do you think this would or will happen?

cathryn · #**101** 05/15/08, 08:27 PM

Just the other day my husband came home telling me about a house in the town where he works. Someone took a bunch of 8 foot sections of fancy wooden fencing right from the front of the house. The fence posts were sawed off at the ground.

Unbelievable...

Peace,
Cathryn

sgl42 · #**102** 05/16/08, 01:06 AM

Quote:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/11/asia/japan.php

A starving man's diary prompts new look at Japan's welfare system

KITAKYUSHU, Japan: In a thin notebook, discovered along with a man's partially mummified corpse this summer, was a detailed account of the diarist's last days, recording his hunger pangs, his drop in weight and, above all, his dream of eating a rice ball, a snack sold for about $1 in convenience stores across this country.

"3 a.m. This human being hasn't eaten in 10 days but is still alive," he wrote. "I want to eat rice. I want to eat a rice ball."

These were not the last words of a hiker lost in the wilderness, but those of a 52-year-old urban-dwelling welfare recipient whose benefits had been cut off. And his case was not the first here.

One man has died in each of the last three years in this city in western Japan, apparently of starvation, after his welfare application was refused or his benefits cut off. Unable to buy food, all three men wasted away for months inside their homes, where their bodies were eventually found.

[....]

--sgl

HockeyFan · #**103** 05/16/08, 01:38 AM

I'm thinking we'll be seeing this sort of thing more and more. My wife and I have talked about it frequently in the past, and have said more than once that we need to make plans for a time when this sort of thing happens in our area.
My feeling is that we need to keep dogs, of course, but also geese (as they are territorial and can be quite intimidating, especially to city folk; and if they get their beek on you, they can put quite a whelp on you).
We also plan on finishing fencing (an absolute necessity) with at least one string of barbed wire along the top, which should slow down anyone wanting to climb over.
We also hope to put signs every now and then along the fence, to make sure it's noticed that we allow no trespassing and that we do have guns and will shoot if we feel threatened. Hopefully, this will stop most people, but the fact is that if it gets bad enough in the city, there will be people coming to rural areas to steal whatever they need to eat, or what they think they can barter or sell for food.

shagerman · #**104** 05/26/08, 10:36 AM

ok here we go. i have been on vacation and i had several people watching my home stead . nothing unusual at all happened .thank god and the boys and the dogs. now i live in ogle county Illinois i left here on wensday and got back 9 days later. i went to west plains mo, for my daughters wedding, and down to mountain home.yell ville ark. i stopped a few places and learned between cattle being stolen to people stealing copper out of brand new houses . to me a thief is a thief. gas was 4.09 when i left in mo. it was 3.59 when i came back threw gas was 3.79 in mo. and 4.19 here. but i do understand that everything is going up but i am sorry to say but we have not seen the worst yet. even with the checks we got from the government. i still stand on what i have said before. i will protect my farm . but i also heard this. that the thief's are getting around the dogs by poisoning them. this has gone to far, thank god i have good neighbors, and i also keep watch for them. its bad that you cant trust anyone anymore.

tiogacounty · #**105** 05/26/08, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by homedad

Just yesterday a kid(19 or so) knocked on my door to offer me money for a subaru wagon sitting in my yard. He wanted it for parts or to scrap it. Yeah, it has not been moved in a year or so but it runs and last got 30mpg. I LOL when he said he would give me 100$ for it. I asked him if just randomly goes up to peoples property and offers to buy what they have, and he said "yeah." Crazy eh? Stay safe in this crazy world and protect your property and life.

What? I guess you have a diiferent perspective that I do on this. You could of been talking about two good friends of my son. Both do this (as a team) to earn extra money. Both are honest and hard working. One will be taking the family business over, the other is off to college this fall. They make a few hundred dollars cash a month by doing exactly as you describe. Drive the backroads, spot the junk cars, and stop and have a conversation with the owner. If they can reach an agreement, they return with a flatbed trailer and haul the car off to the scrap yard. How this qualifies as crazy and scary, is beyond me. What happens if a girl scout shows up to sell cookies? Do you run and hide, or shoot over their heads before they open the car door?

Pouncer · #**106** 05/26/08, 11:50 AM

I don't live in a real rural area...more like "large suburbia" in lot size. The neighbor aren't too friendly with each other, but we do know who belongs and who doesn't. A couple guys will do an informal late night patrol to keep an eye on things sometimes. I think we would band together fairly closely if needed. We have a "phone tree" of sorts that we use when some place has been robbed, for example-or to check on each other when weather conditions are really bad.

I have been prepping in a small way, quietly. Just here and there, a little of this, a little of that and away it goes out of view. Gardens are just being planted now, and that can't be seen easily from the road.

Funny thing is, food storage containers are turning out to be my biggest issue!

Patsy · #**107** 05/26/08, 06:40 PM

Some friends of ours had their rhubarb stolen- dug the whole plant! This was in town, nice neighborhood, & these folks have 6' wooden fence around their back yard.

Nana2boys · #**108** 05/26/08, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracy Rimmer

I have two great big garden patches within easy view of the road. I intend to plant some of everything there this year. If these gardens do well, it will be more than enough to feed my family through the winter.

Having said that, the back field, visible by NO ONE, is where the majority of my growing is going on. People can't even see that area from my back yard. About the only way TO see it would be to be in it, or flying over it.

My Dad used to say that the best way to keep someone from finding something you didn't want found was by putting what they thought they wanted to find in a place that didn't take much effort to find it. People tend to put as little effort into anything as necessary -- thievery included -- and if you've got a garden patch out front, they're likely to steal from it and not even consider whether or not it's all there is.

I figure it's as good an "insurance" policy as any.

Your dad is a smart man.