Issue #028
Pencil, thumb, wrist: three sizes of wood before you strike a match
Plus the one phone number your whole family should have memorized by tonight.
Sunday, September 6, 2026 · SHTF Preparedness
Rain only soaks the outside of a log about a quarter inch deep. Split it open and the driest wood on your property is sitting right there in the middle.
3 Skills
1. Split to the dry core
Rain only soaks the outer quarter inch. Split a log, shave feather sticks off the dry core, and stack pencil, thumb, then wrist sizes before you strike. Build on bark or a split log, never wet ground. Indoors, burn only the fuel your heater is rated for, crack a window, and keep a carbon monoxide alarm running. Store gasoline in approved cans outside living space, stabilized and labeled with the fill date.
2. One hub number, cards in every bag
Local lines jam first. Pick one relative two states away as the family message hub, and have every person memorize that number. Text instead of calling. Write the plan on index cards: hub number, two meeting spots, school pickup rules, and one neighbor. Put a card in every backpack, purse, and glove box. Add two FRS radios on a set channel, checked at the top of each hour.
3. The garage side door is the weak one
Walk your house from outside. Every ground floor window should latch and hold when you push the sash. Put a cut broomstick in the sliding door track. The garage side door is usually the weakest one, so give it a real deadbolt. Aim one motion light at each approach. Then trade numbers with two neighbors who will actually pick up, and agree to check each other’s doors.
2 Threats On The Radar
1. Peak season lands in the second week
September carries the peak weeks of the Atlantic season, and the outages it brings get measured in days. Water mains break when pressure swings. Fuel stations without power cannot pump. Keep your tank above half, keep small bills at home, and learn the manual release on your garage door. Fill jugs and the bathtub when a watch is posted, not after landfall.
2. Baking staples start moving now
Storms cut roads, and shelves go thin in the areas around them. Meanwhile flour, sugar, canning lids, and cooking oil start moving toward holiday baking demand. Thin reserves plus a shipping gap is how a normal week turns stressful. Buy one extra of five staples your house actually eats, every trip, until you hold two weeks. Write the five on the fridge so nobody guesses.
The Drill
One soaked log, one match, tonight
Take a piece of firewood outside and hold it under the hose for a full minute. Split it, shave feather sticks off the dry core, and light it with one match and no lighter fluid. If it fails, split smaller and go again. Then press the test button on your carbon monoxide alarm and listen for the chirp.
Ready beats lucky.
- Survival Rise
P.S. Forward this to the neighbor you would call first, then ask for their number back.