JT Hats
James grew up on an Ozarks farm where tools like axes and picks were still used in the daily routine and the blades of stockman's pocketknives served their original functions. Receiving his first pocketknife at age four he got it open by himself nearly a year later and spent his formative years wandering the woods with a succession of ever larger knives, a book of matches and a rifle.

A veteran of Vietnam, James also served in Alaska during a stint in the Army, receiving his first intensive culinary training by setting a record for extra KP at Ft. Richardson.

Settling in the Pacific Northwest after his discharge, James crewed on sailing yachts in local races, backpacked hundreds of miles of mountain trails in search of good trout fishing, and occasionally attended college.

His first serious job as a civilian resulted from answering a Seattle Post Intelligencer want ad requesting someone who could lift 120 pounds repeatedly and wasn't afraid of fire. James apprenticed to John Frazier -- the most knowledgeable traditional foundryman in North America at that time -- for the next six years.

Returning to the Ozarks James made his living by growing ginseng on a hand-terraced wooded hillside and selling handmade wood turnery, furniture, sculpture and architectural carvings. James harvested trees from his own land, processing logs into posts and beams and turnery billets with saws, axes, froes and planes. Since many tools he needed were no longer available, James built his own forge from a barbeque grill, a vacuum cleaner and a 55 gallon steel drum, found a chunk of railroad track for his first anvil, and taught himself blacksmithing -- creating his own knives and tools from scrap steel and sweat.

Changing economic pressures eventually forced James back to the restaurant industry in Branson, Missouri, and later to even more success as a maintenance engineer for one of Branson's largest condominium resorts. Finally escaping to Indiana, James now makes his living telling true stories as a freelance writer.



What’s in Your Emergency Kit? | Plus: What FEMA Won’t Tell You About Disaster Preparation

1 min read


Photo by NASA

New Orleans… Haiti… and now Japan… These places ring out with grim recognition of their recent natural disasters and the grueling aftermath. In the case of Katrina, local residents and rescue workers had ample time to prepare for the impending emergency but were overwhelmed when the scope of the disaster became apparent. In Haiti and Japan, rescue and recovery efforts will continue to stretch into the months, if not years.

In the United States, we rely on the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA to educate us, to provide guidelines for emergency preparation and, in many case, to rescue us when things get out of hand.

And so FEMA seemed to us to be a logical starting point for researching the best rescue and survival gear for review and potential recommendation to our readers.

Unfortunately we found that, while there’s tons of great information on FEMA’s website, they still skip a few very important concepts. FEMA’s emergency tool kit, for example, includes a map and compass but makes no mention of an axe. This despite the fact that many New Orleans residents, seasoned with the experience of previous hurricanes, used an axe to save their own lives — cutting themselves free from their attics as Katrina’s flood waters rose through the ceiling beneath them. Many others, who didn’t keep that basic tool handy, drowned in their homes.

FEMA also recommends that we stock enough emergency provisions to last for three days — after which, presumably, help should arrive. So what are we to do when the three days have passed and the provisions are gone? FEMA’s mum on that topic.

We don’t buy into that logic. Instead, we’ve decided to create recommendations for surviving disasters — earthquakes, large storms, power outages and long-term disasters — that allow readers to wield an axe, to build a fire, or to cut through fallen debris in an effort to survive. And without sitting idly by waiting for the cavalry to march in.

Read more about where we found fault with FEMA’s emergency advice

Below you’ll find links to survival tips for each type of disaster that we’ve addressed. Accompanying each set of survival recommendations is a checklist of gear necessary for assembling a complete, long-term emergency kit.

JT Hats
James grew up on an Ozarks farm where tools like axes and picks were still used in the daily routine and the blades of stockman's pocketknives served their original functions. Receiving his first pocketknife at age four he got it open by himself nearly a year later and spent his formative years wandering the woods with a succession of ever larger knives, a book of matches and a rifle.

A veteran of Vietnam, James also served in Alaska during a stint in the Army, receiving his first intensive culinary training by setting a record for extra KP at Ft. Richardson.

Settling in the Pacific Northwest after his discharge, James crewed on sailing yachts in local races, backpacked hundreds of miles of mountain trails in search of good trout fishing, and occasionally attended college.

His first serious job as a civilian resulted from answering a Seattle Post Intelligencer want ad requesting someone who could lift 120 pounds repeatedly and wasn't afraid of fire. James apprenticed to John Frazier -- the most knowledgeable traditional foundryman in North America at that time -- for the next six years.

Returning to the Ozarks James made his living by growing ginseng on a hand-terraced wooded hillside and selling handmade wood turnery, furniture, sculpture and architectural carvings. James harvested trees from his own land, processing logs into posts and beams and turnery billets with saws, axes, froes and planes. Since many tools he needed were no longer available, James built his own forge from a barbeque grill, a vacuum cleaner and a 55 gallon steel drum, found a chunk of railroad track for his first anvil, and taught himself blacksmithing -- creating his own knives and tools from scrap steel and sweat.

Changing economic pressures eventually forced James back to the restaurant industry in Branson, Missouri, and later to even more success as a maintenance engineer for one of Branson's largest condominium resorts. Finally escaping to Indiana, James now makes his living telling true stories as a freelance writer.



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