Silver Bug Out

[SilverLife]

Its fire season in the West, the ENTIRE West. Coupled with the drought its like an environmental 3000
foot container ship filled with hundreds of thousands of cases of dynamite and a Captain nicknamed
Morgan who chain smokes Camels and dozes off at the helm for extended periods. Oh and he uses
nitroglycerin for hair tonic. And his reading glasses were lost during a swell years ago and the most
current up to date nav chart in the captain's desk is from 1836. What do you mean all the wooden
lifeboats are termite infested?
My point is it's GONNA happen folks. Are you/we ready? The location and type of calamity doesn't
matter a whit. The western mountain folk are worried about intense out of nowhere thundercells with
everybody's party favorite: hail. While you hearty mountain folk are sayin your Hail Mary's and drivin
like Hail, the midwesterners are making a choice: run for the cellar or run for the road. Keep goin or
pull over? Is that a cow flying by us??!! Easterners are watching the nightly radar for thunderstorms,
high winds and what's the name of the next swirly abomination in the Atlantic? “ Honey, will our lift
kit be enough if it rains 13”? (Michigan and Nova Scotia need only concern themselves mostly with
gigantic mosquitos big enough to suck the freon from the rooftop AC, but thats another concern.) My
point is we're ALL, at ANY given moment facing a catastrophe of possibly epic proportions, and no
one, practically anywhere is immune. The challenge becomes more narrow when we consider the
fragile aluminum shell surrounding us we call shelter or home for us FT's. Do I sound like the Safety
Officer on the bridge of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald?
As a disgruntled, taken advantage of, deceived feeling Airstream owner I have little to say anymore
about Thor quality, integrity, craftsmanship or even, romance of the open road. BUT, regardless of
ANY of that, the bottom line is WE'RE ALL MOBILE! All of us, including any SOB's, the Oliver's,
the Tiffan's, the Rockwood's, Jayco's and Airliner's- we have wheels, not brick foundations. Are we
ready to roll? If you live in a metropolis of any peculiar size that needs electricity, sewage collection,
and utilities to function as a town, and you are dependent on those services to exist AND you happen to
have a perfectly good RV in the back yard or storage unit down the road, then you have an escape route
and a shelter to live in regardless. Is it ready? Are you ready? If not, find out what YOU and you
family need to live for an extended period. The length of time is determined by the type of disaster,
how many members in your party and how well you know your systems; What are your limits for
petroleum, LP, electricity, food, medicine, first aid, tolerance's to do without?
Order what you can afford or everything you need TODAY. Right now. Make a plan with your loved
ones. Have a chat with me myself and I. Even your dog needs to know. Tell him he's a good boy for
carrying that whisky barrel strapped to his back. Do you have a bug out bag? If not you SHOULD. And
a basic plan that everyone in your shiny happy camping family should be familiar with and THEIR
specific role. Full timers, we have a head start. We're already IN the escape vehicle and should have an
advantage with quicker reaction time. But it's not an excuse to put off preparations. Be ready to turn the
key and crank the engine.
When you hit the GO button, that is NOT the time to wonder about fuel levels, food stores, days till we
run out of....., wheel bearing maintenance, worn tires or brakes, that battery you thought might last
another season, prescription's your loving partner needs to live...Procrastination is NOT your friend
now and sorry, will never be.
We recently had a 10 day event involving a new TV completely disabled and towed to the nearest
dealer. No matter that it was the engine pulling the silver caboose that we all DEPENDED on. No
matter that it was barely broke in and covered under warranty. No matter that you cannot, CANNOT
rent a truck from ANYONE in the US that would be legally covered while towing a trailer. (Illegally,
yes you can rent a D2500 and rig a 7 pin to actuate the trailer brakes and drive off into the sunset,
but...) No matter pandumbic isolating parts not available anywhere. No matter anything, the AS is now
stuck and so is everyone in the happy shiny party at the mercy of incompetent mechanics and bumbling
major auto manufacturers. Did I change the oil and tranny fluid meticulously BEFORE the factory
schedule? Yes. Did I follow the manufacture's recommended schedule for all other preventative
maintenance? Yes. Could I have done anything to prevent this occurrence? No. But happen it did. IF,
we hadn't been ready for the unforeseen, the situation would have been much much worse and possibly
life altering. It was the equivalent to a lightning strike. How do you prepare for that? By talking,
planning, enacting the plan BEFOREHAND, and not freaking out when the gods turn their faces away
from the shiny aluminum reflection. Maybe you're Walter Mitty in Groundhog Day and nothing, not
one minuscule tiny speck of dirt has ever landed on your shoulder. Alright, you're excused. Go back to
your perfect always abundant fantasy life. The rest of us pilgrims, we have work to do.