Here's what brought about my idea....I know very few people who are truly 'in the know' of what's about to go down. But one person I do know is someone I work with. We were casually talking about things related to the economy, and we discovered that when the shit hits the fan he has cattle, and we have chickens/eggs... and we could trade/share whenever necessary. Then, I went to the grocery store and holy mackerel the beef was $4.99 a pound and chicken crazy expensive, too. This storm is approaching, if not here already!

So, you probably know where I'm going with this. We need to be there for each other. We need to form local alliances where we can trade goods and services. I'm thinking things such as produce, beef, chicken, eggs, dairy, hay, straw, ammo, batteries, etc... but also things like mechanical services. I have a lot of questions on if this can even work. I feel that in order to be a part, you must have something to contribute. Here are a few that come to mind:

1. How do we find each other? I'm reminded of back in the Roman Empire days when Christians were being persecuted. The Christians had a secret signal where one person would draw part of a sign in the sand with their foot and if the person completed the other part of the sign, they knew they were safe to talk, and that they were fellow Christians. I'm speaking of the Christian fish symbol. Maybe it won't get that bad, but this is where I simply want to be prepared for anything... we are certainly a hated society. I don't think persecution is very far fetched anymore.
2. How do we verify what each of us can bring to the table? (My first thought was kind of like how Angie's List does it where basically two or individuals have to give a good recommendation for you)
3. How do we keep this from dividing rather than unifying? (I'm not one for exclusive clubs.. but I also don't want infiltration of the bloodsuckers who do not contribute)

One way to go about it could be like how churches do 'small groups'. But, I'm still unaware of who is 'in the know' and awake at my church. Maybe this will be a natural response of the church... (to be there for each other) but I want to get us ready NOW, and honestly, we are over 30 miles from our church. I feel the need to figure this out on an even more local level.

I know a lot of us are ready. We've been preparing for a long time. And, quite honestly, I feel like our family is ready to get through some bumpy times. But, we all know that most of the population is not, and when they wake up they will be scrambling to find what they need. We also don't know how long this will last. I also know that I can't be 100% ready by myself. I'm not a mechanic... but maybe a mechanic in the alliance would be willing to fix my car in exchange for XYZ that I can offer.

Does anyone out there agree with me or is this too far fetched? Maybe there is an app that someone can make (assuming our phones will still work?) I'm just a person with ideas and thought I'd throw it out there. If it does not gain traction, no worries. But, I felt compelled to put my ideas out there for discussion. WWG1WGA