Large Fierce Mammal

Growing up with a burning interest in living safely and well outside of the comforting arms of “civilization”, I spent a lot of time learning and mastering my skills one at time so I knew they wouldn’t fail me when I needed them to live. More than half a century worth of winters down the road, I’m still not done, nor will I ever be.

Over the years I’ve met my share of “survivalists” and gun shop commandos who spoke with great authority on the toys and games they’d accumulated, and how in the wake of a societal collapse, they were ready, willing, and able to defend hearth and home, and live off the land. Everything for them was about literally arming themselves instead of arming themselves with the kind of mental equipage that cannot be lost, broken, or taken away.

None of those people had actually gone out under controlled conditions and tried living off the land. Instead, each had funneled his efforts and resources into an accumulation of objects he honestly thought would compensate for his lack of understanding. He who can, does – he who cannot may find himself sitting on a pile of toys that can be taken away in a flash if the day the shit hits the fan for him starts with a catastrophic house fire.

Today I’m presenting an entertaining video that illustrates just how important it is to bring tenacity and fun into the process of learning a skill that may save your life one day, all the while making your mistakes in a setting that won’t get you killed when you find yourself failing over and over and over again. I salute this man, I really do.