Prepper Diary December 2: More on the Move, the Truck, and COVID-19

Packing continues.  I have become an expert at using rolls of toilet paper to fill in voids in large boxes.  I also excel at using clothing to pad electronic equipment in boxes.  The downside of this approach is that if we don’t unpack quickly, I’m going to have a limited supply of clothing to wear.  The positive is that in some future where there is no toilet paper, I will open a box labeled “Pete’s Office Supplies” and find two pristine rolls of toilet tissue, making me the hero of the hour.

We are at that weird place where we are trying to eat everything in the refrigerator and freezer so we don’t have to move it or toss it.  For example, we’ve been drinking a river’s worth of sparkling water, tonic, and we’ve been eating hors d’oeuvres for dinner.  Today, we munched on some rather large green olives that are flavored with vermouth and meant to go into martinis.  My wife is making popcorn for snacking to prevent us from having to move the few popcorn kernels left in the bottom of Orville’s jar.

We’ve already have condiments at the other house, so things like the half jar of relish and partially used bottle of ketchup are going to be sacrificed when we go.  I was happy to note that the maple syrup has made the cut and among the glass bottles in an old liquor carton.

No Guns and Gear – Almost

As a hard-core prepper that is used to have a ton of food and supplies, I’m in a weird position of having almost all my preparedness gear at our other house.  I doubt we have three weeks’ worth of food here.  The generator and gas cans have bene moved, so we have to hope there is not a lengthy power outage.  If the SHTF, my only real option is to bug out. 

We also have only six guns handy: My two carry pistols, my Banshee, a shotgun, an AR, and my wife’s carry pistol.  Between us, we probably have less than 1,000 rounds of ammo on hand.  That in itself is kind of weird for me.  I haven’t had that few guns at hand since the early 1990s.

To someone who doesn’t own a gun or only has one, six probably sounds like lots of guns, but to me it is a sad number.  I keep telling myself that I haven’t had to shoot anyone for close to 30 years; chances are that I won’t be getting in any running gun battles in the next week or two.  Still, I have to admit, it’s rather unsettling.

Truck Tales

I had a weird electronic problem with the Ram and had to trade it back at the rental car agency.  They gave me a Chevy Colorado.  While I would have really preferred a larger truck, I had to take what they had on the lot.  But as the Colorado is one of my possible purchases, we’ll consider this rental a practice run.

I brought my title back after my last trip, and the insurance claim has been settled. I got close to $6,000 for my truck, which is more than I expected.  To give you an idea of how they depreciate your aftermarket accessories, I got $45 for the diamond plate tool box on the truck.  We all know those cost at least 10 times that. 

Crime and Punishment

In the past week, I have talked to two friends in law enforcement.  The police force in our nearby city is understaffed by 20 percent, and many of the vacancies are among the patrol officers, meaning the cops who are on the street as a visible deterrence.  In their infinite wisdom, the local politicians followed in New York City’s footsteps and disbanded the street crime units.  Crime is now on the uptick, just like it has been in NYC. The city has seen an increase in shootings. 

As if morale wasn’t bad enough, the officers did not get a raise this year because of COVID-19, and there is speculation that 2021 will be the same.  One wonders if the Democrats will ever learn or if they will follow Baltimore and other Democratic cities into the abyss and see their vibrant city centers become wastelands as business move out, followed by any citizen that has to coins to rub together.

Lots of officers who are leaving the police force are leaving the public safety field altogether.  Many are washing their hands of the whole business, which is nothing like when they went through the academy decades ago.

I imagine when rent deferral programs end and the eviction notices go out, we’ll see another uptick in crime as people seek to raise money to keep themselves, their old lady, or their mom from being evicted.  It would not surprise me if we see car jackings, robberies at ATMs, home invasions, and other violent crimes increase as people force their victims to make ATM withdrawals or turn over their cash and valuables.

Looks like we may be moving in the nick of time.

Trying to Cancel Christmas with COVID

Politicians are now telling us that shopping at major retailers is causing COVID-19 to spread at unprecedented rates.  Wait, I thought that was caused by Memorial Day? Or because or Sturgis. Wasn’t it Thanksgiving that was causing rates to rise?  I am amused by how the blame game points and whatever mainstream celebration there is this month and tried to use COVID-19 to shut it down.

Apparently, the people who want to crush the economy are trying to use COVID-19 to stop shopping.  Or maybe the people who want to crush Christmas are trying to use COVID-19 as an excuse to crush the holiday.

But whether it is due to shopping, or bars, or restaurants, or gyms, or in-person schooling, or whatever the latest bugaboo is, the data shows that COVID-19 is definitely spreading at or near record rates.  I am less convinced that the death rate is that grim, especially when you hear of people who have suffered head wounds or were shot being reported as COVID-19 deaths.

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If you enjoyed today’s post, you might like Prepper Diary November 29: Truck Travails and Making Moves.