There are a few people in my life who arent into preparedness. Oh, theyre fine right-thinking people, and they know of my particular bent, but while they don’t ridicule me they also don’t really feel the need to be on my bandwagon. Not a big deal, we can still be friends.
So today Im talking to one and he asks me if I know a place for MRE’s. We chat a bit nad he says he wants some for hunting and to keep in his truck. We talk some more and asks if I know anything about “this Red Feather canned butter stuff”. C’mon…canned butter is not a hunting or keep-in-the-truck item. We dance a little more and, sure enough, he’s coming around to think that maybe having a stockpile of food and supplies isn’t a bad idea.
We talked a while about the LDS cannery, shelf life of foods, etc, etc. I’ll loan him a few books.
He’s not looking for a lifestyle, he just wants a little insurance. And, really, thats what most people are after. They don’t want a life of driving to the Kroger’s in a 4×4, wearing desert boots all the time, and wearing a riggers belt with 5.11’s. They just want to feel a bit more secure. Nothing wrong with that.
The number of people I know who aren’t preparing for trouble is getting smaller and smaller. Thats a good thing.
Just wanted to say thanks, the TAPCO mini 14 mags are awesome. Work with no problem. Thanks again CZ.
I havent gotten to play with mine as much as Id like, but so far they seem an excellent alternative to the factory mag.
Worked during a 20 degree day and 300 rounds. No issues.
Few things give me a deep, cathartic sense of well-being like walking into my pantry & seeing it stocked *deep* with everything we eat on a routine basis. A nice long stack of seasoned firewood has a similar effect. Rarely do I *need* to go to the grocery store for something specific – we can just wait for a nice day when nothing else particular is going on, and stock-up again.
Firearms don’t do that for me. Neither does silver. For some reason they just put me on higher alert.
My ex was one of those people that “poo-pood” my 1st 4×4. That is until she drove it during a New England snow. She stopped thinking I was quite as stupid as her friends though I was, but she still thought more of their opinion than mine.
Current DW does not think being ready for hard times is such a bad idea, even if it never happens we sleep better.
I like my riggers belt holding up my 5.11s. Levi’s are made by California anti-gun socialists and Carhartts fit me like a flour sack. The belt works well with my various holsters. I’m glad your acquaintance is seeing the light.
The State of Washington is about to get a lot stupider. Magazine bans and no gun building on the horizon. 13 new magazines for me today. The new rush is on.
“He’s not looking for a lifestyle, he just wants a little insurance. And, really, thats what most people are after. They don’t want a life of driving to the Kroger’s in a 4×4, wearing desert boots all the time, and wearing a riggers belt with 5.11’s. They just want to feel a bit more secure. Nothing wrong with that.”
That is the money quote right there. That is what prepping is – an insurance policy just in case things go south quickly. We all have needs and having supplies before bad things happen makes sense – just one less thing to worry about.
Amen. Your reply is right on the money.
It’s amaxxng what you pick up in conversations…..catching those little hints and phrases. I also like my rigger belt for all of my holster needs…. Keep up the great work, stay safe!
Tamara once made the analogy of fire extinguishers. A lot of people can see the sense of owning one and knowing how to use it. However they don’t feel the need to go to fire extinguishing school or competition or rush out and buy the new Extinguishomatic 9000. The same could be said of preparedness for a lot of people. Be ready for the next big storm, etc.
Your last sentence is the one that sticks out the most to me. Am I to infer that you either are purposely making the circle smaller or are more and more coming to the same conclusion? I read it as the latter but just wanted to be sure. If that is the case that is the part that bothers me. If more and more “regular” people are seeing the “writing on the wall” what does that mean. Can enough people get an idea that the end is nigh, and either consciously or unconsciously make it so? If a large enough segment of people believe a certain way it can move mountains, for better and worse.
Youre talking about a self-fulfilling prophecy. Seems unlikely.
I mean it in the sense that more people in my circle are coming around to my way of thining, but also I do trim things down, voluntarily and involuntarily, every so often.
Zero have you ever been to the LDS cannery in Missoula? I’ve asked a LDS guy I worked with several times to take me it just hasn’t happened yet.
Its detailed in the blog.
Don’t dress any differently than my neighbors, ball cap, Tractor Supply boots, jeans, Walmart Mossy Oak jacket during winter / hunting season , shorts, sneakers and a T or polo in the summers… The high speed, low low drag mil grade stuff stays in storage till needed (hopefully never). I always try to adhere to the Gray Man concept and flying under the radar at all times is key to that.
Same goes for the overt displays of equipment and vehicles etc. You can’t ID my home from any other on the street from what’s parked outside or how it’s landscaped. Unless you really look and realize that all the high shrubs under the windows are very thorny protective hedges such as Holly and the large planters with the pretty flowers are actually concrete barriers… 10 year old vehicles with a few dings and scrapes – alibi powerful, very well maintained, and highly capable.
The idea is to blend in and hide in plain view so when or if the SHTF no one gives you a second thought as to being “that prepper guy with all the stuff” 3 blocks over who will be attracting a whole lot of attention about 3 or 4 weeks into a genuine crisis event due to his previous dress, ostentatious displays of possessions, and conspicuous “prepper” lifestyle before it all goes South …
Stay Gray, Stay Alive…
Best Regards
@JDub,
Got a clip knife in your front pocket? How about a dive or sports watch? Double points if it has a paracord band…. flashlight in a back pocket? Multitool on your belt?
There are a lot of little ‘tells’ I look for. None are definitive, but they add up to “PROBABLY” a like minded individual.
We carry and wear stuff because it meets our needs, but it also can be a flag to someone who knows what to look for. Kinda like gang tattoos, or prison tats… all the little things tell a story.
nick
“Nope”… Carry a $1.97 Wally World pocket blade, don’t wear a watch, no multi tool on the belt, para cord (gets smelly after a while), nothing at all to distinguish me from anyone you meet on the street. You’d walk right by me. I do occasionally wear my old flight jacket with some very politically incorrect unit patches on it though… 😀
Best Regards
Head on a swivel? Not looking at smartphone? Fit and attentive to surroundings? Appearance neat and clean? Shirt tucked, belt buckle aligned? Squared away? Caught my attention again….
Sounds like you’ve got the costume right, although you are perhaps needlessly denying yourself useful tools for everyday living.
When I used to fly commercial for work, I could spot the UCs in the airport. The clip knife was a givaway certainly, but ATTITUDE caught my eye. Then I realized that they were the only ones in the whole airport who weren’t carrying something and had empty hands. One particular pair, I followed to a gate, and they were indeed there for a prisoner transfer.
It sounds like you’ve got your stuff together, and grey is a good plan in my book. Lots of people have pointed out though, no man’s an island, and we all need ‘friends’ with complementary skills and resources. It’s hard enough to come by them, it’s sometimes worth flying a little flag…..
n
Hi Nick,
I actually don’t have a smart phone and only carry a rugged flip which is barely used. Not much of a phone talker. I do carry a couple of items but they’re small and stay out of sight in my pockets. I do my best to look like Everyman in whatever environment I’m in. When I visit Hawaii I look like a tourist at the airport – and the local – (that I actually am back) when I’m picking up a plate lunch in Kalihi, when I visit a large city to do some business I fit right in with nice office clothes and Allan Edmonds, visiting Wally World in my little town? Welcome to peopleofwalmart.com .
I stopped with the belt buckle gig line, clean shave, and the razor haircut as soon as I retired ( as you noted – easy to spot) – tired of them after all those years also. I’m always aware of my surroundings but I don’t do the UC scan thing. I’m a heck more surreptitious than that. Not trying to be contrary or bang the drum of my creds – not at all. If you’re going to blend in – then REALLY blend in would be my takeaway to you.
My family and friends know who I am and what I believe in but I never push it and barely even discuss it with them let alone casual acquaintances or strangers. I don’t care if people know I’m an anal retentive “God, Guts’ and Guns” retired mil type but I don’t go out of my way to advertise that fact. I never even buy mil type ammo, platforms, or non “deer or hawg huntin gear” in town.
What do I carry in the deer woods with my friends? A 45-70 lever brush gun – why? It’s what old timers around here carry (our terrain is a very dense undergrowth point blank shooting environment with lots of very cute and cuddly razorbacks in residence in addition to Bambi) and marks you as a local as opposed to the out of towners who frequent our game lodges.
They stick out like sore thumbs with their unstained top of the line outdoor clothing, $300 sunglasses, expensive Leupold scoped guns, and gleaming, unscratched 75K 4WD trucks that have never seen a good stick in the mud. Oh – and their “relative overestimation of their abilities” in the woods (if any at all)…
FYI: Want to get really good tips on what to look for in a UC type? Ask a hardcore (not a punk thug – but a professional) ex felon – they can tell you in a heartbeat what to look for behavior, dress wise, and vibe to ID such folks. I shize thee not – I did and it’s amazing what you can learn IRT being the Gray Man….
Best Regards!
Sweet! Thanks for sharing, as I did learn a couple of new things.
I drive an ex-PD Ford Expedition (auction buy, very happy with it), with the pushbar still on it. I took the spotlight off because people in certain neighborhoods that I have to visit would literally run from me. Not that that is at all suspicious! I still get the “felon shuffle” as various people standing around with paper sacks in their hands spot me driving, sometimes blocks away, and focus on my truck like a laser. They’ll put down their beer, hitch up their pants, and start to shuffle off, sliding down the wall and away. They must not be the smart ones, ‘cuz everyone knows you don’t run from a predator, it just triggers their chase reflex…
I’ve got mixed feelings about it, but it does give me a quick and dirty assessment of who is a potential bad guy as I’m driving up or by. Innocent good people don’t watch the PD like as if their lives depended on it. Here in Houston the bad people are mixed in with the good pretty much everywhere you might go, so having a bit of help spotting them doesn’t hurt.
I dress appropriately for the activity, and for the crowd, but I do carry a few of the ‘tells’ myself. If I don’t want to be ID’d, I’ll give people something to focus on, like a hat, or a loud shirt. Then that’s all they remember- the guy in the Hawaiian shirt.
Goofy doofus dad is a pretty good costume too, as is working technician with Logo’d golf shirt and khakis. I used to be able to walk into local hotels and get free drinks and dinner at their ‘manager’s open house’ with the right attitude and costume….
And I can usually spot the Euro visitors by their socks of all things. Their jeans are a different color somehow too. But the socks, oh lawdy….
At the end of the day, clothes really do make the man, and you have to know what to wear, and NOT to wear for the role you are undertaking. I suggest to anyone interested in fitting in, or looking a part, spend some time just sitting and watching people, and really LOOKING at them. Tell yourself their story, based on what you can see. Then look at yourself, and figure out what story you are telling to people with your clothes and bearing.
n
nick,
some years back, I bought a bunch of blakhawk pants on clearance on LAPG.com. BDU style pocket pants. Looked similar to what everyone else was wearing. Ah, not quite, it turns out. first time I wore them, I was going into a controlled access building. Deputy that handed me my pocket stuff asked if I worked at a local town. Turns out they issued them to various depts there. I just shrugged and grinned at him, and proceeded into the vehicle citation payment section.
I’ve been asked what agency I work for, more than once. Between the pushbar, the data antenna on the roof, and my general appearance, I could play the role I guess. No desire to get shot as a cop if things go that way….
n