OPSEC and a special needs hired hand.

9491 Views 77 Replies 30 Participants Last post by Bullets~n~Beans, Nov 2, 2012

britzen

Discussion Starter · Oct 4, 2012 (Edited)

Bullets~n~Beans and I are about to head back up on our new land after a week back in population. We are starting from scratch in a heavily forested area and there is plenty of clearing, selective cutting of timber and prepping logs for structures to be built this spring, in addition to building up the old logging skid for year'round use, all the other fun stuff that goes with developing an offgrid dwelling.

We have a young man in his late 20's, who came with excellent working references from close friends, that we have helping us move packed items into storage and wrap up chores at our old home to accelerate the move. He's hard working, strong as an ox, and is very interested in learning more about the outdoors. We've set him up with an old pack, stove, fire starting kit, shelter and he loves learning how to use them. After having him stay with us the past week, I would put his intelligence equivalent to about an 10-11 year old, and perhaps an IQ in the high 70's, low 80's (I've had experience testing folks back in college). He reminds me a LOT of Lenny in Mice and Men. In the amount he has told us, it seems he has made some poor decisions in his personal life through being manipulated and/or being naive. He is very honest, and have no fears of theft.

We would like to hire him to help now and then at our new land, but there are a few flags that have been raised in the course of having him stay with us this week.

1- He doesn't have the best editing function, he tells us more things than we ever needed to know about his family, several are either druggies, thugs, abusers and/or manipulators. His family lives between 70-100 miles away from us.

2- He talks a LOT. But mostly because he is bored (doesn't talk much when working), and we've been told if you don't want something shared, don't let him know.

He lives +30 miles away, does not have the ability to drive right now (perhaps this spring). Friends of ours vouched he would be great on the property, and he wouldn't remember the way to the property, especially if we took the many forest roads in our area. He has expressed concern with "bad things" coming and has asked for help in planning a budget to build preps (we set him up with some bags of beans, rice, etc., which he DOES eat, and are showing him how to use them.

Most of the work we would have him do would be forest clearing, we will be handling a lot of the main construction ourselves. If SHTF, I wouldn't hesitate to take him in, but the thought is still in my mind of some relatives showing up.

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britzen

Discussion Starter · #5 · Oct 4, 2012 (Edited)

Rockit- BnB and I are on that track, and a fellow SB member, who is an in-law of his, is providing a back story who has also planned steps to avoid said family.

It raised the question if we (mostly I) are too paranoid to hire anyone to help. But then again, right now, we are just clearing land, not dragging out RPG's and bunkers,

.

We drill him everyday on talking to people (especially since now he wants to go hunting and would like a 12ga) and would he trust his family to "hold on" or "borrow" them his gun, as an example. He flat out said "NO". I use the excuse that being a very private person, and only child, I get nervous sharing things.

We told him his preps could be used in case of a snowstorm and he couldn't get to the market, that's mountain living (he's new to the area,as is his family), not some socioeconoic collapse and impending doom.

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britzen

Discussion Starter · #9 · Oct 4, 2012

m47dragon said:
I have an 11 year old son...don't underestimate their intelligence. It sounds to me like this fellow is simple minded but good hearted. That doesn't make him dumb. From what you describe, I would call him "innocent." He speaks freely to you because of trust and because he probably has an innate sense of extreme honesty: much like a child. He has an excellent sense of discernment and knows good from bad.

Take care of this soul...I imagine that he would lay down in traffic for you if he thought it would help you. Guard your words and actions around him for OPSEC sake, but be careful not to shun him. You've already stated that you'd take him in, so he is someone that you care for (lol, gotta love a stray!) Anyway, it sounds like he's a friend in the truest sense of the word. You indicated that his family is distant from him...what amount of contact does he have with them? Is he living alone now, or does he have a caretaker? Might not be a bad idea to build some quarters for the ranch-hand...maybe even find him a nice companion to share it with (good dog, nice girl, etc.)

I agree, its probably more like an 8 yr old in naivety and abstract thought. He really does remind me of Mice and Men. He does have some basic mechanical knowledge and loves to learn. He's in contact with his "Mom" regularly, perhaps weekly? They are not his blood kin, but from what I understand, she took him under her wing about 10 years ago. But her husband is one of the D-bags we don't want around. We've met a few of the relatives, at the time we didn't have property up there and the meeting was brief.

He lives alone in a pickup truck camper in an RV park he is paying off, collecting SSI but earning extra money helping the park owner. He would be excellent as a caretaker/hand, I'm under the impression most of his family is either too cheap, too poor, or too lazy to visit him, unless he had something for them. But we have time to see how things work out since most of the building will be 6 months from now.

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britzen

Discussion Starter · #13 · Oct 4, 2012

Red*Lion said:
Why is he collecting SSI? Being borderline intelligence is not a reason to qualify for SSI. Maybe he has had a head injury? That type of injury can affect a person as you describe as well. May want to find out why the SSI.

I know he has Spina Bifida, which he volunteered. I haven't asked anything else. What we HAVE asked people who have known him for years is his work ethic and honesty, which he passed with flying colors.

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britzen

Discussion Starter · #18 · Oct 4, 2012

Ironically, we are JUST moving to the area, but have known several folks for a while. We brought him down to the place we are moving from to help finish the move (all important stuff has already been relocated and secured) and yard work, etc. He has been staying with us for a week now and we return to the Mountain tomorrow.

We have discussed what his goals are and what he sees himself doing in the future, and I see promise, but the loose lips and relatives are flags. I think this will be a good test for him and what he reports to mutual friends as far as what he did and experienced down here when we get back.

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britzen

Discussion Starter · #22 · Oct 4, 2012

mefunkymxw said:
if he cant drive/remember how to get to your property, setup a pickup location, if the event happens and you drive by and hes got stragglers, hit the gas.... dont you stop... lawz no!!! (thats a reference from the stand... its funny on a few levels)...

M-O-O-N, spells exactly what we are dealing with, a Tom Collins.

We would pick him up to bring him to the property. Even if he DID have a license, he has a 70's Camaro that would cost more in gas R/T than he could afford- 60+ miles.

The living at the property is far off, if at all, I can barely live with BnB

: (more like vice versa, Im a handful). But chances are he would be spending a few days at a time on the land before we went back down the hill.

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britzen

Discussion Starter · #41 · Oct 5, 2012

He does not possess any signs of Aspbergers or Autism (our nephew is highly functioning, so at least we have a benchmark). He is a product of incest and his genetics are messed up (his blood family is thousands of miles away).

In our plans, he would be doing a lot of clearing for a home and shop, timber harvesting and helping me with clearing and prepping the garden area. Any other projects I have planned will be with at mine and BnB's hand.

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britzen

Discussion Starter · #44 · Oct 5, 2012

TAKEZO said:
Despite this kid being sweet and innocent--he will shoot off his mouth at some inappropriate point and sink you as sure as the sun rises in the east.

He may be yammering already to the wrong people and not know it.

The only soul he would be yakking too right now is my dog, for he has no internet access, phone and we are 6hrs away from his home, but he and the dog are inseparable.

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britzen

Discussion Starter · #45 · Oct 5, 2012

+1 for the kid!

We were loading up some extraneous stuff and BnB had thrown a few rounds of brass in a small box on his tailgate and the kid walked up on a cheap relative of BnB's pocketing it. He just waved his finger and said "nuh-uh.." and the relative threw the brass back in.

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britzen

Discussion Starter · #64 · Oct 12, 2012 (Edited)

Well, we just came down off the mountain for another load. I found out a bit more about him. We've found he is quite mechanically competent, just quite slow at book learning and poorly educated.
- He was in the CCC's (CA Conservation Corps) and has experience clearing land and making fire breaks,
- can operate a fork lift
- has small engine experience

We took him to the property, he fell asleep 3 minutes into the drive (snoring) and showed him about 1/20th of the land, right where we are clearing and felling. He was given the task of helping BnB grade by hand and hauling gravel.

The property waiver is indeed crucial, and it was my mistake not drawing it up prior, will be doing that today.

I'm not going to take him in, but we and his BIL (who is a close friend of ours) have met and are advising him on his future goals, paying off his camper, etc. Though we haven't shown him anything, we have been pounding into his head that food (we gave him some basics to start storing food) is the same as gold, and to think if he left 1000 dollars in his camper, who would he trust to know. His BIL asked me to start prying to test him on his mouth, since the kid knows what his BIL has. I heard all about how everyone met, but not one word on preps, guns, etc.

After spending a few days talking to him, I found out he is VERY much into his Native American Heritage and wants to learn more about working with hides, knapping arrows (which he has done) and making Native American tools and crafts. He knows I have primitive skills experience and am willing to help him, but I am emphasizing that I need to be able to trust him to work with him.

So, we're proceeding with caution. We won't have anything more than a campspot (living in a 12x12 tent and primitive shelter right now) until spring and have stored our possessions.

Thanks for everyone's input so far, it is not falling on deaf ears.

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britzen

Discussion Starter · #66 · Oct 12, 2012

Old_Mil said:
How did Mice and Men end?

Dead Rabbit, Dead woman, Dead Lenny.

@ Mel's, thanks for the Get Well wishes. Threw me off a bit, I didn't think I posted I had a cold, BnB must be online. But I did go back and reread my post and apologize for all the errors.

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britzen

Discussion Starter · #71 · Oct 29, 2012

Took him up to the Mtn a few days ago, he again fell asleep within 3 miles of starting up the hill. I'm keeping him on a fairly short leash on the property, have only shown him about 3 acres. Having been in the CCC, he's very adept with a chainsaw, though I have to be VERY specific to what I want.

I noticed he tends to mess around a bit more when BnB isn't on the property working directly with him, he was howling (he's yet to understand the serious wilf issue we have in the area and how people react) and smoking cigarettes more often than working. I'm wondering if since I've spent quite a bit of time with me and I tend to be more social and less serious than BnB, playing more when its time to play, and let him watch cartoons when we were packing up the house. When we packed up to head down the Mtn I asked him to make sure all the logging equipment was put back, since it was snowing and knew it would be quite hard to locate tools if he had not.

I returned to check his work and found gas cans, loppers, bar oil, cigarette packages (yuk!) spread out over an acre of our property. He took 2 hours to cut a wheelbarrow full of firewood and left it strewn instead of stacking.

This was a good test to get a better read on his workstyle, I think I will reserve his help for when BnB is on the property and working side by side with him and give him more immediate direction.

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britzen

Discussion Starter · #76 · Nov 2, 2012

Watch Ryder said:
Howling?!!
What like a wolf? Was it a full moon?

What a goofy dude.

To some this may seem overkill, but wolves are a SERIOUS issue here.
http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=260264

He was working 200yds away and I heard the howl, which was uncanny (we heard wolves across the ridge a few weeks ago and we have a LARGE pack of them). I looked at the dog and her hackles were up. I grabbed the 870, yelled his name and asked if he was howling, He replied "No Ma'am". Ok... defenses up, leash the dog, who is on full alert. Hear the howl again, a little right of where he answered. Racked the shotgun and told J let me know where he was and he started shouting "It was me!! It was me!!!"

I was pretty sure it was him, had the 870 muzzle in the air the whole time, though it was hot. He thought the ruse was funny, but we take wolves VERY seriously here, and had a long talk with him about the horrible incidents our neighbors have incurred.

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britzen

Discussion Starter · #77 · Nov 2, 2012

HandLoad said:
Red*Lion: was just offering a possible solution from my past experience - not sure why/Where the Friction is in your post...

Seeing the "Thanks" to you from britzen and from Bullets and Beans, I guess my offering was rejected...

S'ok - I am not Riled.

Have a Nice Day anyway!

I tend to thank just about everyone who takes time to post on a thread I started, unless its spam or trolling. I'm in and out on the Mountain so much I may miss a few, don't take anything from it.

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