Ways To Survive An Active Shooter When Trapped Unarmed In A Closed Room: No Martial Arts or Strength Needed

98% of all "survive an active shooting" articles concentrate on the same old things: run away or hide and call 911. Cute slogans: "Run Hide Fight". But when it comes to practical suggestions for the "Fight" part, most include more tips on how to keep the police from shooting you by mistake if you do escape or survive, than information on how to foil the attacker.

This article by Eric Spitznagel at Men's Health, "The Smartest Thing To Do In An Active Shooter Situation" is the most useful Active Shooter video & article that I have seen. Even a handicapped person or kids could do this, even if trapped in a room unarmed. The video actually shows us how to do it.

Filled with practical advice from former member of Israeli Special Forces & self-defense expert Alon Stivi, the article points out details we have all known in our hearts such as:

 "Nobody has ever survived an active shooter by ducking under a desk or a table. It just doesn’t happen. And do you know why?"
"Because they were sitting targets?"
"That’s right. Every shooter knows that’s where people are scrambling to hide, and that’s where they look first. And then they shoot you at point blank range."

Or:

 "Maybe I’m confusing how to survive a shooter with what I learned as a kid about surviving a fire. My instinct is to “Stop, drop, and roll.”
"That’s actually not that far off from the standard operating procedure. It’s called lockdown. Which means, you just stay where you are.
But if you look at most of these shootings, you realize that people died because they were in a lockdown."

I really appreciate that he says we should approach training - practical, like fire drills and unafraid:

 "I haven’t become paranoid, and I’ll tell you why. It’s pretty simple. There is only one antidote to fear. Well, maybe two.
First is the belief in fate. You believe that everything will somehow be fine and you’ll be taken care of by some higher power, and that’s great. "
"And for the rest of us?"
"The real antidote to fear is knowledge. I know what to look for. I know what to do if something bad happens. I have a plan of action.
This knowledge is what allows somebody to live a life free from fear. ...."
"....I’ll give you an example. When you came to the office today, you probably crossed a road, right?... And before you crossed, you looked left and right, just to make sure there wasn’t a car coming. Because if you didn’t, you might die. If you get hit by a car going 60 miles an hour, you will be obliterated.
So you check for that car, and you don’t feel paranoid or stressed about needing to do that, do you?
"Not at all. It’s just something you do."
"Exactly. It’s a part of your life. It’s a part of the world we live in. Two hundred years ago, there were no cars. We looked for, I don’t know, mountain lions."

Go to Men's Health to read the whole enlightening article.

Delicious Budget Beans: Texas Style Hoppin' John Black Eyed Peas

Beans are incredibly healthy food. They are easy to cook, genuinely inexpensive, packed full of protein, freeze beautifully, and help our digestion work efficiently (one can leave off the expensive fiber supplements if one eats beans every day). Beans are also incredibly versatile, as we have been finding out at our house.

A couple of months ago, we made a decision to focus on a high-protein, high-fiber diet of mostly beans flavored with meat and vegetables. To help his incisions and nerves heal from the surgery, Paul needs a lot of protein.  He cannot use his legs yet, but he is still far too thin, so he needs calories. Others in this situation may need to avoid fats, but they are important for him right now. At his doctor's advice, he also has a snack of 1/3 cup of roasted cashews daily.

Paul isn't usually a fan of leftovers or repetition, so this was a bit of a challenge. By rotating between a few easily available varieties: Pintos, Limas (Butter beans), Navy Beans,  Black eyed Peas, and Black Beans, we have come up with a number of good dinners that taste good until the last spoonful. I thought I would share these recipes here over the next few weeks. Enjoy!

Black Eyed Peas, or Southern Peas, grow easily here, and there is time to make a couple of crops of them. Even from the home garden, you can let them dry on the vine to save for use as dry peas, or you can pick them and shell them while green - I will have recipes for the green ones when they come into season.

This recipe is for an old Southern dish called Hoppin' John (or less frequently, Hopping John). The origins of the name are lost to history, but this simple and tasty stew is served on tables all over Oklahoma, Texas, and the rest of the South. It is one of those great home-cooked meals that can vary depending on what you have on hand - or what you can afford.

Texas Style Hoppin' John Recipe

One pound dry black eyed peas, cooked (see below)
1 cup chopped onion
1 Bell Pepper (or other sweet pepper) chopped
3 Tablespoons Bacon Grease
1 Bay Leaf
One pound German, Polish or Cajun sausage
Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, to taste (or substitute salt & Louisiana Hot Sauce)
2 cups white rice, cooked separately and kept separate from the peas (see below)

Take a one pound bag of dry black eyed peas, soaked overnight in tap water and drained, then cooked in 8 to 10 cups of simmering water for 2 to 4 hours until tender.  Do NOT add any salt.

If more water is needed, bring it to a boil separately and add the boiling water to the peas (just the same way you add extra water when cooking beans).

In a frying pan, saute the onion and bell pepper in bacon grease until soft and pour all, including juices and fat, into the cooked peas.  Add Bay Leaf to peas and continue simmering.

Slice the sausage into rounds or chop if you prefer. In the same frying pan, lightly brown the sausage and add it, along with its juices and fats, to the pot of peas.

Simmer gently for 30 minutes or so. Continue to resist the urge to add salt, as the Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning has salt in it.

If everyone in your house likes spicy food, add the Tony Chachere's just as you would salt, until it tastes just right. If some people are wimps like me, you can wait and people can add the Tony Chachere's to their own bowl at the table. It won't affect the flavor to wait.

Fill each individual bowl at the stove for serving. Put about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of cooked white rice in a soup or cereal bowl and ladle about 1 & 1/2 cup of peas and liquid over the rice.

Serve with cornbread if you wish.

Do not be tempted to toss the rice in with the peas at any time in cooking or as leftovers. I now remember why I never make soups with rice - the rice falls apart, soaks up the liquid, and turns a lovely dish into a mess of gruel. Not good. So keep the rice in its own container. If there is some leftover, you can refrigerate, then bring it out to get to room temp while the peas are reheating. Pouring the boiling peas & liquid over the rice in each bowl will heat it nicely.

Like all stews, Hoppin John is even better the next day. You can add a little water while heating if it is too thick. It also freezes well - this is a great dish to make and freeze in meal-sized containers, easy to pull out and warm for a wholesome and fast supper during the busy work week.