Question of Survival

[Mortblanc]

Over here in the states we once had a famous troll who started out his career in the WWW under the screen name "Gunkid".

Now Gunkid had the IQ of a squid and would argue with a fence post. He also had some really wild ideas and proved to be responsible for many of the wild impressions the entire survival community got stuck with.

He thought of himself as a self trained mercenary that would rule his own private kingdom as dictator and war lord once SHTF and he could not wait for that to happen.

One of his brilliant visions was a "tactical wheelbarrow", and that spelled doom for the general concept of using a wheelbarrow for anything here in the States.

He also advocated the use of Chihuahuas that had been surgically altered, removing their bark, as guard dogs. If they did not perform they would fit in the stew pot better than a big dog.

He had some other wild ideas I will not even touch on but the "tactical wheelbarrow" always come to mind when anyone mentions the use of such a conveyance.

Mr. Gunkid eventually did an 8 year stretch in one of our Federal Penitentiaries for violation of our firearms laws. Contrary to popular belief we do have some very stringent firearms laws over here. Some of them make less sense than your own.

At any rate he talked too freely on the web, ticked off someone he should not have mistreated, had his house and storage facility raided, and went to prison. That brings to attention that it is not how much you have stored but WHAT you have stored that interests TPTB.

All of that being said we also have a historical investment in the one wheeled device known as the wheelbarrow here in the U.S.

Back during our Gold Rush to California in 1849 a young blacksmith named John Studebaker went west and soon discovered he could make more money supplying wheelbarrows to the miners than panning for gold.

He made some money in California on his wheelbarrows and sent it east to his brothers who invested it in their carriage business. When John returned fro the west he became president of the firm, the largest carriage maker in the U.S.

In 1901 they switched to making motor vehicles.

During WW2 they became the primary supplier of trucks to the Soviet Union on the "lend/lease" program. So when you see pictures of the WW2 Soviet army on the move, and 1 or 2 ton trucks are present, they are usually Studebakers, and direct decedents from the wheelbarrow firm.

OK today's history lesson is over and you can resume your previous activities.

BTW that is a really neat fishing wheelbarrow. I could cope with that.