Patriot Express Newsletter Edition #146
Fellow Patriots,
Greetings and welcome to the Patriot Express Newsletter Edition #146. Thanks for sharing your time with us here at Hope for Survival. Many of you endured some snow, ice, and strong winds this week and rumor has it another storm will hit many of you again this weekend. Stay safe out there and make sure everything is still working okay between storms.
It was another great week in the world of Hope for Survival. We woke up to some snow Monday morning but not nearly as much as many communities around us. We may have hit the two-inch mark along with some ice. Our friends just south in Western N.C. hit the ten-inch mark or more. Festus and Ms. Festus had a beautiful spread across the Cumberland Plateau also. I know snow inhibits travel and a sense of security for many. When I'm home I spend many hours at my desk writing and doing HFS stuff. Part of my enjoyment and peacefulness is looking out a window beside my desk and viewing the scenery behind the American flag waving in the breeze. After the snow stopped, Wilson and his four-legged buddies hit the ground scampering around the snow looking for more food. It reminded me, no matter what we face each day, just like Wilson and his squirrel buddies, we must continue to prepare for what tomorrow could bring. It is not only an action, but also a mindset. It shouldn't feel like a job to you. Make it fun and adventurous when possible.
I spent last weekend on the road over in the region of Huntsville, Arab, and Joppa, Alabama doing some day job stuff and then Hope for Survival events in the evening and all-day Saturday. It was a 600-mile round trip which meant about 9 hours of drive time. You know what this means, right? Drive time equals lots of thinking. I will share some of my mental adventures down in the "Thoughts for the Week" section.
Herbal Studies - I continue getting good feedback on the link below so I left the information in for a third week. Thanks to our Patriot sister in Western N.C. provided the following website and information from Botan Logos to share with fellow Patriots regarding Herbal learning and studies. The following website has a wealth of information to include self-paced virtual studies to help educate Patriots. The particular course she is currently taking is $25.00 and you can download and complete at your own pace. Herbal Basics for Everyone – BotanoLogos School of Herbal Studies (wildhealingherbs.com). Thanks much for sharing this great opportunity with us. BotanoLogos is located in North Georgia.
Thursday Zoom Rallies – Zoom Rally #80 was conducted this week and one of our HFS Patriot brothers filled the guest speaker seat by teaching us about "How to Make Gel Fuel and Using Gel Fuel for Emergency Heat." It was a great brief loaded with useful information. HFS is very appreciative of the effort and information shared with fellow Patriots. We then covered extreme poverty and starvation and transitioned over to the "what would you do" segment of the rally. We closed with the "chatter that matters" segment. Thanks to everyone who could attend the event. The next HFS Thursday Zoom Rally #81 will be held on Feb 3, 2022, 0730 EST.
HFS Digital Football Sticks - The feedback on this product has been outstanding. It is a tool to help the individual or family preparer consolidate critical documents on one device. The stick is already set up with numerous file folders such as bank records, marriage certificates, deeds, titles, loans, passports, births, graduation diplomas.....and more. Several of the folders you see below will include sub-folders to break out the specific title.
You simply place your scanned document in the proper folder for storage. When you travel away from home or evacuate because of a disaster you now have all your important documents available on the football stick. It is also waterproof. You can order one or multiple sticks through the HFS website for $25.00 per stick.
Hope for Survival YouTube and Odysee Channels- If you have not already, please consider subscribing to the HFS YouTube, MeWe, Parler and HFS Odysee channels. We would appreciate your consideration. Because I still work a full-time day job, time is limited, and I have not been able to set up a routine schedule for recording and posting videos yet. Thanks for hanging with me. Share the link with family and friends.
Communications: You can now follow HFS social media on the following outlets:
Facebook – Hope for Survival
YouTube Channel – Hope for Survival
MeWe: - //mewe.com/p/hopeforsurvival2
Odysee - Hope for Survival (odysee.com)
Parler - Preparedness101
Connect and give me a shout. Share with family and friends.
Guest and Newcomers
If you are a guest or newcomer to the HFS journey, please check out this link for additional
information offered through HFS. https://www.hopeforsurvival.com/post/guest-and-newcomers-information-page
Hope for Survival books: You can obtain information on the two HFS books at this link: Survival, Preparedness, Disaster Management for individuals or family (hopeforsurvival.com)
Hope for Survival - How Food, Water, Shelter, and Security Could Save Your Life (Book 1)
Hope for Survival - The Mindset (Book 2)
We must make this brief public announcement to protect the innocent.
Ding, Ding, Ding....Attention HFS readers..... Opinions shared in this newsletter are just that, opinions, and nothing more. Read at your own risk. The owner and author of this site is not responsible for hurt feelings or thin-skinned readers. I do my best to show restraint and respect to the best extent possible. I take as many precautions as possible and try to remain as nonpolitical as possible, however, there are times when I just can't help but point certain things out. Occasionally I use words only Patriots recognize and understand. It's not personal against any non-Patriot. It's just the truth. Sometimes we must pull up our spenders and suck it up. Just saying. Stay the course, read what you want, and avoid the rest. Avoid fear porn as much as possible and the day will be okay. When all else fails… Keep the faith and always have Hope.
Let’s move along and get to some thoughts...
Thoughts for the week –
My trip to Alabama had multiple objectives in the short two-day period covering roughly 600 miles. After the morning drive, I spent the afternoon doing day-job tasks which required multiple stops around Huntsville. While achieving the objectives I noticed this weird feeling of everything seeming different. Fewer people on the roads and around the facilities was the biggest thing that stood out. It was just different. I had a few minutes at the end of the first objective, so I journeyed by the military base exchange store (like a Target or Wal Mart) just to walk and get some exercise. The first thing I noticed was how empty the parking lot appeared. Fewer cars and shoppers on a Friday just before the forecasted snow approaching the region. One would think folks would be shopping to purchase last minute items before the snow storm. This was out of the norm.
I had dinner plans to meet with the HFS Huntsville Co-Leader to catch up and get updated on the status of training and team topics. We spent three hours conversing on numerous topics to include issues, growth, training, communications, and personalities. One concern expressed was team growth and meeting new like-minded Patriots to be vetted and join the team. The unanswered question remains, "in a community of 250,000, with many like-minded preparers, why are so many remaining in the shadows hesitating to join like-minded groups?" We can name several reasons and it still leaves us in the same place. If the current approach and delivery of information on the group is not gaining followers, maybe readdress the information and delivery. We are living through a period in history where trust is lacking, and people wish to not be labeled as a crazy person who eats conspiracy nuggets for breakfast. Many who prepare in the privacy of their home will hopefully figure out at some point they can't go it alone. I appreciate our Patriot brothers time to share a meal and have a lengthy discussion on local preparedness items.
I traveled to Arab, AL in the evening to lodge before my trip to Joppa, AL the following morning. to provide a full day of preparedness training. After a fairly restless night I woke up early on Saturday to prepare for the day and a visit to a few local stores, which is my normal routine, to see how well stocked things appeared. I visited a local Wal Mart and Dollar General in the Arab, AL community. On this particular Saturday morning, it was within 24 hours of a forecasted blizzard set to hit the area. I would have predicted the stores to be stocked and ready for a busy day of locals buying grocery needs to survive the predicted weather. I arrived around 645 AM and found the parking lot about 25 % full of shoppers. So, it was safe to assume the majority of the daily shoppers had not yet arrived to the store. I walked through the meat section and then journeyed over to the dairy and bread aisles. I was surprised to find about 20% or less stock in any of the areas mentioned. This would mean by noon most key essentials would be depleted. Locals would have to travel another 30 miles to Huntsville to shop at another Wal Mart type store. I read comparable reports coming out of Western N.C. and other areas. Trucks showed up with routine deliveries carrying 30% or less of the routine products requested. The situation appears to be getting no better, storm or not.
Now, this could be caused by numerous circumstances on the local, state, and national level. We continue hearing about available resources, truck driver shortages, truck part shortages, and weather. What we aren't hearing is one of the biggest problems that started part of this supply chain problem 22 months ago was issues in China. Two of the largest airports and three seaports are currently closed due to Covid-19 lockdowns (news reports) where the Chinese government has locked down over 11 million citizens in northern China. Does it sound like things are getting better? I'm not writing this to create fear. I&#x