Daily, I am reminded of how bad it is out there, based on the information that I am analyzing. People often ask me "How long do we have?" If you understand history, economics, threat analysis, and have three generations of preparedness expertise in your wheelhouse, then you know the lateness of the hour. As for my situation, I hope it is long enough to be able to get married and to get the supplies my future spouse and her family need. I have a lot of supplies set aside for my future spouse and her family. The future will be difficult no matter your level of preparation, but it will be even more difficult if you do not wisely choose who will be under your roof.

Benjamin Franklin's thoughts on marriage are very relevant over 250 years later: "Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, and half shut afterward." Now, it is the time to evaluate people both if you wish to add people through marriage to your family or to your preparedness group.

A man reading this may someday encounter the father of a young woman. I have corresponded with many men from the nice to the not so nice. It is memorable to get a message with someone trying to rip me up, usually starting with "as the father of a precious daughter, I find your questions to be insulting." People who can't answer very basic questions about health or values many times do not have good answers if they finally got around to just answering basic questions. A man needs to ask lots of questions to get down to the core of who a woman is and what her family is about.

There are also so many problem young women and their families where men can get burned. A man really needs to take a hard look at a young woman and her family. So many families throw up smokescreens to disguise who they are instead of just admitting the truth and see if you can accept it. It is very important to determine if there are temporary issues like a moral issue where someone made a mistake and has repented or ongoing long-term issues.

If someday you want to be among those who live full-time on farms and retreats, this usually involves the principle of land ownership. If you are able to achieve a goal of land ownership and you are someday in a position to look for land, you may need to ask lots of probing and what some may term "insulting" questions. You need to learn how to read people. This takes a lot of experience usually either gained the hard way by making mistakes or the easy way by being mentored by strong men. One of the worst-case scenarios for a piece of land or a home is that you overpaid, it has problems and you need to dump it. It is similar with animals: if you are not a careful judge, you can get stuck with a problem animal. Unless the animal really does some damage, you can usually "ground beef" it without too much headache other than a loss of money which you can consider tuition. I advocate a Biblical pattern of marriage for life, so a spouse is something where one has to be extremely careful. It is great when people tell the truth because you can avoid those problems by carefully observing the "Danger" signs instead of "falling rocks" it is a variety of problems from health to mental that are usually found or revealed.

A man needs to be prepared to ask pointed questions of a woman and her family. As a man, you are in control of the direction of the conversation. This is the time to figure out by asking questions if the woman is being raised to be a Biblical helpmeet or someone who will put you through hell and be a hindrance to you. I have met a lot of men who got bamboozled by a pretty face and are now paying for it in alimony, child support, and having other men raise their kids. People usually tell you who they are almost immediately if you listen and observe closely. Some families try to hide who they are through a lot of flowery language and foolishness, but once you recognize by seeing it once or twice you can easily determine they are likely hiding some serious issues. Some people are just plain embarrassed, but it is better to own up to what they are about and then you can see if you can accept their issues. You will never likely find perfect, but "good" enough is often perfect for you as it would be for me.