Alone in the Wilderness.

Dick Proenneke went into the Alaskan wild with little more that a canoe full of supplies and a will to not just survive, but thrive.

With his tools he cut down trees and built a very nice home, complete with hinged doors and shuttered windows. A hand laid fireplace warmed the home and hand made furniture decorated and accented it comfortably. He even made ladels and spoons to eat with.

He also took the time to build a loo, a garden and a nice little place for himself, thank you very much.

He also spent a lot of time hiking and taking in the countryside. He watched bears catch salmon in the streams, moose and caribou graze in the valleys and all manners of birds soar overhead. He fished and hunted as well as gardened and gathered for most of his food, and was content just having enough.

Too bad life isn't like that anymore. Generations ago, it was the goal of every man to be self-sufficent. To have enogh land and enough knowledge to grow your own food, raise your own meat, build your own barn, and fashion your own life. In today's world of out-sourcing and contracting, this is a lost ideal. And I feel we are the worse off for it.

It is rare to find someone well rounded anymore. You don't have to be a specialist in everything, but it is frowned upon to be a jack of all trades in these times.

My Dad has a qoute out of a book that he kind of keeps as a mantra, "Specialization is for insects", with this is a list of things you should be able to do. I agree that there are some thing you should have to learn whether you like it or not.

In my adult life, I have needed to use advanced algebra exactly zero times, however I have had to cook countless times. Somehow though, in my school career, I was able to dodge home ec, and not advanced algebra. Does that make sense?

I have needed to know the anatomy of a squid and the proper names for the components of that squid exactly zero times, however I have needed to know how to fix my car countless times.
Again, able to dodge auto mechanics, and not advanced Biology.

In years gone by, there were trade high schools. Places where you could go learn how to frame a house, weld, fix a car, machine metal, or make a cabinet. However, over time these places have come to be looked at as places where less gifted children go to wait out there time and enter the world less knowledgable.

The Romans rebuilt the world in thier image by using thier army as both warriors and builders. They were not too proud to get thier hands dirty, and thus built some of the most amazing structures that survive even today.

Enough ranting for today...

Think about Dick and his simple life when you eat a steak that came from a cow you have never seen, with a side of potatoes from a state you've never visited, and an ear of corn that came from a field in a different time zone covered in butter churned hundreds of miles away, which you washed down with a beer brewed in Missouri.