Greetings and welcome to the Patriot Express Newsletter Edition #242. Welcome to Hope for Survival. Thanks for stopping by to share your time with some weekly preparedness news. By now all the pumpkin pie is likely gone and the Christmas shopping is in full swing. Black Friday this, Black Monday that, Black day is every day it seems. Shop till you drop. By more, give more, donate more, and the month just started. Hang on, January is coming.
It was a crazy week here, but we survived. Blessings are amazing, ya know. We made it through Thanksgiving with ten plus family members at our home for four days, three with a flu crud, a backed up septic tank starting on day two, and the joy of locating and digging through about 10-12 inches of clay to find the jackpot. As the saying goes, "timing is everything" and I would warn anyone with a septic tank, if you don't know when your last septic pumping took place, get it pumped now. It was manageable but just another thing to deal with in dishes, showers, and toilet uses, with a house full and a backed up septic system. I often talk about the importance of networking, community and neighborhood, team building. During the process of digging through the dirt/clay earth to find the septic tank lid, a Hope for Survival brother stopped by and took to the shovel and pic to break some ground up. Aside from the fact his help was greatly appreciated and needed, just the fact he took time from his holiday weekend to stop by to help is what I am talking about. We all need good friends who stop their own life to come aid you in your time of need.
I'm happy to share Hope for Survival made its fourth annual donation from HFS book proceeds to the local food pantry to support their food drives for citizens in need. The HFS donation of $1,000 dollars was all book proceeds outside of the print cost. I want to thank all of you who purchased HFS books throughout 2023. A popular post-apocalyptic author once told me if I sold 250 copies of my first book it would be a good sign. I'm happy to say we've now sold just under 900 copies of book one. Thank you.
Through December, you can purchase Hope for Survival books 1 and 2, and the Hope for Survival Flash Drive digital filing cabinet for $50. This is a savings of $10. All HFS resources are available on the website. Links and more information below.
Let us move along....
Communications: You can now follow HFS social media on the following outlets:
Facebook – Hope for Survival -Join us for daily posts on preparedness.
YouTube Channel – Hope for Survival
Odysee - Hope for Survival (odysee.com)
HFS Thursday Zoom - There was no zoom this week.
Check out HFS YouTube. - Two new HFS videos for your viewing.
If you have not, please consider subscribing to the HFS YouTube channel by hitting like and then subscribe. Connect and give me a shout. Again, hit subscribe and 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 and HFS Thumb Drive for Emergency Documents -: 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)
HFS Thumb Drive for Emergency Documents - We just restocked the HFS Thumb drive and have them available now. Follow this link and you will see the add at the top of the page. Blog | Survival (hopeforsurvival.com)
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 -
With the holidays approaching, many will be on travel to and through large city areas and possibly staying within the beltways of populated areas. They rarely give thought to what I'm sharing below. Have you considered it? And some of you live daily in these conditions. Do you ever consider different scenarios requiring you to escape outside the beltway.
It is very unlikely one will escape out of the urban location after the first 48 hours. There is truly nothing working to your advantage staying in the urban box trap. It is much easier to lock you in the city than for you to escape out of the city. After the trucks stop stocking inside the city because of danger, crime, theft, trucks being stolen and set on fire, then where will your food source come from? Even if you have stocked well, it will eventually run out and then what? Minimal storage space to stock food, water, and resources. If you opt to store your resources in a storage rental place, you have to go to and from with your resources. The odds are against you or your resources surviving the trips. Minimal to no ability to grow food. If so, it won’t be enough to keep you alive.
Fire can destroy and kill hundreds or more. If you are trapped, your time will be over. How will you plan to escape and survive? Especially if all your resources burned in the fire. It will be very hard to cache resources in the urban environment. It will also be very hard to keep plans a secret because of neighbor proximity to you.
When putting together your plan, remember, you are inside the box living in the urban scenario, and you are pretty much totally dependent on the grid and public works. The urban scenario offers absolutely nothing that I can think of that would give you an advantage during Level 1 – 3 event. If you are in this circumstance, I would encourage you to plan now or else get out of this situation. You need to be ahead of the game and have good street intelligence to what is going on. Pay attention to your surroundings and notice changes around you. If you brave this situation and believe you can get ahead of the situation before it happens, then you really need a tight plan that you have walked through and exercise scenario after scenario of what could go wrong. What do you notice about the following settings in the urban environment?
Charlotte, NC Interstate 485
Los Angeles, CA Interstate 10
Washington DC and Baltimore MD, Interstates 495 and 695
Atlanta, GA Interstate 85 and 285
Indianapolis, IN Interstate 65 and 465
Houston, TX Interstate 10 and 610
Based on the examples provided for these cities, you can see how it would be very easy and doable if a city is directed to do so by Department of Homeland Security, or if directed by the State Governor, to close down highways around the city. It would be equipment and manpower intensive, but doable.
Imagine you have loaded your two cars with your family. You have prepared to the best affordable extent possible. Your family plan is once you are paid on Friday to withdraw your funds and leave the city behind. Tensions continue to increase with numerous strikes taking place over city pensions. The streets are covered in garbage and debris, the police are calling in sick, and you are not sure if the city water treatment services are reporting to work. Based on your plans you believe you are in a Level 1 event moving towards Level 2.
Your vehicles are loaded and ready to roll. Friday arrives and you complete your workday. On your way home you are detoured around the city area so you can’t drive to your bank. You now must find a place to park and walk to your bank. Then you remember, if you withdraw cash you will have to walk the five blocks back to your car. This isn’t a smart move on your part. So you decide to wait and withdraw cash from the ATM after you are out of the city.
You arrive home to collect your family and the second vehicle. Within an hour you look like the Griswold’s rolling down the street. You are about three miles from the interstate. As you approach the entry ramp to freedom, you notice vehicles are backed up on the ramp. You stop and turn off your engine and await the highway blockage to clear. After thirty minutes or so, you decide to walk towards the front of the ramp and see what is taking place. As you near the front, you hear others discussing that the highway is blocked off by the national-guard and only non-resident people could leave. You ask, “How come people would be restricted from leaving or entering the city?” You receive no response.
As you walk back to your car, you hear a truck driver ranting about Union workers and how he is now stuck with a refrigerator load of dairy products. You ask him if he knows what is going on, and he says radio stations are reporting to avoid certain areas within the city as police block off moving vehicle traffic as thousands of protesters continue to move into the city. The city is basically on lock down at this point.
You must now decide; do you go home and wait it out? Do you park your vehicles and lighten your load and then go mobile on foot to escape the city? What will be your decision based on your current intelligence and decision on the direction it appears the strife is moving towards. You may or may not have time on to ponder your decision. Make the right decision because your life and your family member’s life could depend on it. What if you have a family member requiring physical assistance to escape? Maybe a member in a wheelchair? What if the family member says, “Go on without me? What if you now have to make a decision on moving ahead with four family members and leaving one behind because of their refusal to go mobile with the family? Have you thought about this beforehand?
Stay safe.
Preparedness News -
1. From Karen S. Morris - Are you a prepared mama - No Room for a Prepper Pantry? No Problem! (areyoupreparedmama.com) - I so often hear people say they don't prepare because they don't have room to store resources. Check this out.
2. From Kyt Lyn Walken - Apartment Prepper - Natural Methods to Purify Water - Apartment Prepper - Good information. Adding additional methods and skills is always good.
3. From Bob Rodgers - Survivopedia - Six limitations most preppers are facing - Survivopedia - Does this apply to you?
4. From Ashley Adamant - Practical Self Reliance - Freeze Dried Candy (How To Make It & Where to Get It) (practicalselfreliance.com) - This is good stuff. Have you tried the freeze-dried Skittles?
5. From Prep School Daily - Prep School Daily: DIY Sanitizers for Hands and Other Surfaces - Another good set of suggestions to consider.
Other News -
1.From Bjorn Andreas - https://youtu.be/QDnLKWDU2ww?si=HswmZtXT34tLl_9l - Are you in the mood for a deep dive? Test yourself. Good stuff. (Thanks Festus for this submission.)
2. From James W. Rawles - Survival Blog - The 21st Century Geopolitical Chessboard. Diplomacy and world wars. (survivalblog.com) - JW Ralwes is the master of prepping. If you like to read I would encourage you to check out his books. (Thanks Festus for this submission)
3. From J. B. Shurk - Amercan Thinker - Freedom-Lovers of the World, Unite! - American Thinker -Good read that is even uplifting. (Thanks Festus for this submission)
4. From Tyler Durden - Zero Hedge - Say Goodbye To The Middle Class: Half Of All American Workers Made Less Than $40,847.18 Last Year | ZeroHedge - Wow, is this a wake up call that many should take note of. (Thanks Festus for this submission.)
5. From Tyler Durden - Zero Hedge - Police Warn Parents About iPhone's New 'NameDrop' Feature | ZeroHedge - Read and take note. Pass along to your kids and others. (Thanks Festus for this submission)
Prayers - Please keep our great nation, our elected leaders, military and first responders in your thoughts and prayers. We pray for good health and wisdom. Please pray for our leadership to find answers and guidance to the problems facing our great nation. May your faith remain strong and answers to the unknown provided. God is good and may our prayers blanket and protect you and your circumstances. I pray for each, and every one of our Patriots.
Please continue prayers for our Patriot sister who had successful surgery yesterday and now enters her recovery stage. Please pray for our Patriot brother in Western N.C. who was recently diagnosed with a form of skin cancer. Please pray for our Patriot brother in Western N.C. who has completed cancer surgery and roughly 3./4 of his post-surgery treatments. We pray for his recovery and immune system. Please pray for our Patriot sister in Western N.C. while she awaits answers for her rotator cuff issue. Please pray for our Patriot brother in Kentucky who underwent a second surgery to replace a rod in his leg caused by a vehicle accident on his final night of work going into retirement. Please keep our Patriot sister in central Alabama in your prayers as she recovers from recent eye surgery. Please keep our Patriot sister in your prayers while she awaits answers on possible internal bleeding. Our HFS family has many prayers needs for health and moral.
May we pray for all the blessings and things in life to be thankful about and continued hope for revival around the world. We must continually pray for the unsaved, our family and friends who live each day without the protection for eternal life and salvation.
As Patriots we must stay strong and never give up. Our home, community, and nation need us now more than ever. Stay focused on your local community and things that will impact you around the nation. Don't allow the events around you to create fear in your life. Build your own self-reliance and focus on faith and hope. Remember we are a blessed nation, and we must continue to be great people today and make a better tomorrow. Keep charging.
Blessings,
Bravo Echo Out,
