Category: lessons-from-history
post by MSB reader, ‘CaliRefugee’ The Parable of the Little Brown Bird that I tell to all new employees as they near the end of their orientation: There was a little brown bird that waited until November to fly south for the winter. This bird found a group to …
A big preparedness lesson from history is the summer of 1816 – the year without a summer. Apparently Spring seemed normal that year. But as the calendar progressed into summer, the temperatures & weather began rolling back. Cold temperatures and nearly permanent overcast was the new normal. The weather in …
At the highest level, silver is used in industry, in jewelry, and as an investment (and/or wealth preservation). Together, these three categories represent more than 95 % of annual silver demand. Silver has been used as a medium of exchange dating back to the earliest of records. It has always …
One evening a grandson was talking to his grandmother about current events. The grandson asked his grandmother what she thought about the computer age, and just things in general. The Grandmother replied, Well, let me think a minute, I was born before television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, …
Guest Article by Bogan The Marine Corps phrase ” Improvise, Adapt, Overcome ” can readily be applied to preparedness. When things don’t go as planned you can either shut down, or…. Improvise Improvise: It has been said by many commentators on military strategy ranging from Sun Tzu to Colin …
The natural balance of human population if unassisted by today’s modern world of countless safety nets, mass agriculture, modern medicine, and social civility, would be stunning fraction of what it is today. Today’s world population is nearly 7.5 billion. 100 years ago it was just 1.6 billion. 100 years before …
We’ve all heard that ‘saying’, “The American dream”. I remember hearing it when I was young. Now many decades later I wonder what it means today and how it has changed. I suspect that the notion of the American dream brings differing thoughts from various people. But just what is …
(Sweet Potato Glaze) Happy Thanksgiving everyone! As we celebrate this Thanksgiving Day, I have 3 questions for you: 1. What are you thankful for this time around? 2. What are your favorite side dishes with your Turkey? 3. What is your favorite desert afterwards? My answers: 1. Mrs.J and …
The Titanic had just 20 lifeboats aboard when it sank April 15, 1912. From a preparedness standpoint, we can draw several practical parallels or analogies from the disaster of the Titanic – and your adherence to the lessons learned will put you in a better place of readiness and safety… …
Today is 9/11. Remember.
2 weeks without electricity? How many times throughout our modern history have natural disasters damaged the electrical grid infrastructure of a region? Lots! While it’s not the normal circumstance, 2 weeks without electricity can certainly occur, and you can survive it. Let me say this though, today’s modern way of …
(image: United Sates Farm Security Administration) The Great Depression of the late 1920s and 1930s was a reflection of high unemployment, staggering debt, and a collapsed stock market. The hardship that resulted has not been experienced by Americans since. Those at the time somehow lived through it, and will tell …
I do enjoy reading a survival novel now and again. There are some good reads out there, and I have taken away a number of tips, ideas, and lessons learned – having read them. It’s kind of true in general that when you hear, see, or read from another perspective, …
I am giving some thought to the purpose of this Memorial Day, remembering those who have died while serving in this country’s armed forces. Memorial Day isn’t just about honoring veterans, its honoring those who lost their lives. Veterans had the fortune of coming home. Regardless of the reasons for …
