First and foremost a relationship of trust and companionship with others we work with and depend on

Short Introduction
Married for 32 years have 3 young adults one still at home 19 and he is as into prepping as am I.  My wife is on board.  I’m not of the opinion that being on the run is the choice that will be the best option, as roving bands will soon find their own end.  I like the approach of invisibility.  The use of tactics that discourage intrusion.  Then if necessary using a very large club.  I see no other way than a totally off the grid self-sufficient living environment to accomplish this. I’m convinced time is short and I need to get out of the city. Below tells why we have not moved before now.

Long introduction
We are looking for a place to relocate to, (I am somewhat open to areas outside TX) work at and help to be self sustainable for the long-term such as energy, (solar, wind) food (outside garden, aquaponics fish and vegetables) water (wind mill, hand pump, stream if available) heat (wood rocket stove, solar). Set up and running whether the grid goes down or not. But when it does there will be no rush to start something as it is already up and operational. Possibly east Texas I like the piney woods area around Tyler north and south. If there is any group that would like to talk. bhnotany-time (at) yahoo (dot) com

Or I may have to wait a while and buy land (kinda late but better than not doing anything) and hope for some help from others.

We receive around $1000.00 income currently each month but I don’t look for that to be long-term. I built a self propelled diesel over hydraulic powered water well drilling rig, which is less than fortyeight inches wide so as to drive it through a 4′ yard gate. I will rent this out to land and home owners or land leasers (farmers or ranchers drilling to support their business) wanting their own water source. There is a huge demand for this in my current location and I am almost finished with it. I have poured every-thing extra I have had for the last 11 years in this project which is an investment of over 50K to this point. We also made a bad investment that did not cash out as we had expected, so we are now city bound and not liking it.

So we could focus more on prepping about a year ago I resigned from the Presidency of a ministry doing prison ministry where I had remodeled 3 duplexes and a 1 ½ car garage into a meeting room. Remodeled from top to bottom in all aspects water lines, sewer lines, bathrooms, kitchen cabinets fitted and refinished, hot water heaters, floors, walls, insulation, and one metal roof.

I’m married and have been so for 32 years with 3 young adults offspring two boys, one girl. One still at home, still being home schooled he (Tim) is 19. He is as much into prepping as I am.  My other two are aware things are headed for the dumpster but aren’t even trying to prep.(one has a history of in and out of drugs) So they will have to make their own way. They will have contact information but no address of our location.

My wife’s words and attitude is “I’m ready to do whatever I need to for my family”

Early years
I served during Nam 74-77 and went in to the service under the stripes for skills program at El Paso I made E-5 in 11 months, was a motor Sgt in Germany at 23 months.  Spent 13 months in Germany. So that was the extent of my military experience. I came to Texas in June 1977.  I hauled 8 cords of firewood on a truck I built from Brownwood every weekend and, after classes, delivered and stacked this firewood to pay for College. I borrowed money from a bank for a one ton truck and two walk behind ditchers and installed cable for Cox. Then all installs stopped, putting me out of business and I was saddled with large payments. I went to work at two full-time 8 hr jobs trying to pay off the notes. I met Sharon and I got a new job with 6 weeks OJT in Abilene, TX at Hughes Diesel. I was rebuilding Detroit diesel engines, blowers and transmissions. Welding skids for drilling rigs, did the fabrication work on engine conversions on oilfield trucks. I got married in 1981 and moved Sharon to Abilene.  After 18 months we moved back home and I attended a school of preaching.  We started an Auto repair shop, got it successful, then moved it to Cimarron, N.M. to support us in the mission field. We stayed there two years where our oldest son was born in Raton.

Now at the 13th years of marriage
So skipping ahead My wife got sick 19 years ago and did not even know who I was for 2 ½ years. We were running our own business renting steam cleaners and doing carpet cleaning as well as selling door to door a $1500.00 vacuum that also steam cleaned carpet, with a sales force I had hired and trained.  We had been ranked in the top 10 offices in the nation twice in the year before we left. We moved to Dallas for 16 months and that was a disaster, business wise. So we moved back home where Sharon got sick. When the doctor asked which institution I wanted to put her in, I took her home. She was given 6 months to a year to live and I was told she would be a vegetable for the rest of her life if she survived.  She got sick in Dec and gave birth in Feb to our now 19-year-old son who was rushed off to NICU.  So neither of them were supposed to live. I have for the last 19 years been serving God full-time.  Devoted to raising and homeschooling my three kids and helping my wife until God healed her. Which was at 7 years and 10 days after the day she got sick with the herpes simplex 2 “encephalitis in this case” which (according to the scan and the doctors) ate up the left temporal lobe of her brain. She now functions normally drives and cleans houses for 8 people, 4 of which have complete trust in her giving her the key to their homes. Then for 8 ½ years we (my whole family) were helping to feed and hand out clothing, then Prison I did ministry for 2 ½ years.

Some more Mission work
I was active with the Salvation Army in Pascagoula, Mississippi for 14 days after Katrina slammed ashore. While there, Rita hit Beaumont and went up the Sabine river. I returned home for 4 days then went and worked another 45 days, with my oldest son Brian, in the Newton, Beaumont area (we delivered food until electricity was restored). We slept in schools, salvation army shelters, in the van and gymnasiums, did our laundry at FEMA camps and ate what the Baptist men cooked at temporary food camps, mostly with no power except from occasional generators. We (Brian and I) later went to a Brazil mission field deep in the Amazon Forest for 2 months where I set up solar and turbine generation. We lived off the land with no electricity, phone network, or plumbing. The only meat we had was just caught or killed.

Back to Dallas
When we were in Dallas we lost everything, both new cars, all our equipment was sold to stay a float and move. This was when we moved back to home. We started this journey after my wife was discharged from the hospital with a borrowed car, a duplex that was condemn-able had the city inspected it, $165.00 a month and food stamps.

NOW

Vehicles
I have a 2001 Dodge dually (Good shape and sound)
my wife has a 2009 Saturn

Equipment & tools
I have an old 15”x8′ South Bend lathe
Miller Elite gas welder/generator 6 kw- 120v/240v
Miller 130 wire welder
cutting torch
metal chop saw
large Snapon roll around tool box with tools
complete set of hand tools with air wrenches for mechanical work and metal buildings
2 100 gal 220 volt air compressors
4000 lb diesel fork lift (works good on hard ground, not so much on sand or mud)
two-wheel enclosed trailer with most of my hand tools in it
tools for construction of metal buildings, siding and roofs
four-wheel tilt trailer (with brakes on two axles) for hauling the drilling rig or forklift
four-wheel 28′ gooseneck flat-bed trailer (needs work) (with brakes on one axle)
70′s Jimmy with electric winch, an A frame and stiff leg on the front (up to 30′ tall)
2 wheel trailer 5 x 10 with 100 kw LP generator on it (generator for sale)
large troy built type rotor tiller

wood working
skill saws
routers
small wood planer
table saw
radial arm saw
gas and electric chain saw (gas needs new chain)
ax

camper
36′ fifth wheel camper (which is in poor condition but livable)
Onan RV style 4kw generator 2 legs @120v no 240v available
1500 watt generator 120v

water well drilling and supplies
self-propelled water well drilling rig
240′ of 1 ½ drill stem
225′ of 2 7/8 drill stem
tricone rotary bits and drag bits with subs (in varying sizes 3 ½ – 7 7/8)
2 mud pumps and parts (putting together last piece lacking on the unit)
Suction hose & discharge hose

Well Casing
1hp submersible pump with controller for water well
plans for building hand pump out of PVC

self-defense
good mind-set
some weapons and ammo (rifles, shotguns, and pistol)
knives
machetes

storage
20′x12′x10′ storage building metal with wood floor (can be disassembled and moved)
6′x30”x8′ storage unit (military surplus)
300gal of diesel on hand

alternative energy
6 solar hot water panels 3 at 6′ and 3 at 8′ with control panel and pumps
heat exchangers
hot water room heater with forced air blower

Household
All household items, washer, dryer, fridge and freezer
I may not have a stove and oven as I built them into this house
We also have a large store of things to eat some with a shelf life of 25 years.  I don’t have all I need but close to 4 years supply for the three of us
water storage for two months
water filter

About skills
Certified gun smith (just means I figured out enough to pass the test)
Certified re-loader allows for the storage of more re-loading supplies(I have some pistol, rifle, and 12 gauge shotgun re-loaders & supplies)
have installed large phone systems
build all my own computers
electrical wiring and breaker boxes (have to use book for wire gauges and run lengths)
plumbing
sewer
some carpentry
some Tile flooring (My house, my parents house, and the duplex for the ministry)
put a metal retrofit roof on a power plant the size of two football fields

Worked with
Poultry
Pigs
Horses
Cattle
Rabbits
Quail
Dogs (did obedience and attack training in 78)
Tractors
Plows
One way
Planter
Wheat drill
Bulldozer some
Hay balers
Road grader one time
Gray Hound style, single and tandem axle buses
Semi Tractor trailer (short time over the road)
Backhoes
Jack hammers
5 ton wrecker operator in Army
Tanks of varying types (test driving after repairs)
Gore ammo truck (traversing steering)
crane work (some)
training safety officer at IBP in a union shop
don’t have a green thumb but have done gardening
worked with my grandfather in a Locker/ butcher plant in junior high
can dress birds
can butcher other animals just never liked it
am a descent shot was really good when eyes were better

Timothy and I
passed test for concealed hand gun just have not finished paper work
have HAM licenses as well, no real experience as yet. (I am one of the founders of a new amateur radio club in this area)
Appleseed shooting course
proficient with ropes and repelling and rock climbing (I have almost all the gear and ropes) he has passed me in skill at climbing
We built the drilling rig from scratch he has more time on it than I do and has saved me a mess or two with the hydraulic system by seeing some things I missed
He is matured a lot and has a fairly good handle on the future of things

Tim
Did blacksmith work with a forge he made from things laying in the yard. He made a hatchet from a truck spring heated, beat it out, cut with a torch, ground it into shape, heated and tempered it again. Used my metal lathe and turned down a hard wood handle. Cut and wrapped wet rawhide to hold the head to handle.
he shot a Ruger 10-22 at Appleseed and in the last round out shot me
he does Parkour and is pretty good at it
cooks on grill outside
loves hotdogs
helped me rebuild the duplexes in all phases
roofing (metal)
got upside down in a 5′ x 8” ditch for the sewer line, we held to a perfect ¼ bubble drain
some welding
some cutting with torch
good with metal cut off saw
some metal lathe work
is very Bossy at times
makes belts from paracord
bracelets from paracord
organized, supervised the unboxing and shelving of incoming food at food mission
was door guard keeping people from double dipping, was very firm, and successful
good with people
strong-willed and stubborn as the day is long
thinks for himself
some computer skills
soon more well drilling skills

Sharon
has shot and hunted in past but it has been a while
is a real good cook and we have gone camping a lot
will do anything she can to help and support me
in not a strong organizer in some things but good in others
a great maintainer
reads and corrects my spelling and grammar to make me look better
a good seamstress
is excellent at cleaning other picky people’s house
has a green thumb at least with some flowers
good at making curtains
good at quilting
good with people
kind-hearted
can’t smell so can clean up things that make others hurl (blood leaked out of meat in freezer and spoiled)

Debt
We are now 3 payments of $300 away from being debt free. I cannot sell this house being a duplex while my folks live in the other half and that could be a while as they are fairly healthy for their age.
Both sides have been completely remodeled by me with my two son’s and daughter’s help and the help and support of my wife who had to cook and clean in the middle of it all.

Some other people’s views of me!
I’ve been told I’m a mechanical genius.  I would say God blessed me with a gift that has developed over the years. Some say I have wasted it because I didn’t use it to get wealthy. I say I am wealthy beyond their wildest imagination. I am content and secure with where God has me and have unfathomable Joy. God healed and restored my wife’s memories, I have my parents, two sisters, and their families, three kids, a wife and dog that loves me. I have a few close true friends. I’m as good as debt free. I have a small cash reserve at this point. And best of all, Jesus is not only my Lord and Savior, but I have a personal relationship with Him. Being In Him and through Him makes my & my wife’s relationship that much more special as we walk with Him together.

My son is also a believer, He just returned from Ft Worth with the youth group. He has gone on 8-10 day trips up in the Colorado mountains backpacking for several summers now. Living on what they carry in, the fish they catch, and by purifying local water.

My view of the other people
The other people are deep in debt, no food or supplies put up, no water stored, nor plans to have a well, no fuel reserve, no extra ammo (not that I have all that I want) but they will undoubtedly want help (by asking or by attempting force) when things go bad. So I ask myself and everyone else “how do I take food from my family, who chose to sacrifice, save, and put up stores and food while these others were partying and having a good time? Going on trips, going in debt while making 4 times or more the income we did”. I don’t think so. So no and no again. This is one reason growing and self-sustaining is, in my opinion, the key to longevity and renewable supplies. Still having a reserve hidden away in the event of crop failure or a raid. Resupplying is a high priority in my thinking. But also key is being out of the city. I would rather not shoot and kill one of these other people but will if put in that position.

Income and or bartering
I am getting set up to rent my well drilling rig out with a consultant for $600 per day 3 day minimum, $1.80 per mile one way set up. All fuel and supplies for the rig will be furnished by the land owner renting the unit.
If fuel is available the lathe, hand tools, and welder will generate income as well, also having extra fresh food and meat will barter and sell very well.

Wrapping up
I cannot leave home until I drill a few wells as I gave my word and so it has to be done if I am alive, healthy, and able.
Speaking of health, we have no health problems, no Rx s except glasses and allergy shots for Sharon & Tim. We take supplements and eat fairly healthy. No smokers, dippers, no drugs or drunks, no cursing. We don’t drink cokes, diet or otherwise, almost no sugar (I think my son may indulge in cokes maybe some candy on his trips) but if that is all he does I’ll be blessed.

There is more but I will let you digest then you can ask.

If this has not turned you off and you are interested in going further I will need some things from you.

This has to be a two-way street so I need to know about you as this is not something I will do without knowing you as well. Just because time is short does not mean I will not proceed with caution and listen for the Lord’s direction. I hope you will as well. I will want to know what your selection process and policies would be if others are considered for or allowed to come in. Or if a horde of people just showed up. Don’t expect your exact location just where you are in general.

I expect to get interviewed, checked out and looked over, but we will be looking as well. I have a couple of groups of people I’m exchanging information with. Looking for the best fit for us as a family and with a group.

May God bless you in your effort and bring you just the right fit.

Bob h

PS This is my wish list at this point of the next big purchases: (not in order)
diesel backhoe with front end loader
diesel skid loader and attachments
10,000 gal of diesel or equivalent and tank
two assault rifles
¾ ton diesel pickup for Tim and the business he wants to be a consultant that goes with the drilling rig
more ammo
Earth-ship or Monolithic Dome for a house
upgrade welder from gas to diesel
relocate to work with a group with similar goals
more ammo