HomeARC ML 0855
EMERGENCY TIDBITS--From Dad! DFO855 14 January 1980
1. MAN'S BASIC PHYSICAL SURVIVAL NEEDS ARE FOOD, CLOTHING, SHELTER & FUEL for cooking, warmth & light--in that order. Be sure you're prepared with them for any emergency!--a minimum would be a month's food, Fleebag, tent & wood, coal & oil or bottled gas stove--the problem will be no electricity!
2. ARMENIAN FAMINE-SURVIVAL TIP FOR PRESERVING MEAT: In melted fat, boil raw meat cut in small chunks thoroughly for 20 to 30 minutes completely covered in the boiling fat. The liquid fat level should be an inch, or two centimeters, above the meat. Boil in a pot which you can do without for awhile, as you can keep your meat preserved in this pot for a considerable period of time, even up to weeks! Once the meat is boiled in the fat & then the fat cools & hardens in the pot, completely sealing the sterilised meat & keeping it free from any contamination, it will keep for a long time.--A trick I learned from the Armenians of Turkey, that helped them survive a severe famine!--Look it up in history!
3. YOU'LL NEED A SIZEABLE STOCK OF SLOWBURNING CANDLES. The best are 1 1/2 inches or about 4 or 5 centimeters thick or larger, & the longer the better. Do not buy long ornamental tapered candles!--The bigger around & the taller the candle is, the better. Candles will provide light for a long time & are a light & warmth source that doesn't take electricity or fuel.--They are made of fuel!
4. YOU CAN EVEN MAKE YOUR OWN CANDLES out of many kinds of oil, fat, wax or paraffin that liquefies when heated, hardens when cold. If you even have a small teakettle with a small spout, you can make an Aladdin's Lamp by filling it with a bit of oil that will burn, preferably olive oil, & by sticking a heavy oilsoaked string, cord or cotton rope (not plastic--its fumes are poisonous!) through the spout & into the oil, leaving just about an inch or 2 centimeters hanging out the spout to light.
5. FOR CANDLES, you can use many kinds of fat, oil, fish oil, animal fat, wax, paraffin or any type of such fuel that liquefies when heated, & hardens when cold. Get or make your candles now!--Just take a waxed cardboard milk carton, toilet paper core or paper towel core, hang a string in center & pour in the hot liquid, wait till it cools & hardens, & you have a candle! (Candle class coming soon!)
6. WHEN ALL FUEL IS GONE, YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU HAVE'M! The higher the candle flame, the more light it sheds around it, so you'd best get some candlesticks that will hold this particular size candle flame about 6 inches to a foot high (about 12-24 cm). A glass globe with hole in top & air vents below, a lamp chimney that fits over the candle (called a Hurricane Lamp!), will help protect it from flickering in drafts or blowing out in a wind.--Buy'm now while you can!
7. OBTAIN A GOOD SUPPLY OF MATCHES NOW! Keep in a dry place. A cigarette lighter takes only a tiny amount of fuel, but lasts for a long time. Even when the fuel runs out, it can still be used to ignite a spark & build a fire!
8. IN ANY COUNTRY WHERE THERE IS GOING TO BE A LOT OF WIDESPREAD DEVASTATION, LIKE THE U.S., IT WOULD BE WELL TO HAVE BICYCLES &/OR MOTORCYCLES. You can carry them over fallen trees, debris, cracks in earth or sneak around road-blocks! Actually, when things get that bad, you're better off with just bicycles, because there won't be any fuel & you won't want to make any noise!--Read 160A and 220!
9. FOR HEARING THE NEWS YOU NEED AT LEAST A 3-BAND BATTERY- OPERATED RADIO. You need a short-wave band, because in wars a lot of radio stations are knocked out & you may not be able to get anything on just medium or long wave.
10. --AND YOU SHOULD HAVE SOME EXTRA BATTERIES. If spare batteries are sealed in plastic, they will last for months.--But don't leave batteries in your radio while you're using it on electricity, because they're apt to start leaking & the acid that leaks out will eat up everything metallic, including your radio!
11. THE SMALLER THE RADIO, THE BETTER, as your batteries will last longer. You can get a radio that will run 6 months to a year on one set of tiny batteries! It's better to have your tape recorder & your radio separate & not a radio-cassette combination type, so radio will last longer.
12. THE MOST EFFICIENT & SMALLEST MINI-SIZE TAPE-RECORDER there is that uses standard tapes & that will run the longest on its tiny batteries is the Sony Cassette-corder TCM-600B. Operating on only two tiny penlite batteries, it'll run for hours & hours!--We've tried & tested'm for a year, & you can't beat'm!--They're a bit more expensive, but a good investment, especially for emergencies!--You may want to record the events!
13. WHEN IT COMES TO THE POINT THAT YOUR ELECTRICITY IS CUT OFF, you may as well forget your electric mains lines! You'll need your candles & batteries then for lights, news & recording!
14. --AND YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO TELL THE TIME! Have a good automatic quartz or self-winding wristwatch or battery-operated clock. The battery or quartz timepieces will run about a year on one battery or crystal, & the automatic self-winder never stops as long as you keep moving!--I had a good Omega self-winder that lasted me 5 years & is still running on someone else's wrist!
BUY CANDLES NOW!--MAKE'M LATER!--Wait for "Candle Class"!--Dad
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family
