Fellow Patriots,
Greetings and welcome to the PENL Edition #98. Thanks for stopping by for a few to check out this weeks PENL #98. I know your time is valuable so having you here on the Hope for Survival website means a great deal.
It has been a beautiful week here in North Alabama. Today was a sunny 73 and a great time to step out and shake out some mental cob webs from weeks of teleworking and being behind a keyboard. I still want to go cold weather tent camping this year and I'm sure I will get my chance before spring. Ms. Lucy says I'm crazy and I say I'm just motivated.
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
Thursday Zoom Rallies – We had Zoom Rally #43 as HFS continues the Thursday night series discussing preparedness related topics like gardening, building preparedness groups and leadership to name a few. This week we had two guest speakers, JJ, A.K.A. Squirrel provided an excellent training class on basic care and cleaning of fire arms. Mr. Bill from Carolina Readiness Supply (CRS) provided a class on food preparedness and dry packing resources in Mylar bags and plastic tanks for long term storage. I drug Festus on to the carpet and we had a good discussion on the recent article on the 15 Lessons Learned from the Texas Deep Freeze. We provided examples where Hope for Survival resources provided guidance and information that would have prevented all 15 of the identified lessons learned. We continue moving forward on group building in multiple states and regions. If you wish to attend a Zoom Rally monitor the website for each weekly notification for the upcoming meeting.
Heritage Life Skills will be held May 21-23, 2021 and registration will begin March 1, 2021. More information is provided below under My thoughts for the week. Check it out.
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
You can watch the most recent HFS YouTube video, HFS February 2021 Update, posted recently at https://youtu.be/YWEb88JLkfQ
Connect and give me a shout. Share with family and friends.
Moving along …
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.
As HFS continues to grow, I believe it's important to remind everyone respect and honor is important to the HFS family and mission. We welcome everyone aboard and hope you find a comfortable place to hang around and learn preparedness. I know you will find the HFS family offers some amazing people. With multiple platforms (Zoom, Signal, and Comment section in articles) to interact with other HFS members, I remind everyone to treat one another with respect. We all come from different backgrounds, ages, experiences, and desires. Disrespecting, demeaning or intimidating comments will not be tolerated on any account.
Let’s move along and get to some thoughts...
Thoughts for the week –
The sun has been blasting through the cold ice and gloomy skies to shine bright. Just like our hope and spirits should be daily. Here is a great way to get your weekend started. If you are not a believer I encourage you to listen to the message shared about our history and today. Powerful stuff. (Thanks Festus for sharing this with me to start my week. Great stuff)
Next....
As we age in life we hopefully continue building upon past training, lessons learned, mentors, and skills obtained. Hopefully this means an up trend for most of us to set better goals and achieve goals while setting up our life for success and a joyful future retirement. We cross paths with people who impact who we are and how we think. As I have previously shared, I was very blessed in my military career with quality people, leaders, and supervisors.
One such person who was one of the top mentors to me at a very young stage of life passed away this week. He was 77 but lived an amazing life dedicated to our great nation, educating those coming up through the ranks and private education, as well as serving his community in North Carolina. He was known as Chief Bob. He was a burly man with a distinct deep voice one could recognize in any setting. When Chief Bob spoke, a respected silence covered the vicinity., Chief Bob had an earlobe that was partially green that was often a conversation piece. As Chief Bob's story went, while stationed in Turkey in the late 1960s he responded to a fight as a night shift law enforcement officer at the local Non-Commissioned Officers Club. At some point during the brawl, a drunken troop decided to take a bite out of Chief Bob's ear. It was later sewn back on and many years of stories followed. Chief Bob led his troops with an iron grip and we all knew and highly respected his leadership. He was fair, honest, and we knew if we told the truth he would stand by us and defend us to the end. Even when wrong, honesty was the key. It could be painful to be punished by Chief Bob but knowing he loved us like a child helped ease the pain.
I served under Chief Bob for my first four years in the Air Force before moving on to other duty locations. Chief maintained contact with me over my 20 year career and we often spoke about life, my next move, and our great nation. Chief was red, white, and blue, through and through.
I always wondered what people meant when they would comment "Chief is his own man." I heard this very often from the troops and superiors alike. I wanted to eventually go to work for the FBI in the Serial-Profiling specialty solving cases involving serial killers. To do this I was taking night classes to work on my four year degree .Chief Bob was often my instructor and in one particular class on Forensics and the importance of finger printing Chief was stressing how my finger print was the single DNA marker that separated me from all other humans. He said "this is what makes you your own man." I jokingly said "so this is what makes you your own man" and he smiled and said "you will make a good investigator." He elaborated further by saying to me "you have the single most impact on who you are and what will make you great, if you choose to do so. The only thing holding a person back is their own inability to choose paths of a better way to do something."
That was in 1985 and I have remembered it like a birthday. Sure we all encounter set backs and hurdles. It's not the hurdle that matters but what we choose to do after crossing the hurdle. We have the ability to change our own life and the life of others. We have the ability to share hope and abilities with others to make them better and us still learn from it. Our individual marker can make the difference in many others, if we choose to do so. Chief Bob told me "approaching life with this attitude will deliver outcomes to change those around me. Don't focus on accolades and being rewarded for doing good. Focus on being the single person who drives to change negatives to positives and the outcomes you see will be the accolades most valuable. : With agreements or disagreements should be respect because at the end of the day, we are all great Americans. I have to agree.
May Chief Bob rest in peace and continue to share his positive outlook and humor when he arrives to his new home. May we all take a piece of Chief Bob's advice in to each day to make our surrounding a better place. Thanks Chief Bob for the lessons you taught to me as a skinny young troop and throughout my life.
Next....
For those of you who didn't catch it, Carolina Readiness Supply in Waynesville, NC. will be hosting the annual Heritage Life Skills the weekend of May 21-23, 2021 at the Smokey Mountain Event Center in Waynesville, NC. Ms. Jan, Mr. Bill and the crew will set up this great event to host another great event and offer numerous classes on preparedness. If you have never attended, this is a must for the person or family who are preparedness minded. Registration for this event will start on March 1, 2021 and you can visit the Carolina Readiness Supply website to select your classes and register for the event. Here is the link you will need: Carolina Readiness: A Preparedness & Survival Store Click on the tab at the top titled Events to find the registration on or after March 1, 2021.
Ms. Jan and Mr. Bill are true Patriots and dear friends to me. I love stopping through Carolina Readiness Supply during my trips to Waynesville, NC to visit HFS Patriots in the region. Many of the HFS supporters I met at CRS or through CRS and HLS. These folks work very hard to keep the preparedness community supplied with needed resources and you can always expect a genuine smile and handshake. Okay, I get a hug from Ms. Jan. I'm very appreciative of these two and the fact they afforded me my first opportunity to teach preparedness in this region of the US of A at the HLS event several years ago. Thank you, to both of you.
Here is a short video recently put together by CRS showing how to package dry foods for long term storage in Mylar bags and storage tanks. This was shared with the HFS Thursday Night Zoom group in Rally #43 on Feb 25, 2021. No matter how long one has been doing preparedness, one can always learn from others. I learned something from this CRS video.
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I had a lengthy chat with my mountain brother Festus about the world today. We both stay so busy these days it seems our chat opportunities shrunk over the past few months. Even though we have primarily focused on preparedness, we still monitor news events nationally and globally and when something we believe is critical surfaces we share it here and in the Thursday Zoom events. Because of the current monitoring of social media I am hesitant to post information outside of preparedness here. Two key areas everyone should be paying attention is federal level efforts on 2nd Amendment changes and also efforts to change our voting system from electoral college numbers to popular vote numbers.
One of the key points in our discussion is how we both agree folks are in a lull and seem to be lacking the urgency one should be demonstrating during this period in history. One area of concern is individual self-educating. Meaning? Preparing the individual tool box. The brain. Accepting the mindset change. Reading books. We have recommended numerous books over the past months and based on questions asked it is apparent individuals are not investing their own time for individual preparedness. Now, this is a personal choice and up to the individual. Think about that.
Another item we discussed was the recent article that provided the 15 Lessons Learned from the Texas Deep Freeze. We covered these items with responses during the HFS Zoom Rally #43 on Thursday evening and I wanted to share it here.
First let me say this from the HFS perspective. Understand, this is not about me and it is about you if you. My goal and effort is trying to help as many as possible in the time afforded. If you have read Hope for Survival, the following 15 items should ring a bell Understand, . I’m not Kreskin nor am I a Roads Scholar (smile- if you just said I spelled it wrong, you need to read my book again. Just saying) The book simply shared past experiences and training I was blessed to get. Applying risk management to past history and current trends and statistics says my past experience and training will be needed again soon. If you have not read my book but read the weekly newsletter, attend zoom, listen to speakers and "chatter that matters" you still will have heard information needed to have avoided the 15 identified lessons learned in Texas.
You are surrounded by information, quality people, websites, zoom classes, and other information that will help you, if you let it. It boils down to your mindset and accepting preparedness as a way of life. More to come in Book II – Hope for Survival – The Mindset. Nothing you read in the lessons learned below will matter in your life if you don’t understand it, accept it, and act on it. It’s a personal choice and only you can make it.
The lesson is in black and the HFS response is in red. They are:
• Survival is very physical. Expect to exert a lot of physical effort.
- HFS Response - HFS has addressed the Spiritual, Psychological, Physical self responsibility. Leader’s responsibility to know the people and monitor efforts to the best degree possible. This topic has been addressed since HFS inception
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• Culture matters. Don’t end up in a community without morals or ethics when it all hits the fan.
- HFS Response - The individual Five Mile Radius – Doing your homework to know community cultures and other intelligence information.)
• Convergence of two “black swan” disasters can wipe out your best plans, even if you have successfully prepped for anyone (standalone) disaster.
- HFS Response - One is none, two is one, three is better in planning. Redundancy
• Some of your preps will FAIL. It’s difficult to consider all possible scenarios, so count on failures striking without warning.
- HFS Response - (Pre-event information gathering, Five Mile Radius Course, Left of Bang, Out of the Box thinking, Risk Analysis and Mitigation. Utilizing the above will help you avoid the lessons suffered by those unprepared in Texas.
• You need LAYERS of preparedness and “fall back” systems that are very low-tech and require nothing more than the laws of physics (gravity, chemistry, etc..
- HFS Response - Redundancy in all plans and equipment. Multiple route surveys, fail-safes in plans, one is none, two is one, three is better.
• No one is coming to help you. In many situations, no one can get to you even if they wanted to.
- HFS Response - HFS has continually stressed importance of documenting processes and plans. Just as backing up your processes with one is none, two is one, and three is better, you must do the same with your family/group/team members.
• Containers (buckets, barrels) are extremely important. Have lots of pre-stored water and fuel at all times.
- HFS Response - Minimal 180-day supply and build upon it. Multiple sources of food and water and methods to cook, filter, and transport if required)
• Bitcoin and crypto were all completely valueless and useless during the collapse, since they all rely on electricity. Gold, silver and cash worked fine, on the other hand.
HFS Response - Stressed gold as investment, low value silver for bartering as well as resources, skills and trade for obtaining needed resources during collapse.
• You will likely experience injuries or mishaps due to new, unusual demands on your work activities. Practice safety and be prepared to deal with injuries yourself.
- HFS Response - Mindset. Adapting to what you can do and know how to do. Mind vs body. Recruiting group members for skills and not personality. Prep 102
•Having lots of spare parts for plumbing. Standardize your pipe sizes and accessories. I have standardized on 1″ PEX pipe and all its fittings because PEX is very easy to cut, shape and rework. Plus it’s far more resistant to bursting, compared to PVC.
- HFS Response - This is part of building your plans. If you don’t practice the plan, you don’t know what could fail you and what resources will be needed when you face failure. One is none, two is one, and three is better.
• Investment in food is always a good investment, as prices will continue to climb. No one ever said during an emergency, “Gee, I wish I had less food here.”
- HFS Response - Addressed food planning in book, website, training classes, zoom, speakers… Folks buy thousands of rounds of ammo but complain they only have 30 days of food. Which resource is going to be most needed? Reading, analysis, and understanding history would answer this question if you can't figure it out.
• You can’t count on any government or institution or infrastructure to solve anything. Usually they just get in the way.
- HFS Response - The entire HFS concept was built based on my understanding of FEMA and the State Governors roles. All disasters are managed at the local level. The people are left out until critical infrastructure is repaired or stood back up. Self-reliance and the ability to survive on your own for a chosen period of time.
• You MUST have good lights and many backup batteries, or you will be sitting in the dark. You’ll need a good headlamp (I use the PETZL Nao+) and some good 18650-battery flashlights such as Nitecore.
- HFS Response - Develop a multi-layered plan with at least three options. Many options will not require batteries. Solar is a great option.
• Guns and bullets are not needed in some survival scenarios, so balance your prepping. Don’t put all your money into ammo and fail to cover other important areas like emergency first aid.
- HFS Response - Discussed above. Security and protection is needed, however, food and water is a must.
•Think about what are stores of energy: Wood, diesel, gasoline, propane, water elevation, etc. Survival is a lot about energy management.
- HFS Response - The sun and wood will be your last remaining resources. Planning based on your risk assessment and vulnerabilities to identify your needs and available resources to support your plans is key to surviving. Knowledge and skills is a must.
Next...
Many individuals continue wondering around with news paralysis and wondering what on earth happened and continues to happen. I would encourage you to watch this video, which is part 1 of the Brannon Howse series titled "Brainwashed." I do believe when finally completed this will be a four or six part series. This is a must if you want the big picture. WARNING. If you are light hearted and have yet to pull up your big boy britches, you may wish to skip this one. It's time to get real Patriots. This is a long documentary. I ask you, what is your future worth to you? Just remember, our faith will be the victor and our hope and preparedness will carry us through these rough periods in history. https://www.worldviewweekend.com/embed/brainwashed.html
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I do believe we are at a critical point in the history of our great nation. We can call off one thousand reasons to why this is taking place but if we are truly honest we would admit our current problems aren't new. This has been building as our morals, values, national self-esteem, and respect for one another started eroding years ago. Not only are we a bankrupted nation financially. We are quickly approaching the same level morally. With this comes erosion of Patriotism and Freedom. Here is a short video from the President Reagan Presidential Library. President Reagan leaves a parting message for America. Listen to this message and then compare to where we stand today.
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I am part of a email group discussing scripture, faith, and us as individuals. I wanted to share a quote with you to think about. This is fairly simple yet so powerful when one thinks about it.
"As an athlete uses a ball, so do many of us use words spoken and words sung, words written and words uttered in prayer. We throw them swiftly across the field; we learn to handle them with dexterity and grace; we build reputations upon our word skill and gain as our reward the applause of those who have enjoyed the game. But the emptiness of it appears from the fact that after the pleasant religious game no one is basically any different from what he had been before. The basis of life remain unchanged, the same old principles govern, the same old Adam rules." A.W. Tozer. From: God’s Pursuit of Man.
This point of this quote is something I often think about while I'm alone. Who am I and what do I stand for? Do I exemplify who I believe I am to others at all times? If I claim to be a Christian am I walking the walk I talk to Christians when I'm with those who are unsaved? I believe this is something we should think about as part of the personal preparedness big 3. Our physical, psychological, and spiritual well being.
I have shared with a few Patriots how I have felt at ease over the past year through Covid-19 and the recent Presidential election. I still focus on world and national events while continuing my personal preparedness and through HFS helping others. Internally I continually remind myself I should have no fear of earthly events and negative news if I trust in God 100%. Right? One of my favorite verses of scripture that I remind myself of often is: Isaiah 41:10 "So, do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with righteous." Though we must remember this personally, we must also help lift up and hold up our brothers and sisters while they are struggling or down during these trying days. Always remember, we are blessed people.
Okay, lets move along to the news…
Preparedness News –
1. Recycling water for Rain Barrels - HGTV - (Thanks to the HFS Huntsville Preparedness Group Team leader)
2. How to make rain barrels from food grade barrels - (Thanks to the HFS Huntsville Preparedness Group Team leader)
3. From Do It Yourself University - DIY Solar Projects For the Home Online Workshop (mydiyuniversity.com) - For $89 you can attend a virtual training class with great learning opportunities for solar generators heating, electricity, and food. (Thanks to our Huntsville, AL Patriot for submitting this information)
4. How to set up your own sugar bucket and make brown sugar - (Thanks to our Patriot sister from SC for submitting this information)
Brown Sugar Recipe Ingredients (Thanks to our Patriot Sister in SC for this submission)
1 lb. white granulated sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
Directions
Combine sugar and molasses in a mixing bowl.
Use an electric mixer on medium speed, mixing until molasses is completely incorporated.
Store in an air tight container.
To make dark brown sugar, follow recipe instructions, but increase molasses to 2 tablespoons.
5. Basic care and cleaning guidance presented in the HFS Thursday Zoom Rally #43 by Squirrel.
6. Your Meds Store -Buy Stromectol - Ivermectin Online-Buy Stromectol - Ivermectin Online (ivermectin24h.com) - As folks learn alternative options to the basic pharmaceutical process they opt for buying and stocking non-narcotic prescription meds to have in their preparedness supplies. This is another of the options. Many used InsulinHub in the past months.
7. Canning food - Here is a great link to information to support your efforts in canning. Thanks to our Patriot sister in SC for submitting this information. www.clemson.edu/extension/food/canning/canning-tips/51canning-meats-poultry.html Additionally, if you have not visited the HFS YouTube page you can watch Ms. Lucy explain how to can using a pressure canner at this link. - https://youtu.be/UHgHIVmwaRE
8. Are you wanting to obtain your Ham radio license? Do you have a good study plan in place? Check out these links for the particular license you wish to achieve. (Thanks to our Patriot Sister in SC for submitting this information.)
Other News –
1. C. Edmund Wright - American Thinker - Our Supreme Court Goes Full Nicaragua in PA Election Case - American Thinker- A MUST READ. The author is indeed correct in his conclusion comparing the Supreme Court to a Banana Republic. We continue to witness court decisions away from the Constitution and our Founding Fathers guidance and reasoning for the guidance. From the perspective of court ramifications, the future is not in favor of the Constitution. And to think how many new faces former President Donald Trump placed on the bench. (Thanks to Festus for submitting this great article).
2. From Karin Hoezler and Daniel Feingold - PEW - Highlights of FDAs 5 Year Plan to Improve Antibiotic Use in Food Animals | The Pew Charitable Trusts (pewtrusts.org) - If you have any desires to procure anti-biotics, especially for your fish (cough, cough) you may wish to get a move on your efforts. Changes are coming soon. (Thanks to our Patriot brother in Franklin, GA for submitting this article).
Drum roll...........
That's all my Patriot brothers and sisters.
Thanks for your time to read the PENL and hanging out with us for a while. We all have different desires in news and what we read at different points in our day. Hopefully HFS has provided information to stimulate your thinking and the realities around us. It is important for you to keep your feet and minds grounded as the world continues towards an unknown destination.
Thanks for your emails and messages. I enjoy hearing from you throughout the week and sharing your preparedness projects and accomplishments. Share with your family and friends and bring them aboard to get prepared. I also want to thank those who purchased a copy of my book this week.
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. Please pray for the former President and his family. 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 pray for many who continues to struggle through this period in our history. Please pray for our Patriot brother Glenn Tate and his family as the author of 299 Days recently announced his cancer diagnosis. 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. Amen
Keep charging and have a safe week. Don't allow the events around us to create fear in your life. Stay focused and don't chase rabbits. Build your own self-reliance and focus on hope. Remember we are a blessed nation and we must continue to be great people.
Blessings,
Bravo Echo Out,
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