The Survival Weekly Dispatch - Volume 11, Issue 23

Hey everyone, thanks for checking out the newsletter this week. I hope all is well in your part of the world.

I spent last weekend in Escanaba, Michigan, which is in the Upper Peninsula. It’s a trip I make every June and September for the Bark River Knives Grind-In events. During these get-togethers, groups of anywhere from about 50 to over 100 participants make their own knives using materials and equipment provided by Bark River Knives. It’s an incredibly fun time, and family friendly to boot. I haven’t made a knife since my first trip there. Instead, for me it’s a time for networking and fellowship amongst my fellow knife nerds.

It’s a long drive, nearly five hours each way, and I’m usually exhausted by the time I return home, but it’s worth it. We all had a blast this past weekend and I can’t wait to get back up there in September.

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Prepper Tip -- Okay, bear with me, as there is a preparedness angle here that I’ll get to in a minute. “Lovie” is apparently the current popular term for a young child’s favorite stuffed animal. Most kids have at least one that they get pretty attached to, right? One of my boys had a stuffed Husky pup and another had a weird pink/purple cow. Our granddaughter loves these particular ones that are part stuffed animal, part miniature blanket.

Ever experience a child losing their favorite lovie? Yeah, that’s not a fate I’d wish on an enemy. If you have a young child or grandchild who is attached to a specific stuffed animal or toy, do yourself a favor and buy a spare one. Do it now, today, before you forget.

Here’s the prepping angle. Keep the “emergency” lovie with your evacuation kit. If you end up having to beat feet in a hurry, your child might not have time to grab their stuffed animal. Having a near duplicate might go a long way toward calming them down.

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One of the reasons why you’ll hear me and other authors encourage people to leave reviews of our books is because we get let down quite often by folks who’ve promised to do so. I’ve lost count of the number of people who have offered to review a book if only I’d send them a copy…but then apparently forget all about doing so once the book arrived to them.

Some of them are fairly big names in the industry, too.

At the end of the day, reviews drive book sales. On Amazon, the number of reviews a book has dictates how Amazon might promote it. I’d encourage to take just a couple of minutes to post a review after you’ve read a book, whether mine or someone else’s. It doesn’t need to be a thesis, just a couple of sentences will suffice. The authors you follow will appreciate it, trust me.

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My wife and I have been making our way through the show La Brea lately. We recently finished the second season and we’re waiting for the third (and last) season to be available through our local library. For those not familiar with the show, the basic premise is that a sinkhole opens in Los Angeles and a bunch of people fall in, then suddenly find themselves transported to 10,000BC. For those who have seen it, yes that is a massive oversimplification, but it’ll do for my purposes here.

One of my chief complaints about the show is that several characters end up returning to modern times briefly before going back to 10,000BC and not one of them thinks to grab a bag and toss some gear and supplies into it.

So, let’s have some fun. Let’s say you have one hour to pack a bag before you head to 10,000BC, possibly never to return. Average size pack, nothing ridiculous, and you have to be able to lift and carry it. What would you grab?

I’m still working on it, but here’s my list so far.

• 2-3 of my favorite knives

• Leather strop

• Heirloom seeds

• Water filter

• Steel pot with lid

• Mess kit

• 2-3 single-walled water bottles

• Several pairs of socks and undies

• First aid kit

• Poncho

• Woobie

• Tarp

• Canister of salt

• Roll of bank line

• 100 feet of paracord

• Tuff Possum Shackleford Haversack

• Several BIC lighters

• 2-3 ferro rods with strikers

I’m on the fence about a firearm. On the one hand, it’d make hunting easier. But, it’s going to run out of ammo at some point. If I brought one, it’d likely be a .22 rifle, as you can hunt quite a bit of game with one and I’d be able to carry a lot more ammo for it than another caliber firearm. That said, 10,000BC had a lot of megafauna roaming around, such as giant beavers, bears, and more. I doubt a .22 would do much damage to one of those.

This might sound like a cheat, in a sense, but I’d bring my Kindle along with a solar charger for it, with spare charging cords. On it, I already have hundreds of books and hundreds of hours of music. Plus, there are photos of my family I’d love to have with me.

How about you? What would you bring?

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Upon my return from my trip this past weekend, my wife and I headed out the door for a short hike. We’d recently learned that an old, closed down golf course in the next town had been turned into a recreation area, complete with some hiking trails. So, we drove over there to check it out. It was fun to explore a new to us area. Something that was interesting was that while we’ve not had a single cicada near our home, nearly every tree, bush, and shrub in this park beyond the entrance area was covered in them. The sound was deafening.

If you look closely in the second pic, you can make out some of the cicadas.

Survival Tip – Permission to be Imperfect

As you work on your survival kits, your prep plans, and all that other fun stuff, it’s important to remember that you can only do so much. We all have limitations – health, budget, space, and more. Don’t lament the fact that your kit isn’t filled with the latest and greatest gadgets and gizmos. Don’t mope about not having enough money right now to buy 100 acres of wilderness in the middle of nowhere so you can build a family compound. Don’t sulk because your living situation isn’t ideal for prepping.

Give yourself permission to be imperfect. Embrace what are able to do within your capabilities. For example, maybe you can’t afford that high-end solar generator, but you can swing a smaller unit that will plug some gaps for you.

Remember, too, that we all make mistakes. I mean, for all intents and purposes I’m sort of a professional prepper, right? Want to know how many times I’ve forgotten to grab my pocket flashlight on the way out the door? Stuff happens. Just try to learn from it and move on, rather than beat yourself up over it.

Prepper Survival Guide and Backwoods Survival Guide

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You can find them just about anywhere magazines are sold, including:

• Walmart

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• Costco

• Publix

• Walgreens

• Rite Aid

• CVS

• Tractor Supply

• Fleet Farm

• Barnes & Noble

Subscriptions to both titles are available here.

Questions, Comments, Complaints, Concerns?

I am always just an email away - jim@survivalweekly.com.