So… where exactly did this whole Simple Survival / Simple Mom Blog thing start? I suppose that’s as good a question as any.
Simple Survival was originally not my brain child. I had a domain I was considering deleting but someone suggested it could be repurposed. He became my Business Operations Manager and started handling all the vendor deals and contracts for me. He has a great head for that stuff and loves to find good prices on high quality gear.
He was the one who taught me about the deeper world of Law Enforcement. It was through knowing him that I first learned that cops are not issued gear. Neither are military professionals. They pay for it!! Sometimes they pay a lot of money for a good holster or bullet proof vest.
Now… I have a soft spot for anyone who works in Law Enforcement. At my grandfathers funeral I didn’t shed a tear – I was happy to know that his suffering had ended and that he was back with his wife, whom he had missed terribly for four long years. But… when they walked us outside… shot a lot of bullets into the air and started playing TAPS, I cried my eyes out.
Grieving for my grandfather wasn’t a big deal, but holy shit I cried because he had also been a soldier. I’ll always cry for a soldier.
I respect those who work in Law Enforcement because I recognize that it’s something I could never do. Most of you have heard the whole ‘Sheepdog’ metaphor, right? If not, you should go read that. LTC (RET) Dave Grossman has a good metaphor working for him there, but I’d like to add one more animal to his categories of perception.
By definition Llama’s share more characteristics in common with sheep – but when it comes to protecting sheep from predators – holy shit they’ll kick the hell out of any wolf!!!
Okay? So, that’s me. I’m not a wolf, I’m not a sheepdog, and I’m most certainly NOT A SHEEP!!! For the most part I am gentle, until I or someone close to me is threatened. That’s why I became registered to carry a firearm in the state of Minnesota. It’s not so I can play cop, or vigilante or anything like that. I carry a gun because I know the wolves are out there. Yeah, there are a lot of sheepdogs too – but what happens when a wolf attacks my flock, and the sheepdog is 15 minutes away?
I deeply love and respect all those who work in Law Enforcement, and the most responsible and loving thing I can do for them is to be one less person they have to worry about guarding. I can guard myself – I can even guard those close to me in times of danger, until help arrives. Being a registered firearms owner is a lot like being registered to administer CPR. It doesn’t make me a doctor, and it doesn’t make me an EMT – but it does give me the power to keep someone alive until help arrives.
But, ultimately, help must arrive.
That help will be in the form of someone who has taken a vow to give his or her life to protect me or my daughter, if necessary. When I discovered that sometimes help is also in the form of someone using inferior gear, just because it’s less expensive, thus risking their lives even more for me… I flipped my kitty.
Simple Survival was originally started for them.
Then I started trying out some of the gear myself and the idea of my writing product reviews was born.
HAH… then I ran into Oleg Volk…
Oleg was a critical turning point in transforming me into someone who wasn’t just a survivor… Oleg made me a role model! When Oleg got me on the cover of Concealed Carry Magazine, I suddenly realized just how much of my story, and my philosophy were worth sharing. I realized there were others out there who could benefit from my point of view. Subsequently, Simple Mom was conceived out of that.
Oleg and others like him are people I list as Allies. There will be others I’m sure – but he counts amongst the first. Without him, Simple Mom would have never started. I would have just been a CEO floating in the background, but now I’m making a stand!
