what is a good job for a prepper?

[Knuckle]

Seems at least I can still humor some with my tales of folly! You might now better understand when my kids tell me that I used to have an exciting life but now I'm boring! We become boring because we are trying to be responsible and provide crap so these same kids have something to eat on a daily basis. We slowly become less risk takers and start to rationalize things before we step into them. And I think Screedcrete is right looking at things from those aspects. Us "old folks" attained knowledge along the way, even if it was just by luck that we managed to outlive many who were smarter at the time. And it would be wise for the younger to take whatever lessons learned from us without having to pay the pricetag required to attain such knowledge.

Now I think others may enjoy the way I write and I write this way likely due to having read alot of books. Now I read alot due to having to recover from often doing stupid things which earned me down time, even when I couldn't afford it. So when some assume that wisdom (if that's what this is) doesn't come with a price tag afixed, all I can say is it does when you walk the roads I traveled.

Now I mentioned that I am a biker a time or two and also that I was a police officer. These two didn't mix well in the 70's, especially when your doing both at the same time. Add in the fact that I possess the appearance more like those of the criminal aspect maybe added to make my life more interesting too. As I started building customs bikes in the early 80's( and no longer a P/O), my clientele often wore club colors and casually mentioned they'd kill me if I screwed their ride up. What better inspiration to do good work could one have? Yet I needed the money and this was still part time work as I had full time jobs doing other crap.

The bike wars in Calgary started in 82 and it seemed that I was then included on every cop's radar as I road a custom Harley which only the hardcore usually rode at this time. The 47 Knuckle was also like a billboard advertising my abilities to potential customers but became a magnet for police harassment too. Computers weren't around yet for them to quickly note that I once carried a badge and spreading this word might get me hurt by "said customers". Thus I have kissed more car hoods than most of you during random searches while just going for a bike ride. Various bike clubs have often tried to recruit me and this is only due to them wanting better discounts for the work I do. Can you imagine if any of them knew I was once a P/O? I'd have been blamed for any leaked secret, even those I didn't even know!

Now this lifestyle leads to parties where cereal bowls full of coke are passed around to get you hooked so you become a paying customer tomorrow. I was always cautious but I did attend just the same as such attendance opens doors to more customers for my line of work. I hated when some friend thought I was a jerk because I wouldn't bring them to such invites when the truth was that I'd then feel responsible for them if something went wrong and they got hurt. And it was due to such guilt trips that I eventually gave in to where later brought my wife to such things. She is the one that eventually convinced me I was on a bad road and a "bun in the oven" helped kick me onto another path too. We knew people that died from OD's, suicides some murdered while others simply vanished. We even saw a shooting on TV one day where we knew both the shooter and the victim too, not well but amongst the crowd we knew! These are wakeup calls that suggest it is time for change. Maybe this is why were still married after 30 years too! I truly hope my kids never want to walk such roads as these!

I mention the above likely to show that I am far from wise as a wise man wouldn't have even started down such paths. I did not get into anything "real heavy" but somehow danced along the fence dividing the two worlds I lived in. I have also been in more than my share of fights as the MP trade gave me a confidence that later led to a criminal record for using such knowledge on various occasions. My wife says she dreaded seeing me come home with shop tool boxes in the box of the truck which meant I'd obviously quit another job, usually due to someone pushing my buttons once too often.. I'd then quit before they could fire me for fighting (as they would most likely do) as I'd then have to explain such on my next job app!(yup,real smart eh!) I have never done time behind bars(as there are dangers of putting ex-P/O's there) but once spent a winter in a very isolated bush camp for 6 months to avoid this lifestyle before I ended up in just such a cage. This is where I finally reconciled that you have to like yourself before you can learn to like others. And I also got in alot more reading time too!

Is there any wisdom in the above ramblings? I doubt it! As you might guess, I've had a variety of jobs since marrying too, from driving taxi to tractor trailer, from mechanics to millwright. So which would I profess should be the avenue for those younger to pursue? I enjoyed the medical field most and it drew on the good side of my character. I was good at it although I was just a driver and not an attendant. I still did alot that attendants do and found I loved this type of action more than that of a P/O (although the money sucked in those days). And most folks didn't seem to care about the tattoos and that I was a biker while I was patching them up. The bad part is that when a person dies, at least 5 persons handle the body before it is finally covered over for good, and your more than likely to be one of these 5. The good part is that life will never be boring!


Cheers!

~ Knuckle ~

[Tinfoilhats]

Such a cool story, I pictured the whole thing like a 70's cop movie. hahah

[Knuckle]

Many have proclaimed that a good story is like a fine wine for it's telling improves with age. I agree with this deduction fully. When a story is brand new, we have not had the time to embellish upon it and enhance the details. Then it grows in proportion as one attempts to first clarify one's actions from previous questions asked during the last telling. Then it grows further as one has justified their actions and retells the story where they now truly shine in the telling. But these embellishments often seem to take enough away from it's originality as the story is too dramatized now to be real.

With age, the teller finally concludes he must tone down the BS and retell the tale in a manner which is once again worthy of note! And finally there is the need of telling such stories, but this time to your own kids. But now it should not contain any of the glory if the lesson within is to be learned properly. I think this is when one truly learns to present the lesson rather than the tale. With age it then seems the tale once again become more factual and less fiction. Or maybe it's just because one no longer have the ability to remember all the lies if questioned....

[RATTS]

I was in the Military Police with Mr knuckle and I have a lot of blackmail material on him too, LOL. Good man and unusually thoughtful for a biker and bush man. Good to see him sharing years and years of knowledge with people who can use it. Go bro. RATTS

[Knuckle]

It seems that I will now digress so I can then address the fact that Ratts witnessed that he once watched me regress to a state where I could undress to play with those who tried to possess. Here I had to readdress the fact that I had to redress before I could progress to this state where I can profess that I have learned much from that which I now confess!

(You think that you understood what I said but what you heard is not what I meant)

[oldmanprepper]

Hi NDN,

This is an interesting question. I think that ideally, your prepper job should be able to pay you more than minimum wage. Working at either Walmart or sporting stores can get you benefits like 10% discounts, but this benefit will be hindered by the buying power you would have as a minimum wage earner. What I mean is that if you make $18,000 / yr working at these stores, the 10% off for prepping is not worth it if you could make $30,000 elsewhere.

If you are serious about prepping, I think that being self employed, with a solid trade qualification (carpenter, welder, etc) would be ideal. You get to work your own schedule, chose your salary and in a serious post SHTF event, you would have a very good barterable expertise.

good advice to get a trade.There is such a shortage of men/women who can work with there hands(I know)

[oldmanprepper]

you guys are funny, talking about working in a grocery store so you can get the 10% discount. LOL
Get a real job, Get a trade so you have some real skills when your stuck and you need to build a shelter and actually survive. Or you can barter your skills to others for trade. Knowing how to use basic tools is an absolute must. I ve met people who have never used a hammer, its friggin sad.

LOL,you hit the nail on the head!!When I was a kid,getting an apprenticeship was like winning the lottery,now kids think a trade is a meanial low paying end of the line job.Get A TRADE,during the dirty 30s,unemployment was 25% in north America.What a lot of people don't know,is that stat does not include skilled trades

[oldmanprepper]

Ya,work takes a lot of time(I just got home)lol.Heres an idea Ive been kicking around.Choose a trade or any occupation that will get you into a flyin/out situation.Oilfields,mines,ect...In Bc and alberta,this usually means that companies have a lot of different pickup points.One company I looked into flys out of,Van,Kelowna,Naniamo,Edmonton,and Calgary.What I'm getting at is you can live in your chosen location and build it up for half the time(all the time).Your only at a 50% chance of being away from your retreat if things go bad.I know if I lived in a large urban area(I don't),that would appeal to me.Finally,to the young fellow who started this excellent topic,I have 4 trades so I have one final piece of advice for you.Pick a trade where joe public isn't paying you,cause we all want a good deal,lol.And to the wornout ambulance attendant,you are more valuable then you give yourself credit for.Every bone in my body hurts too,but my asset is what I know,not how fast I get it done.Thats what puts me in demand now.Strange world when there are so few people who can do things with there hands and minds.

[tradesman]

I'd like to

[Heavenlyacres]

Medical cannabis....retired at 35 yo, this paved the way for much much prepping. Land, supplies, and gardening experience covered! Also always a great bartering commodity and skill to have.
I also recommend bee keeping as it can be very very financially rewarding as well as for bartering in future times....