To one extent or another I have been a prepper since I was in junior high school, 50 years ago. My dad was an avid outdoorsman who taught me to fish when I was old enough to hold a pole and taught me to shoot when I was 6 years old. By age 15 I was shooting skeet in state competition and began learning the art of reloading. I started bowhunting with a recurve bow when I was about 13 and had learned to make my own arrows, using blank shafts, by the time I was 15. Also, during my early teen years my best friend, who was a full-blooded Cherokee Native American, began teaching me about edible plants.
Now, 50 years later, I’m still learning. But age has taken its toll on my body. Two bad knees make it extremely painful to get around and impossible to escape and evade, run, or traverse rough terrain. Also, open-heart surgery two years ago forced me on to a daily regimen of medication which could be a problem when the SHTF. But, my lack of mobility does not mean I am unable to do my part in our survival group. In fact, I have a standing offer from two other groups to join up with them should the group I chose to link up with becomes unsatisfactory. I’m am not saying this to brag because all of my skills and knowledge come from God, without Him I can do nothing on my own.
I tell you this because the majority of articles I read on SurvivalBlog and most other preparedness web sites seem to focus more on a person’s tactical ability. I think many “groups” have the belief that unless you are physically fit enough to pass a Marine Corp PT test, then you are a liability. I should mention that I found SurvivalBlog just three months after Mr. Rawles started it, 15 years ago, and I read it daily.
What I have lost in physical ability I have made up for with other skills and knowledge. I believe make this ‘old timer’ worth having around. With this article, I hope to inspire other ‘old timers’ to make yourself valuable so that any group you choose to link up with will see you as a valuable asset and will welcome you into their fold. I also hope to cause groups made up of strictly fighting-age men and women to consider the benefits of having an ‘old timer’ or two in their midst. I will, hopefully, give you some basic information about each skill I think will make you valuable and give you a starting point to begin learning each skill or expand on skills you may already have.
Life is a continual learning experience so never think you know everything there is to know about any subject or skill. As I previously mentioned, some of the skills I have date back 50 years or slightly more but I still don’t know everything there is to know, so I keep my mind open to new concepts and ideas. There’s always a way to build a better mousetrap!Continue reading“The Reality of Aging and Prepping – Part 1, by Muscadine Hunter”
