A Wealth of Knowledge
A note from Rourke: I want to give special thanks to Bev who wrote this guest post. Bev has been a frequent commenter and writer over at one of my other preparedness sites – ModernSurvivalOnline.com. Bev has writen several excellent preparedness articles and also has won prizes for her endeavours.
Enjoy!!
A Wealth of Knowledge
By Bev
Ah, yes, I am beginning to feel older than dirt… The aches and pains of poor decisions I made in my youth, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and the inevitable, “I remember when…” But there is also the gratification that comes with knowledge that so many young people do not have.
Last year I hired a young gal to help me with the gardening. I was refurbishing some raised beds, you know, dig, turn, sift out the grass and weeds, double dig, add compost, a lot of work… I had other things I was doing, so I just told her to stop at the asparagus (she had told me that she had gardened with her mother). An hour later I came back to check on her and half the asparagus patch was gone! She didn’t even know what asparagus looked like, hmmm.
She continued through the summer with me, learning, asking questions, doing the heavy lifting and, did I say, learning… One day, over the raspberry bushes she just stopped, looked at me and said, “How do you know all this stuff?”
I said, “I’m old, and I listened to others.”
She comes back and visits now, and has a baby of her own. We talk, she asks questions, I give her what knowledge I have on whatever subject comes up. Last time, it was prepping. Her brother had talked to her about preparing for hard times. She had gone from a party girl to a mother in a short nine months. And now she was concerned for her baby and being sure that Samantha was okay. I drew a deep breath, where to start?
I stated the obvious, “Food prices will be going up. Stocking up, even just one extra on sale can a week will save you money in the long run and provide a cushion if something happens.” Our time was short. “Give me your email and I’ll send you some websites to look at.” And I did.
How much do we know, as “seasoned” folk, that could benefit those around us, our neighbors, and even acquaintances we meet on the Net, and each other? That piece of knowledge that we have, and take for granted, and they don’t? It may seem common sense to us, but in today’s world, what is common sense?!
And I enjoy sharing! Maybe it is memories of my grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ farms, maybe my experience in the garden, maybe the disasters I have been through (two house fires, two divorces, one flood, strokes, job losses, sick children, too many recessions…), and maybe it is just “good housekeeping”, which is all I consider prepping to be.
And I enjoy the comments! How incredible to put your memories or thoughts on a computer, email it, and when posted you get instant feedback! Other people’s ideas, thank you’s, and comments! How exciting! And I always learn something!
I had written an article on my First Aid Back Pack. One of the comments was a tip to put a flax seed in your eye overnight if you have gotten something in it. Last night I woke up in the middle of the night with a very irritated eye! I had gotten flax seed at the store and decided to try it. It was a little tricky getting it in, but actually quite comfortable placed in the outside corner of my eye. She had said to just sleep on it and in the morning it would fall out and the irritating item would also come out. IT DID! IT WORKED! And I am so grateful! Next time I get a sliver, I will put a piece of bacon or ham on it just like she said!
I shared; she shared, and we both learned something and are richer for the experience! How much better does it get than that! And these people that you have never seen, or even heard their voices, start becoming friends and people you care about, and YOU are not so alone anymore.
Please, share your stories and knowledge. Become part of a community that has the common bond of trying to become more self-reliant and prepared. Enjoy, comment and share, not in fear, but in the wholeness that we are all part of something so much bigger than ourselves. And each and every one of us has something valuable to share!
To read more from Bev -
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D5 Creation
It sounds kinda silly when you say it out loud, but if you don’t teach younger folks what you have learned, nobody else is going to.
My kids can all cook. I’m proud of that. They can all at least get along camping. They all know how to use knives and axes without unnecessary amputations. One of the proudest moments in my life was when a dozen of my daughter’s friends came by to drop off borrowed camping gear, and her bf said “dude, she kicked my butt.. she can light fires, and has all this survival stuff in her trunk..” My stepson is staying with me while his college financial aid gets straightened out. His friends tend to cluster in th ekitchen and ask “how do you do that??”
It’s a responsibility, and a pleasure, to pass on what you have learned as a “Survival Geezer” :)
That’s awesome Wyzyrd –
I am hoping some of the things that I talk to my kids about, show them, teach them, etc. will be retained.
Take care – Rourke
When the kids are on the young side, the more fun it is, the more they will remember it. When fishing for perch and catfish, and chasing crawfish with a dollar store net started turning into catching, I made a point of cooking up their catch. After a few ‘ewwwwwww’ reactions, they tried it, and liked it. The lesson sticks better when they say “yummm”.
The prevailing “Nerf World” philosophy of raising kids doesn’t seem to work very well. The first time they run into a sharp edge, they are going to get injured. A “cub scout age” kid is plenty old enough to learn that not all cutlery is plastic and not all food comes pre-cut to be eaten with fingers.
Wyzyrd –
Good points.
Take care- Rourke