat of the moment.

One should never rely on just one *route* to get to where you need to be as well. Pick a primary route then a secondary and a tertiary and make sure everyone in your party is aware of them. A cardinal rule in this regard is THE MAP IS <B>NOT</B> THE GROUND. If it's one of your bug out routes then you should periodically travel over it in person to make sure you know what's what on that route. Maps become increasingly out of date from the day they are published and even aerial photography goes stale.

Even if you have no intention of leaving it is critically important to have as many ways of gathering information as you can acquire. There have been enough disasters and crises in the last ten years here in the U.S. for it to become clear that no ONE communication method is going to suffice for the entire nation for all problems. In one scenario your two meter radio may not be able to reach anyone who knows anything because you've lost the relay or your big antenna mast. In another the cell phones and/or hardwired phones may be the first casualty. In yet another CB's may be hopelessly jammed. You may need to talk to someone in the next county but your shortwave gear either gets you across town or into the next state. A wide band shortwave receiver of as high a quality as you can afford will open many, many frequencies to you to at least listen in on even if you can't transmit and that cold mean the difference between living and dying. Don't overlook good old AM/FM/TV/Weather receivers either and pay attention to their antenna quality. Try to standardize your power supplies so that you don't have a shoebox of C batteries while your best receiver takes only D cells. In my case everything runs off of AA or D cells and as many of those as I can will take a 12 volt adapter. STORE EXTRA BATTERIES. Mr. Murphy says your last set will go dead halfway through a vital broadcast.

Continuing on communications if you're using large antennas (as in on a mast or a long dipole) do you have backups? It doesn't have to be an EMP that takes your main antenna out, it might just be a storm or a lightning strike. You may have the best radio money can buy but if you lose your antenna and can't replace it then you're crippled.

Now as for how you can tell what's real, true and of timely importance and what's not, well that's that's a toughie. I don't have a good answer to that because many times it has to depend on the nature of the crisis. Basically, the closer the broadcaster and the more direct the impact of what it is they're reporting to you the more effort you should give to analyzing what it is you're hearing. Using the story as an example I'm far, far more interested in what a HAM (or HAMS) are reporting in Florida, Georgia and Alabama than what CNN is telling about what's happening in Northern California or Boston. The Deep South states have a direct impact on me here while the other areas are much more distant and much less immediate in their import. Maybe some of the posters with intel experience can give us some clues.

........Alan.

<b>Excellent</b> series of thoughts and suggestions, Alan.

If indeed someone is going to put together such a list of shortwave bands or frequencies to either just monitor with a receiver or to possibly come up on, information such as the sideband setting might be quite useful. Ditto times to monitor, especially for the nets which get organized on sw for various purposes.
Many more people are going to have various of the SW receivers from Baygens to Sangeons to Grundigs to Radio Shacks than will have an honest sw hf-capable transciever. The capabilities of those receiver-only units can be a tad limited in comparision -- but in these kinds of circumstances what can be gleaned from them can be a Godsend indeed.

R

Just for info.. Here is my SHTF shortwave list.


SHORT-WAVE UTILITY SERVICES
VARIOUS EMERGENCY SERVICES

Upper Sideband Voice channels

**NEW**
2182.0 Maritime voice calling and distress (guarded until 1999)
2196.0 Federal Aviation Administration, Caribbean hurricane net
2371.0 Civil Air Patrol, all regions
2374.0 Civil Air Patrol, all regions
2500.0 WWV/WWVH Time Signal Stations, Boulder Co./Hawaii
2670.0 U.S. Coast Guard groups, local bulletins, announced on 2182
3047.0 Canadian Forces SAR secondary
3122.0 U.S. Coast Guard, safety of flight
3130.0 U.S. Navy FACSFAC Jacksonville, FL "Sea Lord"
3303.0 U.S. Department Of Transportation evacuation F-1
3331.0 Federal Aviation Administration, southeast
3341.0 FEMA "Foxtrot-6," U.S. Coast Guard in Caribbean
3815.0 (LSB) Antigua / Antilles emergency & weather net
3815.0 (LSB) Inter-island 75 meter frequency (24 hr)
3873.0 (LSB) Texas (Emergency)
3910.0 (LSB) Virginia primary (alt 7360)
3915.0 (LSB) South Carolina Emergency Net
3923.0 (LSB) North Carolina Emergency Net (alt. 7232)
3925.0 (LSB) Always good for SE U.S. H&W
3930.0 (LSB) Gulf Coast Hurricane Net alternate
3930.0 (LSB) Louisiana
3930.0 (LSB) North Texas Emergency Net
3935.0 (LSB) Gulf Coast Hurricane Net
3935.0 (LSB) Texas (Health & Welfare in Bret)
3940.0 (LSB) South Florida Emergency Net
3943.0 (LSB) West Gulf Emergency Net
3947.0 (LSB) Virginia health & welfare (alt 7240)
3950.0 (LSB) National Hurricane Watch Net alternate
3950.0 (LSB) North Florida Emergency Net
3955.0 (LSB) South Texas Emergency Net
3957.0 (LSB) Louisiana State EOC
4055.0 Federal Aviation Administration, southeast
4081.5 British military, relief use in Bahamas
4125.0 Maritime calling and distress frequency, some weather info
4146.0 Maritime simplex channel 4A
4149.0 Maritime simplex channel 4B
4372.0 U.S. Navy FACSFAC VACAPES, VA, "Giant Killer"
4411.0 WLO, Gulf at 0500
4426.0 U.S. Coast Guard, maritime duplex, ships call on 4134
4426.0 U.S. Coast Guard, Portsmouth, VA, Atlantic WX at 0330, 0500, and 0930
4426.0 U.S. Coast Guard, San Francisco, CA, Pacific WX at 0430 and 1030
4466.0 Civil Air Patrol, NE US Primary, SE Alternate
4469.0 Civil Air Patrol, Gulf Coast Hurricane Net, SE Pri, NE Alt
4490.0 SHARES Co-ordination Network Ch. 3
4506.0 Civil Air Patrol, N. Central US Primary
4520.0 US Army NG New Jersey in Floyd
4582.0 Civil Air Patrol, National Clg & Emergency, Pacific Alternate
4583.5 Civil Air Patrol, Tuesday hurricane nets 2100 local in season
4585.0 Civil Air Patrol, Pacific & Mid-East (Atlantic) Primary
4601.0 Civil Air Patrol, Rocky Mtn. Primary, Great Lakes Alternate
4604.0 Civil Air Patrol, Great Lakes Primary, Rocky Mtn. Alternate
4627.0 Civil Air Patrol, Southwest US Primary
5000.0 WWV/WWVH Time Signal Stations, Boulder Co./Hawaii
5547.0 Transpacific Aircraft, San Francisco - Honolulu
5574.0 Transpacific Aircraft, San Francisco - Honolulu
6640.0 Transatlantic Aircraft, New York ARINC
6679.0 Honolulu VOLMET Weather
7335.0 CHU Canada Time Signal Station
10000.0 WWV/WWVH Time Signal Stations, Boulder Co./Hawaii
15000.0 WWV/WWVH Time Signal Stations, Boulder Co./Hawaii
20000.0 WWV/WWVH Time Signal Stations, Boulder Co./Hawaii
25344.0 (USB) NCS Nationwide: National Communications System
25347.0 (USB) NCS Nationwide: National Communications System
25350.0 (USB) USCS Worldwide: Cothen Network Scan 10
25363.0 (USB) USAF Andersen AB, Guam
26617.0 CAP US Air Force: Civil Air Patrol
26620.0 CAP US Air Force: Civil Air Patrol Search and Rescue
26859.0 (USB) DoD Nightwatch Airborne Command Post Net Zulu 335
26910.0 (USB) USAF US Air Force MARS - Nationwide
27565.0 (USB) US Army MARS
27736.0 (USB) US Air Force MARS
27780.0 (USB) US Army MARS
27790.0 (USB) US Army MARS
27810.0 (USB) US Army MARS
27820.0 (USB) US Army MARS
27829.0 (USB) US Air Force MARS
27870.0 (USB) ALE Channel Scope Command
27877.0 (USB) US Air Force MARS
27978.0 (USB) US Air Force MARS
27985.0 (USB) US Air Force MARS
27991.0 (USB) US Air Force MARS
27992.0 (USB) US Army MARS

**NEW**

3311 kHz. U.S. Air Force Calling Frequency
4041 Navy/Marine Emergency Frequency
4585 Civil Air Patrol Command and Control
4590 Air Force Calling Frequency
5203 North Carolina National Guard
5211 Federal Emergency Management Agency
5755 Federal Agencies' Emergency Command
6826 US Army MARS (Military Affil. Radio)
6870 Federal Aviation Admin. Command
6999 US Army Emergency
7302 USAF MARS Emergency Net
7635 Civil Air Patrol Alternate Command
7743 Federal Agencies' Command/Control Net
8125 FAA Regional Command and Control Net
10493 FEMA Command and Control Net
11045 Federal Agencies' Command/Control Net
13457 FAA Regional Command/Control Alternate

U.S. ARMY/NATIONAL GUARD - USB Voice

3032 Night-time Primary Net
4442 Night-time Operations
4445 Night-time Operations
4520 Night-time Operations
5202 Night-time Operations
5203.5 Night-time Alternate Net
6766 Evening Primary Operations
6910 Evening Operations
7648.5 Evening Operations
8061.5 (in LSB) Day time Operations
8093 Day time Primary Operations
9121 Day time Operations
10796 Day-time Operations
12168.5 Day-time Operations



SHARES (SHARED RESOURCES EMERGENCY SERVICES)

USB Voice

5236 Voice Primary Night Channel 1
14396.5 Voice Primary Day Channel 2



U.S & CANADIAN COAST GUARD USB Voice


5696 U.S. Primary Night Frequency
5717 Canadian Primary Frequency
8983 U.S. Primary Day Frequency


U.S. ARMED FORCES GLOBAL HIGH FREQUENCY SYSTEM

USB Voice



USAF Bases such as Andrews, Edwards, McClellan,
Offutt, Ascension, Hickam, Thule, Elmendorf, etc.
with worldwide phone patches, Emergency Action
Messages, general traffic, etc.

4742, 6712, 6739, 8992, 11175, 11244, 13200, 15016


Hope that helps everyone

any comments, criticism (sp) on what I have written would be greatly appreciated. I have tried to concentrate more on what preps I have and what I would be able to do, for now without much outside disruption except no water and no elec. And the fact that I live among all sheeple. Thanks

BTW, the "printer friendly version" is nearly 70 pages long. This thing, in the right creative hands, could be a real neat story. Perhaps it could get published after all...

thanks exe....I printed and put into my WHEN TSHTF NOTE BOOK. ONE NEVER KNOWS!!

12kittymom... you are doing fine. I think its best, at least for me, to weave my tale around MY knowlege and location. I try and stick to the truth as much as I can. We DO live in the forest so its easy for me to write about it. We DO have a large RV all packed and ready to go once we have a buyer's name on a dotted line. We DO have friends named Bud and Bonnie, and on and on. I DO know something about preps and living off the land and forest fires, etc. I know nothing about modern military other than I know a humvee from a tank. Keep it up. EVeryone has something unique to give here and should not hold back. If you want short participation, get yourself killed off. LOL

Taz

Thanks eXe, is this the same list you posted earlier? If not I need to get this one as well.
Could someone please tell me how to just get this one post to copy and not the whole thread? Thanks.

I am using very real locations and goods,weapons,etc in my writing. Write what ya know has always been a good rule to writing. And if you dont know, research. Thats what I am doing for myself.

It wasnt until I started writing this that I included the m/cycle into my scout vehicle. It is very quiet,the exhaust port is maybe an 1"to a 1-1/2" diameter and being a automatic clutch there is no gearing up and down noise to speak of.

Afraid I am very sentimental and protective of our dogs. They will be with us through it all as they are in real life. I hope their big mouths dont get us killed.
I like the idea of going to another vehicle as a backup. Just have to figure out a side car for the mutts!
Hmmmm. Maybe a small trailer. And no,they wont get helmets and goggles.
And I'm like Taz, I am using the wild state lands as resting spots. I wouldnt assume to camp out on some farmer's lot. Good way to get shot up. Michigan has many state and national sites scattered throughout.
I wish my refuge spot wasnt so far away from home. Travel inhales deeply. Fog of war is not fun to drive in!

Don't forget about CB radios for communications, either. They would be especially helpful for those bugging out, as other people on the road who had them would likely be sharing information about what was closed, blocked, etc. Get multiples ( for examining multiple channels, and a socket multiplier for the car cigarette lighter.

The "Fog Of War" effect was what really struck me about this as well - it drove home the point that all the preps in the world may make no difference if you don't have good info on how what to do with them. Bugging out when you should stay put, or vice versa, based on bad info could be the kiss of death for many.

Anyone know if cell phone service would still be up? A nuke or EMP would take it out, but how vulnerable is it to other forms of S hitting TF? I don't have one, and don't know much about the technology. Is towers or satellite, or both?

I'll try to add a chapter tonight (have been offline for 5 days, out of town). Here in Vermont we'll be mostly ok, but dealing with hordes of refugees coming from NY and Boston. And the emotional effects of having family members caught on the wrong side of the front (west of Cleveland) and in metro areas (NY and Philadelphia) are also foremost in my mind.

Tweak

Taz-thanks for the thought of the pump in the pond-had not thought of that -
If needed could do the same with the pool and the pump we put in it to clean the water off the top-now just need to make sure we have the elec for it-

Timbo,

I had that same question (about copying just part of a thread). Someone a while back gave a simple answer that I guess all computer-literates know. On my computer(a Mac) I simply hi-lite the text I want to copy--go up to "edit" & click "copy"--then I go into Mac system called "Note Pad" (PC's should have something equivalent)--bring it up---activate a new note page & click "paste". Then you can print the newly pasted note(the previously hi-lited text)

I've been enjoying these senarios immensely. 'Tempted to jump in from the North-Western Wisconsin veiw-point. 'Have been prepping since the 1st oil shortage years back. Built an earth sheltered home (started in '81 and moved in in '86 ) on forty acres out in the sticks.

Best Regards.
GGK

Tim it is EASIER than all that.

Highlite what ya want, "CTRL+P"

click on "Selection"

and hit OK.


C

I tried it Gitche, no luck on the copy.

Go for it! Write up a paragraph of five!

I think the more involved the better this whole thread will be.

I dont think I really can write that well but felt the urge to share some of my knowledge with y'all.


PS to night driver. Just saw your post. I'll give it a try. Remember now you talkin to the UNIVERSES dumbest computer man.

Edited to add: Well poop night driver. Any idiot can do that!
Even this idiot! Thanks a lot.
Thanks anyway Gitche. I appreciate the try.

Kissy, Kissy, Night Driver!!

I can't tell you how many sheets of paper I've wasted in the past just trying to copy one tiny, itty-bitty thing!

I knew how to do everything right up to click on "Selection".

Ahhhh, Life is good.

Until later...

Thanks for the list EXE! I'll be copying it out this weekend and tucking it in my book.

Now about my particular piece of this contributed story.

<I>Sure glad that Alan chose to hit the trail or we wouldn't know anything. I wish he would return home and get his family and make his way down this way. Think its safer than the way he is headed.</I>

I wouldn't want anyone to think that going off and playing Joe Guerilla Fighter is ordinarily any part of my prep planning. For virtually any scenario you can name from Asteroid Strikes to Weather Disasters you'd find me hunkered down at DunHagan trying to ride it out just like most of the rest of you would be doing in your respective homesteads and hideyholes.

Except.

Except for the fact that Taz chose one of the only conceivable scenarios that would motivate me to leave my home and family behind to go fight and that is an invasion scenario. In such a scenario I find myself in the survivalist's dilemma - when does a higher loyalty prevail?

Invasions are an old, old scenario and unlike many that we worry about that have not yet ever happened this one has many times throughout history, if not very recently here in the Continental United States. Anyone who likes to read will have worked their way through many such events whether in actual historical fact or in the pages of fiction. I know I have and the possible options that are open to people caught in such a war zone are fairly few. You can hide and hope the war passes you by, you can wait until the war comes to you and fight then, or you can take the fight to the enemy. DunHagan is just an ordinary place like most other homesteads and not built to withstand a firefight, most especially not one involving armor, heavy weapons and helicopter gunships.

Hiding would seem the better option except that the enemy is here in force and his objective appears to be territorial conquest. I could hide and hope that it all blows over but as is becoming clear through the many contributions of the various writers this invasion has a very real chance of succeeding. If that happens there won't be any purpose to hiding because in the fullness of time there can be only one inevitable end. No, better to take the fight to the enemy and try to make him accept war on MY terms. I'm not equipped by either training or experience for this, my service time was in the Air Force, so you'll notice that we take up with as many trained and experienced folks as we can find both to improve our personal chances of survival and of carrying out our mission.

I'm not happy about going to fight, but then I'm sure my forebears of 1861-1865 weren't happy about it either, nor during the Seminole Indian Wars, the two World Wars, Vietnam, or the Cuban Missile Crisis. War comes upon us when it does and our only decision to be made is how we are to cope. I haven't decided how my part of this story will conclude. If I remain true to what history has shown us is the usual reward of the guerilla and the partisan the ending is likely to be dark. The Thespians at Thermopylae come to mind. So does the Alamo. They fought - and died - to buy time for those behind them to arm and organize. They died on their feet because they would not live on their knees.

I much prefer happy endings, always have, but how this story will end is not yet revealed to us.

See you on the other side.

......Alan.

Alan...I am so glad that you decided to join into this thread. You are eloquent, innovative, imaginative, and all mixed in a cake served up with a thick covering of commonsense frosting.
The imagination, knowledge, and the ability to express it that is contained in this thread is totally amazing. I know of a number of lurkers who are as spell bound as if it were a Tom Clancy novel. I rather suspect some of the newbies are a little wide eyed too. Keep it up guys...you are all great story tellers and educators to boot.

Taz

Dennis,

In case you're reading this thread too that was a nice post! You should move it to near the top of the thread so that it'll be in the proper chronological place.

BTW, for the benefit of the other writers in the Awakening thread I too have tried to keep the stuff that I mention to those things I already have or at least have some idea of where I could reasonably lay hands on it. The county yard really is up in the Hague area, I was there last year for a CERT chainsaw class and saw the trucks I mentioned. Probably the most improbable person in my part of the story is JimmyJohn but he's based on a real, live person. In fact, he was my vice-president the year I was president of my local Sportsman Association. I did gift him with several more grandchildren than he presently has but everything else is largely true. Now whether I would have the actual audacity to do some of the things we've done in the story is something else...

........Alan.

Thanks Alan. I kept expecting someone else to flesh out the story, telling the gub'mint side, so I waited. Without it, the story is a tad one-dimensional. I hope that others will join in on the gub'mint info, as I'm kinda sparse on knowing the names of the various military units that might be called into play.

But we need to include the US military. We also need to include the "militia" (I have something planned along those lines for a future chapter).

heh heh....

Probably should have made more mention of the military since the *surviving* units are going to be quite busy doing their duty. We have seen a bit of that already and I have more in mind coming up in my part. The Navy has not been idle.

With the surprise element being what it is in this story quite a lot of our bases in the continental United States would have been lost. There's been so much consolidation these last twenty years that taking out a relative few major bases could really cripple our at-home war fighting capabilities. How much we can quickly retrieve from overseas remains to be seen.

..........Alan.

Am bumping this up. Re the food that my group will eat today.
1. Breakfast will be corn bread, cane syrup and fried eggs.

2. Lunch will be spaghetti and the sauce will be Ragu with a bunch of the coarse meat flavored TVP that has been rehydrated. It will be our "meat" in the sauce. This will all be cooked on the wood fire in our "patio".

3. For dinner will be another corn bread with cane syrup and beans that have been cooked in the Bush Box. The beans will have rehydrated onions and some home canned ham hocks in them. This will all be brought to a boil on the fire and then the dutch oven will be placed into the bush box. About 2pm I will need to take them out and add water and bring again to a boil and put back into box to finish cooking. They will be done by 6pm having been put on at 8am. If the beans were fresher it wouldn't take so long but I have had these beans pre rollover.

4. The only drinks we have are water.

Bush Box is a hollow cube of 6 inch thick styrofoam. The cube is placed into a plywood box with recessed lid. On the bottom of the cube (sitting on top of 6 inches of styrofoam) is a 12 inch ceramic tile. My 10 inch dutch oven goes into that box and its a snug fit. thus little air. The food in the Dutch oven will continue to cook during the day as the heat cannot escape.

Taz

Hope I'm not offending anyone with my contributions. If you're going to print it out, SOMEBODY has to write for the six-and-under set.