Years ago, I decided there was a lot more I could do to be prepared for most eventualities in case of a crisis, or a disaster, that could stop most of what we all take for granted, to stop suddenly. I saw so many people actually killed because they had very little in reserves or simply nearly nothing to protect themselves with. Not in the US but elsewhere. The realization of what I could do for myself became apparent and I began not only Prepping in a serious manner but learning what to do and collecting the books I felt I was going to need. So the journey began for me.
Back in 1962, the prominent names that were swirling around were Kurt Saxon, Ragnar Benson, Michael Brown and of course, the late great Mel Tappan. Most of us were buying books from Desert Publications and a little later from Paladin Press. We wanted to learn everything we possibly could about what to put away, where to put it, how to protect it and most of all what to do if things unraveled and we were thrust into a world akin to “The Dark Ages.” That may make a few of you smile but there were many people saying something big was on the horizon. In the meantime, many of us got together and we talked about some of the scenarios we saw that could happen. I was still in the military at the time and was somewhat limited to what I could do and say. Survivalists back in those days were looked down on by the general population as “Kooks.”
Once the military was behind me there was a tendency to keep in touch with many of those people I once met with regularly when I was in the country. We camped out and we fished the rivers. Some of us hunted and all of us did a lot of shooting which led to reloading. I had an old Hollywood Press back then and loaded many thousands of rounds with it. There was a big group who were skydiver as I was and we jumped whenever we got the opportunity.
Back in those days, we were an exclusive bunch of people. Many of us were ex-military and a lot of us knew how to do things that weren’t socially acceptable to the rest of the population at large and we didn’t discuss those things with just anyone. Among us, there were no holds barred. However, when men and women go camping or get together as a group, we talked. Invariably, the conversations evolved into “what if situations” and where we all would go if something major happened. I owned 12 acres on a major river in Washington State and I mentioned I was developing it into a Retreat and that was where I would go. I had already planted caches along the way and had built a few structure on my property. In fact, many of my friends had camped on it but I never told any of them about what I was doing or intending on doing in case….
When I revealed this to a few close friends, they wanted in and we formed a partnership with very strict rules. A few years went by and I wound up flying in Africa a couple of times, South and Central America and then Alaska as a Bush Pilot when the North Slope opened up. My prepping plans were on hold for some time. IN fact, years before I was able to get back to my land and the group I was formed up with. Funds began running low and I took a job Crop Dusting down in the Deep South. I worked my rear-end off on that job. I made a lot of money too. One night when work sort of petered out for a little while, (I was waiting for the “Pinkies” to make their presence known to the growers. Those are the Boll Weevils that infest cotton. I was invited to a party so I went. At that party, I met some high rollers in the Rock and Roll business. They were Concert Producers and were both heavies into cocaine. Back then just about everyone was doing something so I didn’t pay that much attention.
They were introduced to me by a friend and they called me a few day later and asked me to go into partners with them on an upcoming Concert they were trying to put together but they were short of money. Would I be interested? I asked a lot of questions and then talked to a lawyer about what I was getting ready to do and he insisted on a written contract.
I agreed finally and was promised 10% of the net plus all of my initial investment if I would back them and my lawyer didn’t think it was a good idea but I did it anyway. But, with a signed contract. They said I would have my money the following Monday, this was on a Wednesday. There were a lot of sweet little groupies back then, I was single and 30 years old and I have to admit, I was sucked in because of that and a few other reasons. The concert went off with two major headliners of the time and the concert was sold out. I was counting my money in my mind. Greed does that to you. Monday came and went. Three weeks later I found out the partners went to Cancun and were living high on the hog and had no intention of paying me back. Our agreement also included a non-compete agreement so they couldn’t go into business against me once I was in charge of the company. My lawyer told me to either kiss the money goodbye or to get everyone together and see if we could do another concert and hopefully, I would make some of my money back. He also reminded me that he didn’t think it was a good idea.
I called everyone I knew and they called the rest of the people who worked putting on the shows and we had a party/meeting at my house. I told them all, I don’t know anything about doing a concert but with their help, we could all hopefully make some money if we worked together. I owned the company such as it was. Finally, after a couple of weeks trying to get it wired together, we did a show and it was a big sellout. I made all of my money back on that show and decided to do some more of them. I did this for a while but my strong interest was my group, Retreat and making it better for all of us if anything happened. I had a pocket full of money so I wanted to get back to the Retreat.
I won’t go into the details of why I left the business but I was frankly, tired of it and most of the people I was dealing with. I went back to Seattle and began to get very active with my Retreat and group. One day a fellow I knew semi-casually approached me and asked me to help him put together a Retreat. He wanted to purchase a thousand acres and build a Retreat on it. He was an heir to a sizeable fortune and after we agreed to the terms and what he would pay me we built a superb Retreat. The residences were Yurts and the people began farming the land, purchasing animals to work it and to provide sustenances for them all. They were very dedicated to this task and wanted to make it work.
When it was all done and working I left. That retreat is still going today and most of the members are still there. They build handmade musical instruments such as guitars and violins. Others make old-time harnesses for horses and buggy’s or wagons. They still farm and sell most of what they grow to various outlets. Some of the items they sell are honey, seeds, apples, hay and alfalfa, watermelons and a large variety of vegetables. More but I won’t list them all.
I was referred to some others and I built two more Retreats. Only the one survived and is still operating. Many of those original members have died but only a few of them left the Retreat permanently. All of their children were homeschooled. Two are Medical Doctors that Graduated from the School of Medicine at the University of Washington and two are teachers. One became an Aeronautical Engineer and did work for the Boeing Company.
In between this and a few other things, I decided to try out some other adventures, so my wife and I sailed our sailboat (we weren’t married then) off over the horizon for several years before we came back to the world.
I eventually sold my land in Washington, my house, commercial building and my sailboat and moved south to follow the sun. As a serious survivalist back then and today as well, my timing was off in terms of something big happening to the world but I still expect something cataclysmic will happen. 56 years have come and gone but I still believe no matter who you are you should be prepared to weather the storm. If it never comes that’s great, but if it does come to pass, you’ll survive while almost everyone you know will die. I still am involved with a Retreat not far from where I live and I know where I’ll go if the SHTF!
L Michael Rusin
Copyright 2009, L. Michael Rusin All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce for non-commercial purposes in entirety, including this notice.