Prepare??? My family has been burning wood for their primary source of heat since before I was born. The only inconvenience for us when the power went out was that the video games stopped working <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

This is such a unique group of people, I'm glad I stumbled upon this site and decided to join

We're glad that you joined us as well! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

I echo what PK said, and would like to hear more of your ideas on what you would
do to prepare.
Mind you, I live on the extreme "other" side of North America to South Florida,
being in British Columbia Canada, but there a group of us here who are very
interested in "bushcraft" and "survival".

Cheers

I'm really fairly new to the whole thing, the last year or so. Reading a bunch recently been going out into the everglades with friends that do it all the time to learn about my local wilderness

Propane and propane accessories, spare 12 volt batteries and power inverters, wind-up (crank) radios, and solar panel kits, water filters and containers.
I have several tanks of propane on premises, along with a couple of vent-free propane heaters that keeps our house quite comfortable in winter if the power goes out. I also have a generator, but haven't really needed to use it in years. I could use the generator or solar panel kits to charge the batteries if needed. As a last resort, I have a cast-iron ranch stove in the basement and a wood supply in my hay shed for heat. I keep MANY cases of bottled water on hand, and could filter pond water if I needed to - along with catching fish! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Just a few things to consider! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

DotD, I answered some of yours.

Don't forget that the security and ease of survival we enjoy now is part and
parcel of the society that we live in. We wouldn't have many of these fine
"toys" that we now have if it weren't for the society that we live in.

Exactly, I would not be happy about it.



The "yoke of government" is a bit of a different story, and could stand to
be revised, both in your country and here in Canada. I believe that there
is vast room for improvement to a more responsible situation, but that's politics
and isn't the focus of this post.

Correct again.



Most people look at a survival situation with a given time frame of short duration,
say a couple of years at most, then it's back to the status quo....man that
was tough, glad I survived it, now lets all sit down and watch the football
game on TV.

Won't happen in total break down.




Picture yourself doing your everyday tasks the way your great, great grandfather
would have done.

No thank you. I am not that tough. Then again, my g-grandfather was a moon shiner. That might be ok. (Thumbs up)




Don't know how long it would take to go by horse, as I don't have one, but I can
envision it taking quite awhile.

Yes, but is doable. Problem is if it is bad the best you can do is keep up the horse and eat it if need be.


Now picture taking a trip into town in the middle of winter, in your northern
States, or like here where I live. Temperatures could easily reach -20F to -30F,
and if your trip took hours, what a different story that would be.

That is dang cold. I could not adapt to it.



I'm a very adaptable person, and know that I could make a go of things if I
needed to, for as long as I needed to, but it would be extremely painful,
and I can tell you without a doubt in my mind, that I would miss the perks of
modern society, hands down.




Can you imagine what it must have been like during the last ice age?

Dang cold, most died at a young age, the ones that made it were all broken up and crippled.





We as a society here in North America have it pretty good, and I'm saddened by
the thought that many members of our society would not be able to survive should
the situation develop where our society was gone.

Correct. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

One of the lessons of history is that tyranny is better than chaos.

Think about the European dark ages. The Pax Romana had collapsed. Imperial territory was littered with barbarian tribes who had come in as foederati. Other tribes looking for easy pickings invaded. Local strongmen arose who were just as bad. Your average farmer, craftsman, or merchant had no defense against rapacious thugs bent on loot, rape, arson, and a fun bit of murder.

What happened? Most people willingly enslaved themselves for the small amount of safety and order they gained thereby. Oh, there are differences between slaves and serfs. But for all of me one institution is about as nasty as the other. But not, for those living through that time, as nasty as uncontrolled chaos. And so the fall of Rome eventually gave birth to the high Middle Ages.