Survival
What Will Happen When the Next Pandemic Strikes?
I predicted a pandemic when I wrote the first draft of my Survival Guide in 2001. That doesn’t make me a genius. Anyone who spent
April 16, 2022
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I predicted a pandemic when I wrote the first draft of my Survival Guide in 2001. That doesn’t make me a genius. Anyone who spent
Killer tornadoes. Killer Heat Dome. Unprecedented Drought. Texas Freeze. Killer hurricanes. Floods. Record heat waves. The poles melting. And, oh yeah, two years into a
A lot and not enough. We knew a pandemic was inevitable, yet were unprepared. We know many things are inevitable yet prefer to ignore them.
I haven’t written about the pandemic in a while; perhaps I’ve been numbed out like many of us. But first, note its day 324 since
I wrote this post before the recent coup attempt in Washington, but it’s all still true. Even more so. Time to be blunt. The official
Tennessee is #1. Yay! 1 out of every 100 people are infected with active COVID. Here in Knoxville, where we live, we have a bunch
Only 2 of 50 states are not in red condition for COVID-19. We’ve had almost a complete year to deal with this virus and have
We are living in a surreal environment in the United States. We have a president who lost an election, claiming he didn’t lose it and
While people focus on election results, COVID-19 is surging on a daily basis. We’ve hit peak and there’s no end in sight. I know of
Despite all the other news, we are in a surge of the FIRST WAVE of COVID-19 and we have no plan to deal with it,
The White House surrendered; hell, they never even fought. But that doesn’t mean we have to. We are at record numbers with no relief in
“We must share together the bad news and the good news . . . So far, the news has been all bad. If you feel
That’s the latest prediction. Which means a surge and more than double the current death toll coming in the next four months. This is the
What’s changed? That’s what I ask myself as I see the push to re-open schools, to have sports start up, and all the rhetoric that’s
It didn’t need to happen. Really. Logic and science said it would; but both were ignored. So states re-opened, after never really shutting down and
That sums up the apocalypse that is the United States. Betsy DeVos, Sec of Education, summed up this administration’s approach to the pandemic this morning
2020 needs a do-over. But that’s not going to happen. A lot of people are in denial right now but here is reality: Nothing is
Above is the weekly trend. It aint good. To understate a bit. The Federal government never really took charge when the pandemic struck. At first
We also don’t do logic. Or common sense. We do what we ‘believe’. And what we believe is often wrong. Why did we even shut
There’s no other way to title our current reality. Science doesn’t care what your political beliefs are. Nor your religious beliefs. It doesn’t care what
IRP stands for Immediate Rally Point. This is a point outside of your home where your family can gather if they have to evacuate the
Yes, it’s day 105. But here in TN we’re seeing cases increase. If you live in Florida, Arizona or Texas, it’s really surging. No matter
Remember, many of us don’t have phone numbers memorized. We rely on the address book of our cell phone, but in an emergency, that might
I wrote my first draft of The Green Beret Preparation and Survival Guide about a decade ago. I did my first version of a free
And it’s even worse than the reported information. We know a number of states are playing fast and loose with their numbers and under-reporting. Also,
The glass is half full, and there’s a crack in it. Sadly, we’re seeing a surge in infections in a number of states that have
Numbers are spiking in 21 states—reported numbers, which in many of those states is far below the real numbers. Most of the states are red
As a fiction writer, we often discuss “suspension of disbelief”. What that means is getting the reader so caught up in the story, that they
For over three years we’ve been subjected a nonstop barrage of “alternate facts”. In essence, an alternate reality as envisioned in the mind of the
The usual lines are being drawn: for and against protests. The difference this time is that we have a president actively inciting violence. It’s all
The official death toll passed 100,000 in the United States today. We know its vastly under-counting in many ways. For example, pneumonia deaths in Florida
I went to the grocery store last week for our bi-monthly resupply. It seemed to me that some shelves were barer than before. Meat was
Humans beings once crowded men, women and children, including newborns, into gas chambers by the hundreds and killed them. Again and again and again. That
The helicopter flies over you, carrying them to the airport; but not the part where you have to go through security and take your shoes
We are undergoing a psychological condition called ‘derealization’. It’s a dissociative disorder which involves disruptions or breakdowns of memory, consciousness, awareness, identity, and/or perception. It’s
And, technically, it is pocket-sized if you put it on your phone in the Kindle ap. But the print size is shown above against an
I’ll get back to more information on water tomorrow, but today I’m in a state of shock over the images from Wisconsin, where their supreme
While water does not appear to be priority for most people in terms of the pandemic, it is a priority for survival if some other
Beyond the Four Basics and doing an Area Study, the next priority is having a Grab-N-Go bag. At least one. I have one in the
Official reports show that 33,000,000 Americans have filed for unemployment in the past month. The equivalent of the work force for half the states in
We wasted the last two months. That’s what historians will focus on. Why did we shut things down and not aggressively test? What good did
It was a good day, even while many, including my father, were still fighting in the Pacific Theater. Many historians have traced the origins of
When I watched Contagion years ago, I thought it was reasonably well done but really underestimated the degree of societal breakdown that such a pandemic
I studied World War I at West Point. We all know about the Great Depression that began in 1929. But the 1920s? All I know
Facts: On the day that TN/LA/TX and GA report the most cases and most deaths in the previous 24 hours, those states are relaxing their
I’ve been out of the net for a couple of days meandering in the Jeep in the Smoky Mountains with Scout. We explored the Cherokee
My wife and I have been looking to move for a while now. For the first time, even before this pandemic, one of the considerations
Someone asked me if I was incensed when I saw that Trump had ordered the Academy to hold graduation so he could speak. Actually, I
I’m watching kids being dropped off by their parents to a house across the street where there’s a big sign congratulating a daughter on her
California was shaking the other morning. We had deadly tornadoes in this area last week killing 33 that would have been front page news except
We’ve heard all the news about the need for ventilators; a big reason for that is because by the time many people are admitted to
Here is a useful page where you can enter your zip code and get local information about COVID-19: https://www.cnn.com/resources/coronavirus-information/ Here is a page on the
Listening to the news today it felt like a lot of people are acting like we’re on the downslope of this pandemic, while I feel
The saying above is a truism. Most Americans have been living in a bubble most of our lives. Protected from a harsher reality. Even now,
Okay, a little too much Westworld. But really? We haven’t evolved very far. That’s what Westworld is all about. The old classic Battlestar Galactica question:
A happy picture, although they are not adhering to social distancing, of Scout and Cool Gus in my office with Tigger ready to pounce in
The day I blew out my eye riding my bike up Foothills Parkway and gaining 2,000 feet in altitude, one of the reasons I did
Change is incredibly hard. Most of what we do is habit. This pandemic is upsetting those habits and teaching us new ones. Hopefully positive ones.
In the midst of all the bad and the negativity and the naysayers and deniers, it’s important to carve out some time to be grateful.
The picture is of volunteers standing outside a medical center in Italy. They’re holding bags of food to hand out to those less fortunate. Italy
The map above is the estimate chances of an epidemic across the country. The darker, the worse. I sometimes wonder how this event will be
The first thing I have people do in my Survival Guide, and when I conduct Survival Workshops, is an Area Study. Why? Because everyone’s situation
Got your attention? Sadly, if you’re reading this, I’ve probably had your attention. I despair of the stupidity and willful ignorance in this country. We
Is not good. This isn’t going to be over any time soon. Honestly, as I type one-eyed, I vacillate on the outlook. There are two
I haven’t posted the map in a while. Note Florida is heating up. These maps and all the numbers are really skewed by how few
Long day of trying to rest my eye after the surgery—supposed to spend most of the day on my left side as well as all
Pandemics don’t just come and then disappear. They come in waves; hopefully smaller and smaller waves, but until we have a vaccine, COVID-19 will be
I’m a big fan of SOPs—standing operating procedures. These are ones I received from a reader, Fred, and I think they make sense PROTOCOL WHEN
Hard as it is to believe, we are still just in the early stages of the pandemic. The number above has been ticking down. Yesterday
My surgery went well, did a follow up with doctor today and he said eye looks good, but I’m out of commission for a while.
I’d mentioned this before. That the unexpected will occur. As we hunker down here, I have an unexpected medical emergency. I never had surgery for
There are many who think we’ll be okay in two or three months. Wrong. Two things to consider: The fact we have no coordinated federal
We canceled our home delivery of the NY Times 2 weeks ago. My morning ritual used to be to walk down to the mailbox with
Every training environment I was in, and every unit I served with in the Army emphasized leadership. From West Point, to Infantry Officer Basic and
My son just forwarded me the California lockdown order; which is probably a week late, or early, depending on your perspective. It’s a huge pain
The less you have to go out, the better. Hopefully you’ve stocked up as much food and supplies as you can. Your freezer and fridge
At one time in Special Forces, my team was given the mission to parachute into a certain place and conduct covert surveillance on various targets
Lots of closures, some optional, many mandatory. Without clear Federal oversight, states and local governments are doing what they can. I drove to the woods
We “know” SARS-CoV-2 is well beyond containment. Schools are being closed, athletic events canceled, etc. In larger cities, more and more activities are being shuttered.
these next six weeks or so, even though it is likely almost all of us will eventually be exposed to the virus (ie it’s not
A woman said they were going to the store and someone yelled to them from a car. She went over and there was an older
CDC is reporting 1,215 cases of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19/Coronavirus. Pick your name. The first is the technical one. The latter is what everyone is calling it, but
This is based on recent observations, mostly from China, and medical journals, and is ongoing, but these appear to be trends: Coronavirus spreads slower than
According to the World Health Organization, the chart below shows the differences between all three. Remember, though, each can manifest differently in different people, but
This is a review that was left on The Green Beret Preparation and Survival Guide on Amazon and it hits exactly what I was aiming
Yes, SARS-CoV-2, is the official name of this form of Coronavirus. I think people don’t want to use the SARS term as it stands for
There’s a Good Chance We Will Be Exposed to the Coronavirus. Caveat: I am not a doctor and just referring to the information I have
I’ve had a new version of The Green Beret Preparation and Survival Guide out for some months now. But given recent events, I wanted to
What makes Special Forces elite is our training and, most importantly, our planning. Before going on a mission, we would conduct “Isolation” where we would
Researching available data, I’ve summarized the information in this free slideshow. I’m not a doctor or scientist, just a practical person. In Special Forces what