# What if the shit only hits the fan for you?



## tonybluegoat (Sep 5, 2018)

The rest of the world can go merrily along while any one of us silently goes down the toilet. It happen everyday to lots of people. The following are only actual situations that I personally know about or have been involved in, not fiction.

My wife and I both got laid off from our jobs on the SAME DAY. We worked at the same company. We had just put a deposit down to have a new house built.

My mother broke her back at 50 - slipped in the kitchen. Not married. 2 Kids, couldn't work for 5 months, no money.

The lady down the dirt road from me just broke her back 3 weeks ago. 2 kids. She's about 30. Got thrown from a horse. Spent a week in the ICU before she got the feeling back in her feet.

The guy who owned the company (where my wife and I got laid off) is worth about $100 million. One evening (after sunset) he's out on a boat with his friend (also rich), drinking, tooling around a local lake. The wives are at the resort after a day at the spa. My old boss stands up in the boat, at night, drunk while going under a bridge. Decapitated (more or less). His problems are all over. The driver of the boat (also drunk) is charged with intoxication manslaughter.

A guy is driving down a road near me. The wide F350 in front of him is driving real slow for no apparent reason. He zips around just in time to hit the bike rider who was turning left in front of the truck. Legal pass... Vehicular Manslaughter charge... 10 years in prison.

The guy I bought my farm from had 3 "small" heart attacks, decided he couldn't live "out here" anymore.

None of these were noteworthy (except the two manslaughter charges). Every one completely cratered the person's life. They are called "accidents" for a reason... It's never an "on purpose."

Some take away all your money. Some take away your ability to walk AND all your money. Some take away your freedom (or threaten to).

*What's the plan?*

If you are out on bail for a charge that will get you 20 years (that you are guilty of) do you bug out?

What if you spend all your money on a lawyer who does a miracle and pleads it down to vehicular assault - 6 months (enough time to lose your job) and 10 years probation with a felony record (so you can't get a job afterward)?

Do you spend your life savings trying to defend yourself before you go to jail or preserve your money and run?

"Money" may still be just as valid as it was the day before but you just don't have any or any ability to get some.... how do you prep for it.

How many heart attacks is "enough" that it affects your life moving forward?

*****************

I'm sure everyone here, if they think about it, can come up with more of these real scenarios. Nobody above is a bad person.... shit just happens. How do you respond as a prepper? (Wishful thinking won't solve the problem or keep the justice system for locking you up for 10 years.)

The most dangerous person to us that most of us ever meet is a standard police officer. They can take our lives in more ways than one.

What do you do when the world doesn't come to an end for anybody but you?


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## Lowtechredneck (May 7, 2018)

This may be the most realistic thing I have read recently, and also the one with the least clear answers.


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## Jammer Six (Jun 2, 2017)

tonybluegoat said:


> The most dangerous person to us that most of us ever meet is a standard police officer. They can take our lives in more ways than one.


Some of us are doing everything in our power to change this.


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## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

Mr Blue Goat, finally …. you post an intelligent thread that is relative to my worldview. Life is fragile indeed …. and encompasses many thin lines.


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## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

Jammer Six said:


> Some of us are doing everything in our power to change this.


Might wanna get up off your knees then, and actually participate with your own time and resources.


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## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

Shit hitting my fan? Been there, done that, on many occasions.


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## Camel923 (Aug 13, 2014)

You can not be prepared for everything. Part of the plan has to be risk assessment. Another part is having a reserve fund and not living beyond ones means. Sometimes stuff happens that is your fault and sometimes it is not. Make bad judgements and you. Everyone has their challenges in life. Some are worse than others.


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## StratMaster (Dec 26, 2017)

A personal SHTF is far FAR more likely than a universal one. A person who has prepped for the end of civilization will get some good assistance from his preps during an extended period of unemployment or illness. Been there.


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## Lunatic Wrench (May 13, 2018)

It has a few times.
In my youth I was homeless twice. Then I only had to worry about myself.
As an adult I got laid off 7/11, no real worries as I was drawing unemployment checks, then 9/11 and the job market tanked. I had two more mouths to feed this time around, much much bigger deal.
I had the advantage of being a carpenter, people always need things fixed around the house. I put fliers up at the the grocery stores and work trickled in. I fixed broken fences, running toilets, sticky doors, any work was money.
I managed to get rent paid and kept food on the table although it was very tight sometimes with me working late into the night, working weekends and 12-14 hr days to finish and get paid on the day rent was due.

I don't have an off switch, I go until I don't need to. Never quite, never give up.


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## Elvis (Jun 22, 2018)

To a large extent it depends on your finances (money saved) and your relationships with friends and neighbors. Having a chunk of cash in the bank separate from your long term investments helps. Having good relations with local neighbors also helps.

If you have no emergency cash saved and have managed to piss off your neighbors things could get rough if you fall off a ladder.


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## BookWorm (Jul 8, 2018)

I've worked for 8 companies that have gone under since 1995, two of them I asked for a meeting to discuss the future of the company and some options I thought would work. At one of those meetings, the Pres of that company asked me, "why do you care". I thought to myself, what a dumb question to ask someone who is trying to save your company. All three of the magazines I worked for are now gone. 

Too many times the people at the helm thought they knew it all, "I've been doing this 21 years, you've been here 1.5 and you're trying to teach me something"? The 1st mag I worked for, the publisher lost contact with his audience. The last mag, the editor never fully knew his audience, (his daddy owned the company) but he understood the industry and his advertisers. 

I've lived without cable TV more years than i ever had it. Most of the best trips I went on were paid working trips, not vacations where I wrote the check for expenses. The most I made in one year was $39,000 before taxes. Never drank a beer/been drunk or smoked a cigarette. I'm about as clean cut as it gets. And that saying, "good guys finish last"... if you measure last place by the least amount of money in the bank, then yes... I will finish last. Money has never been my motivator. Personal happiness with my career, how I feel about the job and what I'm doing was more important. 

My plan? To try and stay above water, the same it's been since 1989 when I left home for the Army.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

tonybluegoat said:


> The rest of the world can go merrily along while any one of us silently goes down the toilet. It happen everyday to lots of people. The following are only actual situations that I personally know about or have been involved in, not fiction.
> 
> My wife and I both got laid off from our jobs on the SAME DAY. We worked at the same company. We had just put a deposit down to have a new house built.
> 
> ...


Uh, all anecotes are a part of life. I've had more incidents in my life than I care to count. Serious injuries, firings and layoffs. I never viewed them as SHTF scenes. They were situations that forced me to regroup and attack, again.

I never considered it a SHTF scenario. I consdered it nothing more than life, and experiences that make for good stories that I spin with copious amounts of humor.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

Denton said:


> Uh, all anecotes are a part of life. I've had more incidents in my life than I care to count. Serious injuries, firings and layoffs. I never viewed them as SHTF scenes. They were situations that forced me to regroup and attack, again.
> 
> I never considered it a SHTF scenario. I consdered it nothing more than life, and *experiences that make for good stories that I spin with copious amounts of humor.*


Agreed. Life happens, get over it. And yeah, I've got some good stories out of it. :tango_face_grin:


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Elvis said:


> If you have no emergency cash saved and have managed to piss off your neighbors things could get rough if you fall off a ladder.


I look at this stuff as "life." Yup, got arrested, but then so does just about every biker. Broke my neck in five places in a car accident. Laid off? Heck, I've been fired nine times. It was unwise to keep riding after a retinal tear, so I sold both my bikes.

But God never leaves me, and each one of these set backs brought me benefits. For example, later in life I hired the cop who arrested me. I started seriously hitting the gym after my neck healed. I lost a lot of jobs, yes, but I always found a better job for more pay--then I started my own business. And after 50 years of looking through the handlebars, it was time to hang it up anyway. And due to the eye surgery, my vision actually improved.

Everybody gets knocked down. Do you have what it takes to get back up again?


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## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

The Tourist said:


> I look at this stuff as "life." Yup, got arrested, but then so does just about every biker. Broke my neck in five places in a car accident. Laid off? Heck, I've been fired nine times. It was unwise to keep riding after a retinal tear, so I sold both my bikes.
> 
> But God never leaves me, and each one of these set backs brought me benefits. For example, later in life I hired the cop who arrested me. I started seriously hitting the gym after my neck healed. I lost a lot of jobs, yes, but I always found a better job for more pay--then I started my own business. And after 50 years of looking through the handlebars, it was time to hang it up anyway. And due to the eye surgery, my vision actually improved.
> 
> Everybody gets knocked down. Do you have what it takes to get back up again?


I just had this "talk" with one of my kids yesterday &#8230;.. "Its not how you fell down that they will remember, but rather how you got back up".


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

If I did a crime that would get me 20 years , there was a dam good reason for it. Pretty sure if I got 3 steps I would be gone. 
Life throws curve balls. This house knows what being flat ass broke felt like. March Hogs you have 32 cents a pound in on the truck for 27 cents. Then pay $1.99 for 3 strips of bacon in a restaurant. Serve as many have before they started paying the military better.
1 peace of pie and coffee every 2 weeks that was spending money budget. Spend last $300 you could come up with to buy a junk car to get to base with and have it go belly up in two days.
Live through Jimmy Carter as president. Ours ace in the hole has always been family . With the right ones your are never alone.
It can all end in a flash. Face it every time we get on the bike and ride. Won't stop us , we just try to be prepared for what could happen, Insurance, ride safe and ensure others are taken care of.
Keep trying , keep fighting . one day you will be wore out in a hospital drained from over work. Family will gather round and tell . " you don't have to do this anymore, we aren't broke anymore"


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## tirednurse (Oct 2, 2013)

tonybluegoat said:


> The rest of the world can go merrily along while any one of us silently goes down the toilet. It happen everyday to lots of people. The following are only actual situations that I personally know about or have been involved in, not fiction.
> 
> My wife and I both got laid off from our jobs on the SAME DAY. We worked at the same company. We had just put a deposit down to have a new house built.
> 
> ...


As far as I know most who prep now have already gone through their own personal SHTF events. These are the things that wake us up and turns us in to preparedness monsters.

The two examples you provide that turned out to be manslaughter were just plan stupidity. Hopefully we can all refrain from stupid acts that get us thrown in jail and ruin our lives as well as all others involved.

As a nurse I can tell you these daily events keep me motivated to actively prepare. I see every day people cut to their lowest by illness, motor vehicle accidents, freak accidents, death of a spouse. We could be hit at any time with an illness that takes away our income for weeks or months. Maybe permanently. 
Flu season is coming faster than you can imagine. How many will die or be in the hospital this year because of it? Either we are becoming less able to fight off these diseases or they are getting stronger and harder to fight. Last year we averaged more than 4,000 deaths per WEEK during the flu season. 80% of these people had not been vaccinated against the flu. Something to think about if you don't get your yearly flu shot.

Most of the time people here talk about prepping for the big one involving big guns and lots of ammunition. Facts are that we will have our own SHTF events many times in our lifetime. job loss, illness, death, economic changes, bad judgment, and just everyday life changes can disrupt our fragile hold on stability. This is why we don't just store bullet. We should also live under our means, remain debt free, save for that rainy day that WILL come (money, food, and other supplies), and most of all protect our mental health, physical health and that of our family.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

It's not how you celebrate your wins, it's how you take your losses.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

Slippy said:


> It's not how you celebrate your wins, it's how you take your losses.


I thought we had a post of the day award. I can't find it but this sure qualifies.


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## Annie (Dec 5, 2015)

tirednurse said:


> As far as I know most who prep now have already gone through their own personal SHTF events. These are the things that wake us up and turns us in to preparedness monsters.
> 
> The two examples you provide that turned out to be manslaughter were just plan stupidity. Hopefully we can all refrain from stupid acts that get us thrown in jail and ruin our lives as well as all others involved.
> 
> ...


Other than getting the flu shot, spot on.


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## Gator Monroe (Jul 29, 2017)

I just hope I have a Spare magazine and a Tourniquet and can reach cover to top off ...


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## tirednurse (Oct 2, 2013)

Annie said:


> Other than getting the flu shot, spot on.


remember that when you or someone you love gets pneumonia from the flu and you are laying in a hospital bed with a bunch of strangers wiping your butt because you are to weak to sit up on a toilet and do it yourself.

We all make our own choices, and then have to pay for them later. I would rather take the chance on a shot once a year than ending up sick and gasping for every breath I take because that flu turned into pneumonia. I understand peoples fears of vaccinations, I just don't buy into them myself.


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## Jammer Six (Jun 2, 2017)

tirednurse said:


> remember that when you or someone you love gets pneumonia from the flu and you are laying in a hospital bed with a bunch of strangers wiping your butt because you are to weak to sit up on a toilet and do it yourself.
> 
> We all make our own choices, and then have to pay for them later. I would rather take the chance on a shot once a year than ending up sick and gasping for every breath I take because that flu turned into pneumonia. I understand peoples fears of vaccinations, I just don't buy into them myself.


Well said!

I take the flu shots and the vaccinations, too, and do not buy the fears.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

And the people I know who got the vaccine and still got knocked on their keisters with the flu? 

We've been down this flu shot road and I will still not get it. On the other hand, I'll not tell my parents to not get it.


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## tirednurse (Oct 2, 2013)

First of all the vaccine only covers 3 or 4 of the flu viruses cycling in the season. It does not cover all of them. However, getting some type of immunity from the vaccine will help you to fight off a similar strain of the disease. This means that even if you do get the flu, you will have a better ability of fighting it off over some one that does not have any immunity to it at all. 
Second, it takes at least 2-3 weeks before you will have developed any significant antibodies to the viruses. If you are exposed to the actual flu, you will develop symptoms in 1-4 days, so if you are exposed at any time before the vaccination or before you have gained any kind of immunity, you are still going to get sick. Contrary to some people's thinking, you can not get the flu from the vaccine. 

Remember the ones who are most at risk from getting the flu are the young and those we consider seniors, anyone over the age of 60. These age groups have a harder time fighting off disease because they either have not gained any immunity, or what they had is becoming less effective and their bodies are not as capable at fighting off diseases. 

As I said before, We all make our own choices, but I prepare in every way I can so everyone in my family gets vaccinated. Not just for the flu every year but for all their other vaccinations too. Anyone can accidentally step on a nail. I would rather get a preventative shot than get tetanus. Same goes for measles, mumps, German measles, polio, hepatitis etc.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Yes, I've done my due diligence on the topic. I've also been warned by a doctor who was a research scientist type. Pretty smart woman. Even warned me about the HPV vaccine before the side effects came out in the open.
I know what you have been told, and I know, in your mind, it is the "official" and therefore correct information.

If it makes you think I am not a total whacko, I do get the tetanus shot. Getting due, as a matter of fact.


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## Annie (Dec 5, 2015)

Denton said:


> Yes, I've done my due diligence on the topic. I've also been warned by a doctor who was a research scientist type. Pretty smart woman. Even warned me about the HPV vaccine before the side effects came out in the open.
> I know what you have been told, and I know, in your mind, it is the "official" and therefore correct information.
> 
> If it makes you think I am not a total whacko, I do get the tetanus shot. Getting due, as a matter of fact.


I just got my Tdap this past week. I can't believe it's been 10 years since my last one--thought it had only been a couple.


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## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

Slippy said:


> It's not how you celebrate your wins, it's how you take your losses.


My Dad always said when you get knocked down you better learn to pick your own self up, nobody else is going to do it. Oh and then, learn from what knocked you on your ass in the first place.


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## Annie (Dec 5, 2015)

tirednurse said:


> remember that when you or someone you love gets pneumonia from the flu and you are laying in a hospital bed with a bunch of strangers wiping your butt because you are to weak to sit up on a toilet and do it yourself.
> 
> We all make our own choices, and then have to pay for them later. I would rather take the chance on a shot once a year than ending up sick and gasping for every breath I take because that flu turned into pneumonia. I understand peoples fears of vaccinations, I just don't buy into them myself.


I've educated myself about the subject and I'll stick with a no on the flu shot. The grannies both get their flu shot. My kids are all in their teens and twenties. I told them to decide for themselves; it's their choice.


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## Lunatic Wrench (May 13, 2018)

tirednurse said:


> First of all the vaccine only covers 3 or 4 of the flu viruses cycling in the season. It does not cover all of them. However, getting some type of immunity from the vaccine will help you to fight off a similar strain of the disease. This means that even if you do get the flu, you will have a better ability of fighting it off over some one that does not have any immunity to it at all.
> Second, it takes at least 2-3 weeks before you will have developed any significant antibodies to the viruses. If you are exposed to the actual flu, you will develop symptoms in 1-4 days, so if you are exposed at any time before the vaccination or before you have gained any kind of immunity, you are still going to get sick. Contrary to some people's thinking, you can not get the flu from the vaccine.
> 
> Remember the ones who are most at risk from getting the flu are the young and those we consider seniors, anyone over the age of 60. These age groups have a harder time fighting off disease because they either have not gained any immunity, or what they had is becoming less effective and their bodies are not as capable at fighting off diseases.
> ...





Annie said:


> I've educated myself about the subject and I'll stick with a no on the flu shot. The grannies both get their flu shot. My kids are all in their teens and twenties. I told them to decide for themselves; it's their choice.


I've never had a flu shot, at least not back as far as I can remember.

Even when I smoked (35 year habit) I never got as sick as the people around me and never took more than a day, day and a half off work for a cold or flu. When I got a cold I'd switch to menthol cigarettes for a couple days as they were easier on the throat.
We didn't have anti bacterial soaps, wipes and what not growing up, we weren't overly concerned about germs, we used wooden cutting boards and wiped the chicken juice off it with the wash cloth hanging over the faucet, I'd say that helped build a strong immune system. Now it seems the younger generations are allergic to things your rarely heard of kids being allergic to and some you never heard of, or the common cold takes down younger adults for 3-4 day's.

The past 12-14 years I've relied on Zicam and EmergencC to help ease my cold symptoms, don't care what people say about taking zinc to help fight off a cold, it seems to work for me.


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