How The China Spy Balloon Impacts My Prepping

By Tim Gamble

This article is not about the politics of the China Spy Balloon, nor is it about the Cold War that exists between China and the US. I posted THAT article on my resistance website, www.TimGamble.com. Instead, THIS article is about how the China Spy Balloon incident is impacting my preparedness. Hopefully, it will give you some food for thought regarding your own preparedness.

Note: As I post this article, I am aware of a second "object" over Alaska which may have been shot down. I don't know any details yet.

News of the China Spy Balloon began to break late Thursday (Feb. 2), and by Friday morning it was all over the news and social media. By coincidence, I had to take my 80-year-old mother to a doctor's appointment in a nearby town early Friday morning (no worries - it was a previously scheduled routine check-up). While waiting for her to finish with the doctor, I had lots of time to think of "what if" scenarios. 

One thought kept repeating in my mind: What if the balloon had an EMP device? What if it went off right now while mom was at her appointment? The EMP would kill the car, so  how would we get home? No vehicles would be working. No taxis. No Uber. No Lyft. No buses or public transport. No one we could call that would have a working car. The only option to get home is walking.

Okay. I could walk the approximately 14 (very hilly) miles to get home. I could do it in maybe 5 hours if I hustled. But, my 80-year-old mother? No way she could walk that distance. She could maybe make a couple of miles a day, but that's it. 

We could stay there in that town, but how long and where? It would take months, at best, for the transportation grid to be re-established. There are no hotels or motels in that town. We don't know anyone there. Where would we stay? Camp in the town park? Live out of our dead car? 

Sure. I have some water, a blanket, and a get-home bag in the car. But almost all my supplies and other stuff are at home 14 miles away. I have enough for me to walk home, but again, what about mom? We certainly don't have enough water and equipment to camp out for an extended period of time. Even if we tried walking home only 2 or 3 miles a day, it would take almost a week to get home. Definitely don't have enough water, food, and protection from the cold for that... 

How far away from home did you venture Friday? What if an EMP had gone off when you were at your max distance from home? How quickly could you walk home from there? More importantly, how quickly could the slowest person in your group walk home from there? Remember, the elderly, toddlers, young children, pregnant women, handicapped folks, and many others probably can't walk as fast or as far as you can. You have to plan for the least capable person in your group. 

My Thoughts

Here are some thoughts I have for improving our situation in this kind of scenario:

1) More fitness for both me and mom. Mom walks around our small neighborhood almost daily for exercise. Maybe she could up that to twice daily, morning and afternoon. Every little bit extra helps.

2) Find a closer doctor. Fourteen miles away isn't that far - unless you have to walk it. There is a different doctor only7 miles away. And it is a less hilly route, and therefore would be an easier walk. We may consider changing to that doctor.

3) Build a better network of folks. Unfortunately, I know no one from that other town, and no one along the route we would have to walk back home. Perhaps I need to get out and meet some folks. Then we would have some possible places to spend the night, or at least rest for a bit and get some water. 

4) More/better supplies in the car. There is limited space, of course, but I could put a small tent in the car, along with extra food and water. 

5) EMP proof my vehicle. Technically possible, but beyond my knowledge and skill set, and probably beyond my budget to hire someone else to do it. 

6) As an alternative: Get/use a vehicle from the 1970s, before they began to get all  computerized. Anyone got a running pick-up truck from the 1970s they want to sell? 

7) Avoid long trips when I know there is a potential threat. It was just a routine check-up, so it would have been no problem to cancel mom's appointment. Problem is, an EMP event could happen anytime, and we likely won't have any advanced warning. 

Obviously, I am still in the "thinking about it" stage. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, leave them in the comments section below. Thanks! 

______________________

Ad:  Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win, by Peter Schweizer, came out just last year. In it, the author exposes the large number of American elites who are eager to help the Chinese dictatorship in its quest for global hegemony. Presidential families, Silicon Valley gurus, Wall Street high rollers, Ivy League universities, even professional athletes—all willing to sacrifice American strength and security on the altar of personal enrichment. Exhaustively researched, crisply told, and chilling, Red-Handed will expose the nexus of power between the Chinese government and the American elites who do its bidding.

______________________

Survive the emerging Dystopia. Subscribe to Dystopian Survival by clicking here and also by following Tim Gamble on social media:

Gab = https://gab.com/TimGamble

Twitter = https://twitter.com/TimGambleSpeaks