Update
Jerry
I’m sorry to have been away from the website for so long a time, but it was for a good cause. No, I wasn’t making the world safe for democracy. We can all do that, God willing, in the November elections, by voting out every leftist, closet socialist and “fellow traveler” Democrat on the ballot, gathering momentum for the 2012 General Election and re-claiming our nation. No, instead, Sharon and I were working on two new books for Gun Digest Books that had, out of necessity, deadlines way too close to one another. One of these is entitled THE GUN DIGEST BUYER’S GUIDE TO CONCEALED-CARRY HANDGUNS, while the other is ARMED FOR PERSONAL DEFENSE. Between those two books and trying to keep up on my regular columns and get a look at THE SURVIVALIST group page on Facebook every once in a while, we never lacked for things to keep us busy. Family matters, too, of course, demanded time and/or attention, among these our nephew, George, like an oldest son to us in many ways, needing quintuple coronary bypass surgery, our youngest grandchild, Olivia, having a big birthday bash when she turned three and Honey The Wonderdog getting a checkup. Honey has a clean bill of health and she’s doing just fine. George is healing up and has a good prognosis. Olivia’s enjoying being three.
And, of course, SURVIVE! THE DISASTER, CRISIS AND EMERGENCY HANDBOOK came out on April 14th. Also going up on the website today is a copy of the Press Release announcing the book and something the publicity people for Krause – nice folks – put together as JERRY AHERN’S TOP TEN SURVIVAL TIPS. I want to clarify a couple of things. First, in the Press Release, mention is made of “…magazines such as Guns & Ammo and CCW: Carrying Concealed Weapons.” I did quite a number Right To Keep And Bear Arms articles for “Guns & Ammo” decades ago and, for twelve and one-half years, I did the holster column for “Handguns Magazine,” which was owned by Petersen and its successor ownership. And, CCW: CARRYING CONCEALED WEAPONS is a book we wrote over thirteen years ago.
As to my SURVIVAL TIPS, I’d like to clarify a few points. Tip #3 should not imply that the police don’t want to protect you. Of course they do. But, in a major league crisis, the police will be spread so thinly you cannot count on them protecting you, try as they might. Tip #6 talks about your GPS device possibly not being reliable in the wilderness. In certain types of disasters/emergencies, the GPS System might not function at all, might even be knocked out or rendered permanently inoperable. And, of course, the satellites themselves are getting older. You don’t have to be in the wilds to need a compass. Tip #9 isn’t aimed at making you someone who won’t help a stranger; rather, it’s intended to remind you that, in a life-altering crisis, there are going to be lots of people who are prepared for nothing at all past ten minutes from now and won’t think twice about killing you and your family in order to steal your stuff. That’s a sad commentary on modern life, but it’s true.
Sharon and I hope you read SURVIVE! Bob Anderson, an old friend and a man whom I truly admire, was kind enough to write a review which is way too flattering. We’re posting it anyway and are indebted to him for his generosity of spirit.
SURVIVE! is a book written for a purpose, beyond the obvious one of writing books, columns and articles as the means by which we make our living. Sharon and I know way too many people who seem amazed when you remind them that, should the power grid go out, their ATM cards won’t work, gas pumps won’t work and grocery store cash registers won’t work. Good people all, their woeful failure to think through the fragility of their daily existence could well be fatal in a crisis. Sharon and I kind of think of SURVIVE! THE DISASTER, CRISIS AND EMERGENCY HANDBOOK as a wake-up call. Hopefully, people will heed it. Life’s too precious a thing to be wasted.
