Fact or fiction?

[TommyK]

... I guess what I am looking for is the abiltiy to make my own choices rather than having them forced upon me by Government the....

 

You can't run far enough, nor fast enough to get away from 'The Government'. Where ever you go... it is there. The difference is in the US when the latest regime fouls things up, you're only 8 years from ousting the usurpers of private choice and industry. Unless, of course, they legislate it away from you. There in lies the rub. This is the best Government in the world, no matter what nit wit currently has his thumb on the button. However, they will screw it up beyond all recognition if WE let them.

 

Beware the ones who say, "We will guarantee that you are, housed, clothed, fed and medicated." Those who want that guarantee are worthless as those slugs in your garden. Lazy slithing blobs that leave a trail of excrement behind them. That type of person I do not want to be. Give me the right, to FAIL. For in doing so I retain the right to SUCCEED.

[myspace.com/jessenoah]

I think the idea of total living off the land is way off, but a stable shelter, some basic tools (cutting utensils, cooking pots, matches, good sleeping bag) and some survival skills would allow someone to be able to survive (not thrive, but survive) in the wilderness.

 

I gotta dig up my old boy scout handbook. get my "rugged outdoorsman" skills nice and in shape

[milod]

Jesse...

 

Note that I mentioned short term vs. long term survival. Short term is easy. Long term is hard.

 

That's why so many people went nuts on "the frontier" and why so many died - and why so many cowered from it.

 

Most people have no concept what it would be like living an early 19th century existence; even that was far easier than the lifestyle of the 18th. Life is a constant struggle to be prepared for personal disaster. We've forgotten that.

 

The "Indians" on the plains had a relatively comfortable life, in ways in spite of lots of hard work to survive winter after winter, but... that was after the horse and with basic survival skills unmatched by most of us. They also had a group support system of similarly skilled people.

 

Just figure what a broken tooth can do to you.

 

Ever been out in a real blizzard, or with 35 mph winds when it's colder than -30? Ever freeze body parts? Ever have severe dysentery miles from another human being? Ever try to eat ... what? Ever sleep even a week without heat at temperatures below freezing, and trying to find food and water in the mean time? No food? No energy.

 

A good guide, if you wish to do so, might be found in Randolph Marcy's "Prairie Traveler." Even then most of his recommendations were for summertime. It was a best-seller in the 1850s and Marcy was a brilliant man who took a company of soldiers down the spine of the Rockies in winter without loss of a man.

 

It's all good, romantic stuff to think one might survive a year. A few months, perhaps, depending on the "wilderness." Perhaps only a few weeks or less, depending.

 

A "stable shelter?" Like what? Seriously, forget your current Scout manual and get one from 50 years ago or more - back when real survival was taken more seriously than politically correct eco-friendliness. Better, read Marcy.

 

m

[NeoConMan]

Milod,

Mrs. Neo is the only woman I've ever met in our age group (40+) that might actually stand a chance.

I know plenty of men who could pull it off - not that interested myself - but women?

 

The funny thing?

To meet her, she comes across as a 'girlie' girl who likes her jewelry, shoes and purses - you'd never know.

She was raised on an Arizona farm with a detour thru Manitoba for 4 years when she first started school.

Her dad was logging up there and building cabins for a living, theirs had a dirt floor the first year.

 

She ate her pets.

They named every cow and hog, and most of the chickens. Played with them - she used to sing to the cows.

When it came time to eat 'em that was simply what they did.

 

She quivers in fear at the thought of telling her urban 'hood Phoenix 1st graders such a thing.

Can you imagine what the parent of a freaked-out 6 year old would do to a teaching career?

 

Growing up, Little House On The Prairie was her favorite TV show - she thought Pa Ingalls was dreamy....

:-)

 

I actually grew up on the praire of western Kansas, in a comfortable house in town.

All the cows I dealt with were in pens and grain-fed, so I wasn't raised a frontiersman.

Didn't give a damn about riding horses, still don't even though my oldest daughter loves 'em.

I hunted solely for sport, rarely even ate what I shot.

My dad had to do that to eat as a kid, we simply gave our birds/deer to other hunters to take home.

 

I would like to own enough land to have plenty of elbow room, couldn't see my nearest neighbor.

But I want a good water well and reliable electricity.

And the ability to get to town if I have another damned broken tooth - that SUCKS!!!

[milod]

Neo...

 

Well... I needn't worry about a broken tooth any more - although breaking a plate could make eating problematic. <grin>

 

There are a lotta girls around here who could handle more than 99 percent of male city folk - or heck, a lot more than me. More than a few are awfully cute, too, although none I know wear makeup when doing outdoor chores in winter. Girls my age are outdoors pulling calves or lambing in weather that'd kill a lotta strong young city folk or eastern farmers. Warning - they can be kinda tough on guys who aren't.

 

But then, I kinda have a built-in soft spot for farm and ranch girls and a cute pair of ropers and a spangly belt on their Wranglers. More than a few sing or play music pretty well, too.

 

I'll never forget when one little girl (okay, a high school girl) I know caught a thumb dallying in team roping and lost much of it. They glued and nailed it back on and she never gave much inkling that it hurt.

 

As for western Kansas... My grandpa's first memories were watching his brother load for his Mom who was shooting at folks intent on harm to a widow lady and her boys. I figure it was '78 and the Cheyenne Autumn that wasn't entirely pure on the Indian side regardless that I'd have been on their side to get back up here north 'stedda on a rez down south.

 

Btw, for full disclosure: I'm no horseman and get respect from those who are simply because I know I'm not and stay out of the way of those who are when I'm close up and personal with ranch work or rodeos. Cattle are a bit easier. Sometimes. I fear I'm strictly a pickup cowboy to help build fences and such, and not worth beans at a branding except as a gofer. My hunting background is pretty similar to yours, I think. I still know folks who live mostly on game.

 

m

[myspace.com/jessenoah]

the problem with wilderness living.............

no time or power for guitar amps!

 

 

thank god for housing insulation, paved streets, and credit card accepting gas stations!

[milod]

Jesse... you're right, really...

 

But I'm dead serious that there have been spasmodic plans in the US at least for a major epidemic. An avian flu was first seen as a major concern and brought a degree of state by state planning. Last I heard it was on the back burner. Having 20-30 percent of seriously ill people is not a nice thought, not for them, but for society at large.

 

As for guitars... hey, acoustic played all kinds of music long before electrics.

 

m