By Jim Quinn of TheBurningPlatform.com - October 16, 2023

I’ve had an unsettled feeling about what is going on in this country and around the world for the last month. More unsettled than normal. I know that is what has spurred me to write multiple short articles over the last couple weeks as my outlet for dealing with my increasing feeling of dread. But I’ve also begun to take some action steps to be better prepared for whatever is coming.

I’m not a true doomstead prepper. I would say I’m more prepped than the average person, less prepped than many of the people who read TBP, and certainly not prepped enough to survive what could be headed our way. During the time frame from 2009 through 2012 I bought a significant amount of equipment, firearms, and food for what I thought was an imminent SHTF moment coming our way. As usual, my timing was off by a mile. But still, the supplies are in my storage area, awaiting the day that will come.

My location isn’t ideal, but it isn’t terrible. It is basically a suburban community nestled among numerous farms, far from any urban ghetto shithole. Most of my neighborhood is occupied by liberals, Karens, and vaccine supporters. I know of three or four neighbors who I could count on as support, if things go sideways. Two of them are engineers who have skills I do not have. I would trust them in a crisis situation.

I had a backup natural gas generator installed a couple years ago, which came in handy a few weeks ago when a transformer blew up the road. Over the last few weeks I’ve been methodically taking small steps to get better prepared. I’ve been withdrawing cash from my credit union. My old propane grill has rusted away and ignition has been iffy for a while. I bought a new one last week. In the near future, I’ll be getting rid of our 13 year old Honda Insight with 250,000 miles and replacing it with a used Honda HRV with under 40,000 miles. Converting fiat into useful things seems like a good idea at this point.

Yesterday we bought a new firearm and ammo. What a fascinating process. It is pretty clear to me that all gun dealer employees and their customers are of the same mindset as TBPers. We got to know the gentleman helping us select the gun pretty well because the goddamn state of PA makes it as difficult as possible to legally purchase a firearm. After filling out pages of paperwork and answering questions online, it took the state drones about an hour and half to approve the purchase, even though I’ve never had anything more than a speeding ticket in my entire life.

Not only did the guy selling us the gun have to triple check the paperwork, he had to . . .

[SNIP]

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