Addicts in the Wake of a Major Disaster

[Diamondback]

With her need for iron infusions, even if I could successfully pull off my little long-haul commando-op to extract and relocate my gal and her folks... well, even Best Case I'm looking at the assumption that the best I could do would be make her last days as comfortable as possible. (And even then, the odds of success on the Insert Phase indicate the more probable outcome to be "Die Trying"...)

I suppose I'm approaching the point my Psych profs warned me about, the point where it's time to stop chasing cougar tail and start looking for a tolerable twentysomething worth impregnating... lol

 

[11Charlie]

wow that was a long read!

I live in a rural area know and trust most of my neighbors so unless I can make out who you are through my scope be prepared to take one for the team. I don't care if your a junkie or normal person looking for food! All I can say is if you come near my house please, please, please heed the warning to stop so I don't have to put one through you.

 

[etrain16]

Lots of smart, good people in the world. Things can get pretty bad. And you can still make/get insulin.
I thought this was a great story.

I first read about this story in WWII. It was more detailed. But the video is a good introduction to the story.
They said He saved 2-3000 diabetics including his wife. With his home brew.

Wow, thanks, I'll be sure to check that out!

 

[etrain16]

wow that was a long read!

I live in a rural area know and trust most of my neighbors so unless I can make out who you are through my scope be prepared to take one for the team. I don't care if your a junkie or normal person looking for food! All I can say is if you come near my house please, please, please heed the warning to stop so I don't have to put one through you.

What if I was holding up a sign that read:

"I'm a friend of @Joe Link!"?

Would you shoot a fellow NWFA member?

 

[Diamondback]

What if I was holding up a sign that read:

"I'm a friend of @Joe Link!"?

Would you shoot a fellow NWFA member?

I was just about to ask what the protocol was for signaling "NWFA Friendly, Interested in Pooling Resources"...

 

[etrain16]

I was just about to ask what the protocol was for signaling "NWFA Friendly, Interested in Pooling Resources"...

Maybe we need to come up with a gang sign?

 

[11Charlie]

would you trust a random stranger coming on to your property holding a sign? That's why our meet ups are important I try to never forget a face.

 

[11Charlie]

Maybe we need to come up with a gang sign?

That would work maybe LOL

 

[etrain16]

would you trust a random stranger coming on to your property holding a sign? That's why our meet ups are important I try to never forget a face.

What if I have a mask made out of my avatar??

 

[11Charlie]

Avatars are safe unless I have you on my ignore list

 

[Camelfilter]

I'll have to look into that. Obviously an SHTF during the winter months temporarily solves the problem while creating new ones.

Another issue is how to address this while traveling - say flying somewhere where I can't bring a bunch of stuff with me. Or if we're visiting the coast and the big one hits - we could be cut off from the valley for months, and due to the smaller coastal population, it's likely most aid would go to the bigger population centers like PDX. It all adds up to some difficult situations to prep for.

Look into 12V fridge / freezers if you have a chance. Real ones, not the kind big box stores may sell from time to time which are just coolers with an inefficient cooling element.

The type which off-road campers & some RV'ers use. Extremely efficient with using power as well as maintaining set temperature.

We have a 12V portable fridge, "Dometic" brand, but it's similar to Engel, ARB & a few other brands I forget right now. It can run off of any standard 12V vehicle starting battery, however starting batteries don't like to have there power drained that often. Best is to have a deep cycle battery (which can do double duty as your vehicles starting battery), so you might consider getting one of those the next time you need to replace a battery.

The one we have is about the same outer size footprint of a big old school plastic Coleman type cooler, maybe a touch smaller. Including a home made insulated cover.

Maintains 4C over a long weekend off our camper deep cycle battery without recharge.

If we ever have a chance to join in on a cleanup, we'll likely have it with us.

They pop up from time to time on Craigslist, and a few outdoor forums.

 

[etrain16]

Look into 12V fridge / freezers if you have a chance. Real ones, not the kind big box stores may sell from time to time which are just coolers with an inefficient cooling element.

The type which off-road campers & some RV'ers use. Extremely efficient with using power as well as maintaining set temperature.

We have a 12V portable fridge, "Dometic" brand, but it's similar to Engel, ARB & a few other brands I forget right now. It can run off of any standard 12V vehicle starting battery, however starting batteries don't like to have there power drained that often. Best is to have a deep cycle battery (which can do double duty as your vehicles starting battery), so you might consider getting one of those the next time you need to replace a battery.

The one we have is about the same outer size footprint of a big old school plastic Coleman type cooler, maybe a touch smaller. Including a home made insulated cover.

Maintains 4C over a long weekend off our camper deep cycle battery without recharge.

If we ever have a chance to join in on a cleanup, we'll likely have it with us.

I'll look into that too, thanks!

 

[CountryGent]

There is a study published on the National Center for Biotechnology Information site on the topic that is sort of an interesting read: Drug Markets During the Katrina Disaster, by Eloise Dunlap and Andrew Golub (National Development & Research Institutes). PDF version here.

 

[Medic!]

I was just about to ask what the protocol was for signaling "NWFA Friendly, Interested in Pooling Resources"...

Watch it.
Learn it!

It could very well save your life some day.

 

[CountryGent]

Look into 12V fridge / freezers if you have a chance. Real ones, not the kind big box stores may sell from time to time which are just coolers with an inefficient cooling element.

The type which off-road campers & some RV'ers use. Extremely efficient with using power as well as maintaining set temperature

^ This. Some tests me and another family did on some of those inexpensive 12V coolers made it clear they might be fine for keeping a Coke cold, but were totally unusable for medical supplies. The RV type units or a purpose built one would be the way to go.

 

[Camelfilter]

I'll look into that too, thanks!

Your welcome!

Did a quickie search over on another site (Expedition Portal) and here is an example of a comparison thread between some brands:

ARB 50qt or Dometic 50qt? - Expedition Portal

Also might be worth joining up over there to check out the classifieds, as they do pop up. Sold an older Engel version on there back East actually.

Also TONS of ideas on solar as well.

 

[Koda]

In a different long cascadia/shtf thread we discussed NWFA bandanas to help identify friendlies from here...

 

[Urgaburga]

"The drug addicts will, naturally, first go to the drugstores and clinics. The alcoholics will ravish the liquor stores. Skid row will move uptown." — How To Survive the H-Bomb and Why (1962), page 80, by Pat Frank.

"You have drug addicts that are now walking around this city looking for a fix, and that's the reason why they were breaking in hospitals and drugstores. They're looking for something to take the edge off of their jones, if you will." — Mayor Ray Nagin following Hurricane Katrina (Friday, September 2, 2005)

"Never trust a junkie." — Nancy Spungen, Sid & Nancy (1986)​

This is sort of a tangent from this thread. While uncomfortable topic to discuss, being prepared involves thinking about some unpleasant realities. One of the sad facts about the human species is the pervasive nature of drug use and addiction. From the decaying inner cities, to the suburbs, to the rural communities, it is there. Where we are, for example, there is a serious problem with methamphetamine use and it isn't uncommon to see individuals in various states of the horrid chemical. The last time I had fingerprints done for an NFA transfer, I asked the young officer what their biggest crime problem was and he replied without a second's hesitation "drugs."

Have you considered this factor in your preparedness? If you are involved with community preparedness or are a first responder, how have you been trained to deal with this? Are you prepared to evade or apply force to those that are not thinking clearly due to addiction? Has this factor impacted your preps or equipment in any way?

Bearing in mind there are all kinds of addictions and even addicts who get clean subconsciously replace one addiction with another that isn't necessarily as obvious.

 

[Dungannon]

But that comment about TP running out, now thats actually something to talk about... How many here prep TP? What do you use when that runs out?

When I had to move my parents into a nursing home, we took six truck loads of 'good stuff' to the local thrift store and made uncounted trips to the dump. But, by God, they had enough TP to wipe family butts from coast to coast for 3-4 months: stashes in the closets of both bathrooms, in all three bedroom closets, and in the basement laundry room. My dad would say things like 'you never know when you'll need a good cardboard box' or 'do you know how many things you can do with a plastic milk jug?' I know it was the result of growing up during the great depression, and based on their life experience when the economy tanks or croplands turn into a dust bowl, the suffering goes on for years so nothing got thrown out if there was any conceivable way to make use/reuse of it. They weren't brainiacs, but they were resilient and frugal and always planning ahead and 'setting aside for a rainy day.' They had no elaborate plan, as it was their lifestyle.

 

[mrblond]

When I had to move my parents into a nursing home, we took six truck loads of 'good stuff' to the local thrift store and made uncounted trips to the dump. But, by God, they had enough TP to wipe family butts from coast to coast for 3-4 months: stashes in the closets of both bathrooms, in all three bedroom closets, and in the basement laundry room. My dad would say things like 'you never know when you'll need a good cardboard box' or 'do you know how many things you can do with a plastic milk jug?' I know it was the result of growing up during the great depression, and based on their life experience when the economy tanks or croplands turn into a dust bowl, the suffering goes on for years so nothing got thrown out if there was any conceivable way to make use/reuse of it. They weren't brainiacs, but they were resilient and frugal and always planning ahead and 'setting aside for a rainy day.' They had no elaborate plan, as it was their lifestyle.

my Grandmother was the same way, but its how people think that went through the depression. I remember how mad she got when I tossed some of her " good things ", like a microwave that was made in like 1979, a broken ceiling fan, remotes that did not belong to anything.. on yes.. a VCR that still had a wired remote.."
5 years after she passed over, I am still tossing some of the junk that she had to keep.