After years of prepping and still going - by Victoria

[Victoria]

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO STAY SAFE TODAY?


If you read the article above about the violence in Dallas, Texas, does that make you think about you and your family’s safety?

I said to be aware of your surroundings.  I need to expound on that statement. 

CAR:
If you found yourself suddenly in an area where there was real danger, what should you have in your car to help you?  Let’s raise the stakes - if you were stuck there, roads were closed, you couldn’t drive out of there, now think of what you need in your car to help you.  In Dallas, no cars could leave that area last night, the cars were still there  this morning. 

Where is that BACKPACK you are supposed to have in your car?  I have Life Gear Wings of Life Survival Backpack.  As a reminder what you might have in a backpack, here is what is in this one:

Backpack includes:
Thermal blanket
All weather poncho
Hygiene kit
First aid kit
Multifunction tool
Leather work gloves
Respirator mask
Compass
Signaling whistle
Thermometer
Red emergency flasher
Waterproof document/cash bag
Signaling mirror
Writing pad & pen
6-page disaster preparedness action guide

Emergency food rations:
Made in USA
Meets US Coast Guard standards (160.046/23/0)
Meets Department of Defense regulations (SOLAS 74/83)
5-year shelf life
Non-thirst provoking
Withstand temperatures of -40 to 300 degrees F
Ready to eat: each package contains 9 pre-measured 400 calorie meals
Individual portions eliminate messy breakup
Contains no cholesterol or tropical oils
Enriched with vitamins and minerals, exceeding RDA requirements

Emergency water packets:
Made in USA
US Coast Guard approved
No oxygen transfer (no chance of bacterial contamination)
Pre-measured packets make water easy to dispense
Easy to transport; no cups needed
Withstand temperatures from -40 to 210 degrees F

That reads like the backpack must be heavy.  It is light weight, I have no trouble picking it up.  If you have a bag with those items in it, you would be in good shape if you had to leave your car or stay in your car for a long time in order to be safe.

GET ONE OF THESE:

There is another item I want you to have in your car – there is one in mine.  I wrote about this in these articles, but I was reminded of it when we were passing BEHIND a large building the other day.   I saw a water spigot  sticking out from the building with no handle on the top.  There was no way to get water out of that spigot – except one way and I had the way to do it. 

To keep someone from turning on the spigot, but allowing credible people to open it, there was a round, flat, metal piece , with an indention in it.  A key fits in that space to turn on that spigot.  That key is called a Sillcock key.  It has four different sizes of keys on it.  One would fit in that space and I could get water from the back of that building.  If you were stuck in a town or city, you could get water from the back of a large building.

A Sillcock key is inexpensive – below is the one I bought in 2013, and it costs $9.09.  Think about it – I could have stopped behind that building, used my key, and had water.  I want you to be able to get water from a building, too.  Just click on the link below, get the key and put it in your car.

Put a backpack with supplies in your car and a Sillcock key and ONE OTHER ITEM.  That is explained below this link to the key:

https://www.amazon.com/Cobra-Products-PST154-4-Way-Sillcock/dp/B0002YVMEM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1468034519&sr=8-2&keywords=sillcock+key

Maybe you have a first aid kit in your car or your backpack has a first aid kit in it.  There is one item it doesn’t have that could save your life, especially if you take blood thinner meds.

The item is Celox packets.  Celox will stop bleeding in seconds, unless it is an arterial blood flow.  Celox is used by the military on the battlefield to stop bleeding and I have packets of it in my car.  You open the packet and put the powder on the cut and it will stop bleeding quickly.  You can buy it on Amazon.  Ten packets are $27.50.  Keep some in your house and in your car.

https://www.amazon.com/CELOX-Temporary-Traumatic-Treatment-10-Pack/dp/B0032UY9BQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1468036589&sr=8-3&keywords=Celox

I hope you will consider what I have written and take action to obtain or put together a backpack/bug out bag for your car, Sillcock key, and Celox, before you might need them and not have them.

[LvsChant]

Thanks, Victoria...

IN this day and age, with the increase of violence in our society, I continue to be amazed that people believe depriving law-abiding citizens of their firearms will help the situation. Good comments on keeping preparedness items in the car.

[Victoria]

To: LvsChant and All:

I am writing a book.  The working title is, “DAILY LIFE TO ETERNAL LIFE”

On the cover will also be this:

“Life: Solving Your Problems – You Can Do It.”
“Eternity: No One Dies – Not Even You.”

Part of “Daily Life” is preparing for an emergency so part of this book will include this.

I am now 83, retired, so it is time to write this book so others can benefit from my lifetime of gathering knowledge about the human condition while living on this earth.

Credentials I had during my career giving me the expertise to write this book:
Elementary School Teacher
Professional School Counselor including Psychological Examiner
Professional Special Education Counselor including Psychological Examiner
Professional Associate School Psychologist including Psychological examiner
Licensed Professional Counselor including Psychological Examiner
Clinical Associate, American Board of Medical Psychotherapists
Licensed Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
Licensed Real Estate Broker
Bible Scholar All My Life
Common Sense, Problem Solver All My Life

Thanks to all of you who read my articles about preparing for an emergency.  I will keep you in mind as I write this book.
Marcella Derrick



EDIT to fix formatting

[ncjeeper]

 

[mountainmoma]

Good title, good luck with the book

[LvsChant]

Looks great, Victoria.

[Victoria]

Dear Friends,
I have the name of a non-fiction publisher.  I have to write two books instead of one.
Titles are, first book, "LIVING WELL DURING AN EMERGENCY - YOU CAN DO IT"
Subtitle: "EMERGENCY STRIKES: CREATE NORMAL LIVING FOR FAMILY AND SINGLES"

Second book, "EARTHLY LIFE TO ETERNAL LIFE"
Subtitle: "ETERNITY: NO ONE DIES - NOT EVEN YOU"

As I said, I will post new emergency articles here as I write them.

[LvsChant]

Great news, Victoria... let us know how it progresses.

[Victoria]

Dear friends/readers:

I have100 pages of the book completed as it should finally be, with updates of information.  Based on what I have already done, I think it will be 300+ pages long.  I didn't realize I wrote that much.  Plus, the updating is adding more pages.

I hope to have this completed within a month, working every day on it.  Picture me sitting on a couch with computer on my lap, with snacks and iced tea next to me.  If I didn't have to go places, I'd lock myself in this room and not come out until this is done.

However, I went to a casino last Sunday and won $870.  Went to one yesterday and won $960.
Victoria  Marcella

[LvsChant]

So... luck or skill???

Sounds great, Victoria.

[Victoria]

So... luck or skill???
Sounds great, Victoria.

@LvsChant

About casino winning - I can give you some tips:
Only play on Progressive machines - the amount of money to win goes up as people put money in and don't win.  Progressive machines usually have several stated jackpot win possibilities on the machine, just look up and they are there at the top of the machine. 
Only play on progressive machines that give you a possibility for free games.  It was on free games that I won those two jackpots.  There was one lesser jackpot there, then the middle one, which I won on both machines.  The top jackpot on the machines was well over $1,000. 
I don't play on machines with gobs of pictures on them and many lines.  I play the ones that have 7's and other designs and just have three rows on them to match up for winning money.

There were three machines like the ones I described.  Most people pass them by because they are not flashy.  On top of these machines there is a lit up red vertical bar.  If I was in another casino, I would look for machines with the red vertical bar on top to see if those were there.  If not, I would look for progressive machines that give free games with not many rows on them. 

[LvsChant]

Thanks for sharing... I am much too risk-averse to enjoy gambling and must admit I have only played slots a couple of times, but I appreciate the tips (just in case).

[Victoria]

@LvsChant

In writing this book, I have updated everything that needed to be updated, including updating items and where to purchase items. It takes more research, but that is what I do.  In updating, I have purchased improved items than could be had when I wrote here or the ones I have, are no longer available, so others had to be found for people who need these items.  Time changes everything. 

I am watching the news about the terror attacks in London in two different locations - London Bridge and Borough Market - 6 victims dead, three terrorists dead - so far.  Many in hospitals and hospitals are on lock down to protect people in the hospitals.

These attacks are going to keep happening.  It makes sense to be able to stay in your house if this happens in your area.  I hear talking heads saying this is the "new" normal - these attacks are going to continue.  If you don't have supplies in your house to stay there for a while, get some, get some today.

[Victoria]

@LvsChant

I now have 250 pages of this book written.  I think 50 more pages might do it.  I have now contacted a person in the publishing business and will hear from her in the not distant future.  It has taken a long time, working every day, to update everything I have written before.  I will keep you informed in the progress from this point forward.

[Victoria]

@LvsChant

I hired an editor.  Takes eight to ten weeks to get a report, then editor will help me from this point forward to get the book in print.  It has taken on more importance since N. Korea can send an ICBM here.  Anyone living in the western states should have some supplies as that is the area a nuke could hit if they increase the distance of the ICBM or it already has the required distance.

Due to North Korea and their capability now to send an ICBM to the states, it won't be long, as in they may be able to do it now, before they send a nuke tipped ICBM into our upper atmosphere, and blast us back to the 1800s with an EMP - electromagnetic pulse taking out our power for months/years.  If they don't have the miniature nuclear tip yet, they can just ask Iran for one and they will be happy to give them one.

According to my Bob, the Earth Scientist, they won't send one to Alaska due to the magnetic interference of the North Pole; they would have difficult guiding it due to that.  He thinks either an EMP would happen above the western states, or they would send a nuke to San Diego or Los Angeles. 

[Victoria]

I won another $1,000 at a casino.  That is $2,600 in one month.

The book, "LIVE WELL DURING AN EMERGENCY - YOU CAN DO IT", is now 300 pages, edited numerous times and ready to go.  I have another maybe 40-50 pages to write and then add the Table of Contents and Index at the back. Total pages likely 370-380.

Writing a book is like an albatross on your back, so much writing and it isn't going to happen if you don't write it.  Plus, you have to write it in a specific book form or a publisher won't be interested.  However, I have to say a computer is a wonderful tool - what if we had to write a book long hand, or on a typewriter and have to hand erase every letter we typed wrong, then re-type it?  I appreciate every book writer who had to do that before we had these wonderful machines.

[LvsChant]

Wow! Great news, Victoria...

[Victoria]

Wow! Great news, Victoria...

The book, "Live Well During An Emergency - You Can Do It", will be finished within five or six days.  It will be about 360 pages.
I need a rest....

[ncjeeper]

 

[Victoria]

@ncjeeper
@LVSChant

The book, "Live Well During an Emergency - You Can Do It", is finished except for the Index in the back and I am working on that.

I own a townhouse in Montgomery County which is attached on the south to Harris County where Houston is.  Houses/businesses were flooded in Montgomery County.  My townhouse in that county did NOT flood for which I am thankful.  Montgomery County is one that is now a declared federal emergency for FEMA help and money.

Food and water and medicine is scarce in the enormous flooded area. "If" these people had stored food and water up higher than the floor, on high shelves or upstairs "if" they had a two story house, they would have food and water when they got back to their houses. "If" they had left their area when the flood was predicted to come to them,  they could have taken food, water and medicine with them in their cars and not be stuck in a shelter with nothing.

Note the "ifs" in the above paragraph, as,  "If" they had done "x".  Well, they didn't do "x".  These people had "normalcy bias" (it hasn't happened before so it won't).  From my book, "The most dangerous response to an emergency, is 'normalcy bias'." 

There is a severe shortage of gasoline in north Texas since gasoline can't be trucked from refineries on the Texas coast because they are shut down and trucks can't get there anyway due to flooded roads.  There are no gas stations open here in north Texas.  Day before yesterday, the Texas governor, Greg Abbott, said yesterday that gasoline trucks from New Mexico, Oklahoma and Louisiana were headed to north Texas.  Last Thursday we drove to Oklahoma and there was no gasoline at any station from here to Oklahoma.  Yesterday, Saturday, we went to church and saw there were no gas stations open from Flower Mound, Lewisville and Grapevine.  I expect there to be fewer cars on the roads today in this area.  This whole area is a bedroom community for people who live here and work in Dallas.  They need gas to go to work.  This is an example of a disaster that affects people not in the disaster area.

Food and water and medicine aren't available for people in the disaster area.  Grocery stores aren't open because they were flooded.  Trucks can't bring food to grocery stores because the roads are flooded or washed away.  Trucks also can't go there because there is no gas station in the flooded area to refuel the trucks.  There are no drug stores open as they were flooded.  There are no doctors because their offices were flooded and likely their own houses and they had to leave their houses so they aren't there.

Businesses can't open because they were flooded and they have no employees to work since they were flooded out of their houses and they are not home to go to work.

This is a matter of the foot bone connected to the leg bone - if something in the chain doesn't work, the rest of the chain can't work.

This flood will stop being in the news but the people affected will live with this for months/years trying to put their lives back together.

I hope my book will help others so they can know what to do now so they never get in the situation where these millions of people find themselves. That is why I had to write this book.

Don't forget the people of Texas when they are not on TV anymore.[/size]

[Carl]

  Good to see that you are well Mrs Vic. I am glad that the storm was not too much problem for you.

[Victoria]

  Good to see that you are well Mrs Vic. I am glad that the storm was not too much problem for you.

@Carl

Thanks for your comment.  We drove 130 miles yesterday to north of Wichita Falls, Texas, into Oklahoma, and went to two casinos.  We saw only three gas stations open on that road.  Coming back, those were out of gasoline, too.  We started out with a full tank so we didn't need to get it in order to get back home. I won $850 and Bob won $1,200.  If we had needed gas, all that money was useless as there was no gas.

If gas doesn't come back to all stations in the next couple of days, people can't get to work. Also, gas going from the Texas gulf coast through pipelines to the northeastern states, is reduced right now.  Texas is the biggest producer of gasoline and natural gas for this country.  As Texas goes, the country goes.

I grew up in east Texas, in the middle of the east Texas oil fields.  Oil derricks were all around us.  My father worked for the Sun Oil Company all his adult life.  I climbed on oil derricks which rose high in the sky.  My school was the richest school per capita in the whole state.  We paid teachers more than any school in the state.  As a result, we had the best teachers and they were housed in buildings the school built and they paid nothing for those accommodations.  We also had a large library and students from other towns were brought there to see such a large library and how one worked.  We had a school nurse for anyone who had a medical problem.  Our school buses were Continental Trailways busses.  After I became an adult, I realized how fortunate I was to grow up with an excellent education to begin my college years.

Texas is in a world of hurt right now, millions of people trying to recover from this Biblical (can you say Noah's Ark?) flood.  I got an email message from Woodforest Bank this morning.  In the flood areas, they aren't going to charge people if their bank account goes in the red from checks not being deposited to cover their automatic payments.  People flooded out are in shelters so they can't get their mail to deal with their money; they can't get to banks.  If their car/cars were flooded, they have no transportation to get to a bank.  ATMs were flooded.  Some banks are flooded and can't open.

Water can destroy your life but you must have it to live; three days without water and you can't think straight and you will be dead after 5/6/7 days without water.  Water appears to be almost weightless in your hand, but a gallon weighs 8 pounds.  There are millions of gallons of water  being brought to Texas for those who have no water.  "If" people had a Big Berkey water filter, they could filter that flood water and have pure water to drink.  Perhaps the government should be giving them a Big Berkey instead of bottles of water which don't last long.[/size]

[LvsChant]

Glad you are OK, Victoria... Is the water receding much overall? We don't see as much news about Houston now that Irma's in the picture. I remember a similar situation and rising gasoline prices over the entire country when Katrina hit New Orleans and then another hurricane followed it and affected Houston as well.

[Victoria]

Glad you are OK, Victoria... Is the water receding much overall? We don't see as much news about Houston now that Irma's in the picture. I remember a similar situation and rising gasoline prices over the entire country when Katrina hit New Orleans and then another hurricane followed it and affected Houston as well.

@LvsChant

More homes in the vast area of southeast Texas, were flooded in Harvey than Irma due to Harvey dropping 50 inches of rain. The water is gone, but it will take years to rebuild that part of Texas.

Here is a story for you:  After church on Saturday, we get food from some restaurant to take home.  This time, he stopped at a barbecue place and went in by himself.  He knows the owner there, and he told Bob two families from the flooded area were staying at his house.  Two couples and four children.  Bob asked him how that was going, and the owner said he wished there was a bed at the restaurant so he didn't have to go home. He said it was the four kids that were the problem, finding something for them to do.

I thought that much water was not going to drain out of my small back garden and water from 12 other townhomes flow though my little garden.  Frankly, I dreaded my house being flooded.  It is on the 100 year flood plane, but 50 inches of rain has never happened in Texas.

When I bought my house, my insurance agent whom I personally know, said I didn't need flood insurance so I only had insurance for my personal items, furniture, etc.. Due to this flood, I now have flood insurance for my house.  it goes into effect on Oct. 10.  I will feel better about my house after that date.

Price gouging:  I have two WaterBOBs.  I have written about those; it is a small box when you don't need it.  Inside the box is a food grade plastic bladder that holds 100 gallons of water when put in a bathtub and filled and has a pump to get out water when you need it.  They cost me less than $19 when I got the last one in 2014.  I looked at those yesterday, and people are charging over one hundred dollars for them, up to $240.  They are sold out in most places and the ones available are that high price for them. 

That high price is what will happen when there is an emergency and there is no water or food.  When people in Florida went to stores to buy bottled water, when they got out of the store, people attacked them to steal the water they just bought.  At that time, people still had good water in their pipes but they didn't store their own good water; they went to the store to buy water.  People's mindset is there is no water unless you buy it.  People stop thinking when a disaster is approaching. 

Water is the crux of living or not.  Without water for three days, people go to their base instinct of survival and they will attack others for water so they and their families can live.  I keep 40 gallons of water stored at all times.  Then, I can fill the WaterBOBs to have another 200 gallons of water.  Then, there are the kiddle pools to collect water when it rains, and there is the 100 gallon water barrel under a downspout to collect water when it rains and the Big Berkey to filter that water so it is pure.

There is NO water or food in the Florida Keys and ships are going there to take off all the people.  A general who is directing that said there is no power and nothing is coming back until power is restored.  I have written so much about what happens when power goes off.  Water stops going through the pipes when power goes off after the water company backup generator runs out of fuel.  Every state has a law that water companies must have a backup generator that lasts for two or three days and that is it.  During Hurricane Ike in my county, flood water took out a generator so they only had one that worked.   Always assume NOTHING is going to work in an emergency situation.  Depend only on yourself to provide what you need to stay alive.

If anyone is reading this, store your own good water right now.  ALWAYS have water stored.[/size]

[Stwood]

Thanks. Good read on the water. We have some stored, but probably not enough.

[chad]

The waiting in line 2 day's "before" the storm just to buy bottled water vexed me also.

[Victoria]

The waiting in line 2 day's "before" the storm just to buy bottled water vexed me also.

@Chad

Chad, it was like they were non-thinking zombies.  "Storm coming, must have bottled water from the store."
That thinking is not going to change.  Houston has gone through many hurricanes and I lived 40 miles from Houston and had Houston
TV channels after power went off because I had a battery TV.  Immediately, and I mean immediately, after Hurricane Ike passed, Houston people were on the street begging for FEMA water.  These people had not stored any of their own good water although they had been through hurricanes before.  FEMA had not had time to get there and yet people wanted water right then.  It is those people who don't think who will go after someone else's water and food.

Yesterday, a couple was interviewed who were on vacation on one of the islands and couldn't get off before the storm.  The island was destroyed and criminal types started looting stores and attacking people in their homes for what they had.  The husband of this couple got with other men in their hotel and they boarded up entrances to the hotel as best they could and set up watchmen through the nights and days.  They all feared for their lives while parts of the hotel roof peeled off during the storm and they fled to other rooms as this happened.  Then, when the criminals began to attack, they once again feared for their lives.  It will take time for them to recover from the emotional stress they went through. 

Texas was different because criminal types in this state know almost every person in this state has weapons and ammo and will kill them.  People in other states where fire arms are "regulated" so almost no people have them will be the ones attacked when an emergency starts in that state.

If North Korea explodes a nuclear bomb in our upper atmosphere, which they can do right now, power will be off for months/years, and water and food will go away when there is no power. 

I explain this in my book.  We did this to ourselves when people stopped growing food and stopped having water wells.  We now depend on power to get food to grocery stores and deliver water to our house.  When power goes off, no food goes to stores and no water is in the pipes.  Unless we can provide food and water for ourselves, we die.

The WaterBOB happening, of them going to over $100 to $240 when they were just $18+ dollars, is what will happen to anything one needs to live when it starts going away.  After a month when power is gone, a glass of water will be more valuable than a million dollar house.  If you own that house but are dying from lack of water, you will trade that house for that glass of water.  The price of a WaterBOB now proves this. 

Can I get people to realize this when they read my 400 page book?  I hope I have done an adequate job so people know what to do now to save their lives in an emergency.  Now, I have to get back to that job to get the Index done for the back of the book and send it off to agents to get the thing published.

Store your own good water now - store non perishable food now - and read my book if it ever gets published.  I wrote this book to save God's creation and that is you.  [/size]

[chad]

I'm sure your book will help people, just checked Amazon and all the waterBOB I found are sold out.

[Victoria]

I'm sure your book will help people, just checked Amazon and all the waterBOB I found are sold out.

@Chad

There is an AquaPodKit, on their website for $19.95, holds 65 gallons of water in a tub and there is a pump.  They are backordered but one can still order them.  The two pod kit is $24.95.  No telling how long until they get some in.

[chad]

I also thought about buying a new trash can and fill that, leaving my tub usable.