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ET2SN · 01-23-20, 02:21 PM

BTW, since you all got me started on the subject, here are some quick observations I've stacked up over the years:

My folk's house (in northern Maine) always had a wood stove which looked quaint but we all hated it. Burning wood is a solid pain in the ###, even if you're used to it. Its a pain to find the right wood, its a pain to chop the wood into usable pieces, its a pain to store the wood you've chopped so it ages properly and doesn't get too wet. Its a pain to deal with the critters who enjoy living in the wood you chopped, etc, etc, etc.

Its also a pain in learning how to build the fire and its a REAL pain learning how clean your chimney so it (and the house) doesn't burn down.

So, we converted the house to run on oil heat and the old wood stove went that-a-way.

Which was just fine and dandy. Until we got nailed by a bad ice storm in the middle of winter and lost power for two days.

If you want to see modern people freak the #### out, take away their electricity for more than two hours.

A modern house without electricity is worse than a car with an automatic transmission and a dead starter (think about it for a minute).

So, what to do, what to do??

Maybe mooch an old camp stove off a neighbor? Nope, believe me, the LAST thing your neighbors want to see is anyone mooching for anything that involves fire wood, gasoline, or food and doesn't involve their kids. They have their own problems to deal with, thank you, and even Mother Theresa would turn you away. Remember, humans can panic and they LOVE to panic when the lights go out.

So, what could we do? Well, there were two cars in the driveway and we had keys to both of them.

There was no where to go, the roads were in pretty bad shape, but at least we could stay warm.

What else did we need? Hmm, how about flushing a toilet when the water pressure in the pipes goes to zero? I know, its a trick question as long as you have access to *some* standing water, like in a bathtub, but you'd be amazed how many people stop thinking when the #### hits the fan.

What about drinking water? We were standing in it up to our knees, as long as we could melt some of it, it wasn't an issue.

How about a radio that worked off batteries (or a hand crank)? How about batteries that weren't eight years old to run the radio?

So, hopefully you're getting the idea. Don't just buy a crutch, learn how to think this stuff through, 99% of your possessions will be worth ###-all to you in a real emergency. Its better to make sure that the 1% that can help you still works.

Don't assume you'll figure it out when the time's right. Having a wall of canned food doesn't mean jack if you have no way to open the cans. Think about it NOW and come up with a workable plan. Practice your plan NOW (or at least think it through) so you'll find the 8,000 things you didn't consider.

01-23-20, 02:21 PM	#9
ET2SN ET2/SS Join Date: Oct 2017 Posts: 2,512 Downloads: 58 Uploads: 0	BTW, since you all got me started on the subject, here are some quick observations I've stacked up over the years: My folk's house (in northern Maine) always had a wood stove which looked quaint but we all hated it. Burning wood is a solid pain in the ###, even if you're used to it. Its a pain to find the right wood, its a pain to chop the wood into usable pieces, its a pain to store the wood you've chopped so it ages properly and doesn't get too wet. Its a pain to deal with the critters who enjoy living in the wood you chopped, etc, etc, etc. Its also a pain in learning how to build the fire and its a REAL pain learning how clean your chimney so it (and the house) doesn't burn down. So, we converted the house to run on oil heat and the old wood stove went that-a-way. Which was just fine and dandy. Until we got nailed by a bad ice storm in the middle of winter and lost power for two days. If you want to see modern people freak the #### out, take away their electricity for more than two hours. A modern house without electricity is worse than a car with an automatic transmission and a dead starter (think about it for a minute). So, what to do, what to do?? Maybe mooch an old camp stove off a neighbor? Nope, believe me, the LAST thing your neighbors want to see is anyone mooching for anything that involves fire wood, gasoline, or food and doesn't involve their kids. They have their own problems to deal with, thank you, and even Mother Theresa would turn you away. Remember, humans can panic and they LOVE to panic when the lights go out. So, what could we do? Well, there were two cars in the driveway and we had keys to both of them. There was no where to go, the roads were in pretty bad shape, but at least we could stay warm. What else did we need? Hmm, how about flushing a toilet when the water pressure in the pipes goes to zero? I know, its a trick question as long as you have access to some standing water, like in a bathtub, but you'd be amazed how many people stop thinking when the #### hits the fan. What about drinking water? We were standing in it up to our knees, as long as we could melt some of it, it wasn't an issue. How about a radio that worked off batteries (or a hand crank)? How about batteries that weren't eight years old to run the radio? So, hopefully you're getting the idea. Don't just buy a crutch, learn how to think this stuff through, 99% of your possessions will be worth ###-all to you in a real emergency. Its better to make sure that the 1% that can help you still works. Don't assume you'll figure it out when the time's right. Having a wall of canned food doesn't mean jack if you have no way to open the cans. Think about it NOW and come up with a workable plan. Practice your plan NOW (or at least think it through) so you'll find the 8,000 things you didn't consider.