Yesterday, I had a chance to speak with a retired admiral who had worked with NATO

[haele]

13. As I heard a DoD supervisor said the other week

"What sort of stupid offshoot timeline are we living in now?"

Ya, I've got a bad feeling on how this is going to end. Looks like I'm getting my taxes back; time to get a set of Foxfire books and start hitting rural thrift/contractor seconds stores and junk yards for tools, hardware, bicycle parts and other such useful cobbling together items.

I have enough engineering skills I think I should be able to design and make a light short distance solar powered/pedal "e-bike/car" that can double as a jitney or mini-truck if need be.
And I can teach my grandkids how to use hardware. I also know how to make water collectors and a still, and there's a lot of nopales cactus and aloe/agave varieties around.
Alcohol always becomes a barter commodity in poverty stricken areas due to its usefulness in cleaning, medicine, fuel, and small industry. Not to mention drink...

So I think we'll be somewhat okay after the initial shock.