Life today is sad

[rideaway]

I know that its been this way for a long time, but for some reason it's really been on my mind lately, maybe because of the fall season, w/ gardens being harvested and all.

Life is too hectic for everyone. Because life is instant, no one knows how to take the time to relax, learn how to do things from scratch and appreciate working for something. For example, I found out that when our food bank hands out Thanksgiving baskets, people turn down the turkey because they don't know how to prepare it. Think about how many meals are in that turkey for a family of 4. Pies from scratch or bread from scratch, forget it... I made homemade popcorn balls for my daughter's slumber party this weekend and realized that if I don't teach my children how to do this, it will be a simple lost art. Sewing is becoming ridiculously expensive. Patterns and materials cost way too much.

If you hunt, people look at you like you are a monster, and you try to explain that you love wildlife as much as anyone, and you are actually helping the outdoors to stay healthy. People don't want to think about the ham they buy from the store being just like the hog you are raising with love on your property.

Home Ec classes in high school are unknown... Our current lifestyle does not take the time to teach our youth and children how to do things from scratch, and if you raise a garden, people think you are weird.

Don't get me wrong-I love technology and would buy every electronic gadget invented if I had the money. But, truth is, in the past, people were busy living and didn't have time to get into trouble. As children, we played outside til dark and went to bed early because we were physically tired.

So, I will attempt to teach my daughter's that from scratch is not a bad thing and to believe in simple things, and I will remind myself to slow down!

[MadTripper]

Interesting topic however I look at it quite differently.

My career is technology and I do love it. However, I feel it is imperitive to continue teaching and passing down the lost arts you speak of as well as learning as much as possible myself. There is a sense of disappointment by seeing everything "ready-made" and prepackaged however trying to avoid all that has become quite a fun challenge as well as passing the information I have gained on to the next generation. (We still do have Home Ec at our school)

It is sad that the bulk of society purchases items instead of creating them however it is nice to know that there are some folks who create most of their own goods. I think the key is to concentrate on you and your own. Let the others be, living how they want, they may really enjoy hamburger helper and designer clothes. I try not to give them a second thought knowing that I'm satisfied in what I do to keep old ways moving forward. I don't mean to sound like I disregard anyone however I certainly don't concentrate on anyone else's lifestyle. That is their deal, not mine.

Tripper

[Txanne]

Interesting topic however I look at it quite differently.

My career is technology and I do love it. *However, I feel it is imperitive to continue teaching and passing down the lost arts you speak of as well as learning as much as possible myself. *There is a sense of disappointment by seeing everything "ready-made" and prepackaged however trying to avoid all that has become quite a fun challenge as well as passing the information I have gained on to the next generation. *(We still do have Home Ec at our school)

It is sad that the bulk of society purchases items instead of creating them however it is nice to know that there are some folks who create most of their own goods. *I think the key is to concentrate on you and your own. *Let the others be, living how they want, they may really enjoy hamburger helper and designer clothes. *I try not to give them a second thought knowing that I'm satisfied in what I do to keep old ways moving forward. *I don't mean to sound like I disregard anyone however I certainly don't concentrate on anyone else's lifestyle. * That is their deal, not mine.

Tripper


[[ anyones elses' lifestyle----quoting []]


I like that----minding ones own business is a good quality huh?

How I chose to live--is certainly noones' elses business as long as i dont endanger others.


annie

[333]

Peace,

There she is, long time no see......I hope all is well?

333

[ozarksnick]

I agree with you wholeheartedly rideaway. This line of thought has been much in mind recently as well.

The world's been speeding up for quite some time and I see no evidence of it touching the brakes anywhere in the near future.

Unless it is because it has run smack into a brick wall.

We -- as a society -- need to learn to slow down. That brick wall is going to come up sooner or later.

My wife and I have been fiddling with slowing down for some time. It might be appropriate to say that we've been learning how, because you're right on that point as well. Folks today don't know how.

And we're finally almost to the point where we can "opt-out" as some folks say.

Little-by-little, step-by-step. And all I can do is shake my head as the rest of the world zips by us at breakneck speed.

[Mac_Muz]

How the hell do you not know how to prepare turkey?

Damned all you need is a barrel stove fitted with a big farm mail box!

The other part of the barrel stove was a wood stove plate with 2 removable lids.. as a grill iron. I loved that rig which also had a 24" x 24" pan for boiling maple..

At the time my refer was a thin steel box for shipping something I found in a dump and it was buried in snow for winter... Of course my house was a tee pee then....

The one thing I messed up was the punkin pie which I thought had been pre cooked, and so thawed out is spilled the mess, but saved enough...

Oddly that was the first and last time I won anything...

My wife entered a store and was given 2 tickets... When I joined her she gave me one, and it was the winner...

The store wanted to take a pic... bad move , they needed someone more normal.. There I was in all green woolies and they did take my pic. They had long faces when my address was "The Woods". We saw a month of -50'F that winter...

When we moved to the trailer from hell my closest old man neighbor came by.

He parked, got out stood there lookin', placed his hands on his hips, and said : "Boy do you have any idea where you are and how cold it gets here in winta'?"

I smiled and said yeah why? I spent last winter 6 miles due south in Cannan Valley living in a tee pee...

I thought he was gonna have a break down...

[bookwormom]

quote

How the hell do you not know how to prepare turkey?

no doubt here in my mind. The schoolnurse at our little elementary school here told the mother of one malnourished little girl to give her orange juice every day. Well, the kid stayed sickly and puny. the mother said she did not understand it, she gave her an orange soda every day.

[bookwormom]

aint it the truth rideaway. We somehow got on this rollercoaster and most folks are stuck. Some day they may fall off and break every bone.
This has been on my mind many times. what are the reasons we got that way? Just tossing out a question.

[Mac_Muz]

I dunno but common sence ain't all that common anymore. I tend to come here to see it is much more common here, and to be my jerky self..

At primitive events circa 1750-1840 I hear things like:

WOn't you be happy when this is over so you can go to McDonalds.. I consider McDonalds to be poision palace extroridinair..

Are you really going to cook on that fire? Duh how else am I gonna cook this sirloin?

"Are you making tomatoe sauce from those tomatoes?" " I thought it came in jars from the store." No I am making a bomb, to blow your ass to hell and back..

"Isn't that lead round ball dangerous?" Yeah stand over there by the target and find out!

"Are you really using that bow drill to start a fire?" Yeah and the excercise is great see my pleted abs!

"Gee that aluiminum looks just like silver!" How do you polish that to be that way?"
Duh there was no aluminum in 1758 and this is sterling silver..

"Is that pot in your pipe?" Yeah I have special permission for the gummymint at primitive events as it was legal then.

"How come your fire isn't smokey?" Because I don't like smoke in my eyes..

"If you are so good at woodslore, why is your fire so smokey?" Because I hate bug bites..

"Why do you live in a tee pee?" Because the gummymint has a problem with me being naked in public.

"I didn't know native Americans painted tee pee pole shiney black?" They didn't and that ain't paint it is smoke.

"Hey honey, kids come in here and see this set up, It looks like real!" Hi, how are you; you and your entire family have just made yourselves my prisoners... Torcher time is nearly ready.

"Are you really mean?" No my agent makes me paint this way

"Is this a real wedding?" No tomorrow night that woman is mine for the night!

"I didn't know ministers of the cloth wore paint at weddings!" You don't know much, and I am no minister; he's late.

[Dixie]

Rideaway,

I think people tend to be in a hurry all the time in part because it makes us FEEL important. If we must hustle and bustle to get this and that obligation done or that errand done or our little Amy or Katy transported to her ballet and violin lessons and our little Bradley or Jamie taken to their soccer games and other sports practices, then it only adds to our prestige.

The most wholesome kids I've met lately are the eight children of a simple living, very conservative (head covering) Christian couple who are homeschooling their children and raising them in the fear and admonition of the Lord. This world we're living in now is far from a wholesome place for kids. Most of the "amusements" for kids are far from wholesome as are most of the "adult" entertainment of this present evil age.

Dixie

[WileyCoyote]

I'd like to take that further, Dixie...
The reason some of us rush around and fill our lives with empty BS is because we are trying to fit in, make money, be 'first' and be able to be seen being first. If you are slow thinking and slow acting any more, you lose... contracts, respect, even companionship. Mistakes made at the speed of light can always be corrected - later. There's quickie divorces, lawsuits, and laws that can be passed to correct mistakes in old laws (and start a whole new set of mistakes). But that whole new set of mistakes can be corrected by still more...

I was at a festival Saturday with my VSO. He had to leave and I had to stay. He slowly put his arms around me and held me close and kissed me goodbye. We have been married over 25 years and have always been affectionate toward each other. The looks I got from the gossips! You'd'a thought we were stripping naked and spinning our pasties at them. Meanwhile, their spouses were standing off talking to someone else, not paying them any attention, not even holding their hands in public. My friends of course think its wonderful that we are so close. But some people are so intent on the superficiality of life that they don't know (and will never know) what really matters.

[QBVII]

I think a lot of people are waking up and smelling the coffee, realizing that we need to take it back to our own families, our own communities.
We really don't need the federal government to raise our children or teach us how to live....... ;D

[Southern_Gent]

Well, Wiley, it would seem that you have a very good grip on the nature of the world today. After reading your last few posts, not just in this thread, but also in the “Politics” section, I’m quite impressed by your views.

Indeed, life has speeded up, there is no denying it. Also, as you point out, if you want to make it socially in the world today, you must also be lightning fast and have the latest in technology. Your failure to do so makes you an outcast, one to be ridiculed, and rightfully so in the eyes of the majority. We’ve been conditioned to think this way, thanks largely in part to the mass media, be it in televised, radio or printed form.

We are indoctrinated at an early age by the idiot box, television if you prefer, through children’s programming and the associated commercials. To date, I recall commercials that have instructed children how to get their parents to buy a toy for them, or take them to McDonalds. This mass-commercialization has changed our society into a cesspit with regard to social behavior, as mannerisms once considered taboo are now paraded around in public plain as day.

It’s this current attitude of society, more than anything else, that makes me want to pack up and leave permanently. Which is why I’m here, to learn all that I can, so when the day finally comes, I can just leave society and stay on my homestead. Hell, if it wasn’t for the fact that I have a family to take care of, I’d already be in the mountains, living life as a mountain man. Either that or I’d be a bleached white skeleton somewhere on a slope by now. ::)

[Mac_Muz]

Is it Image?

I hear this word Image all the time in younger crowds...

The image of the right motor bike is as if you know how to ride it and well.

The image of the car, means something.

The image of the proper clothing for what ever activity, is some how translated into you "know" what it is you are doing...

[Suzy]

there are sooooo many people who visit my little farm store and just stand in the driveway and stare and stare down the little hill to my goats and chickens and ducks....

I was taking a shower about lunch time yesterday (was late because I took longer than usual to feed and water all the animals....had more barn chores than usual)....when I heard my doorbell ring....

I "hollered" I'd be there in a minute. As I was toweling off I saw a woman standing at my goat pen with a faraway look in her eyes.....

After I dressed I discovered that she'd just moved to the area and the folks at the local feed store/co-op sent her to my farm (and told her to check toward the barn if I didn't answer the door right away!) to find out where she could buy metal chicken nest boxes inexpensively!

She and her husband are retired military and just started a business after moving here from Missouri.

She just went on and on about how BEAUTIFUL my little farm is with chickens and ducks running everywhere....

And if I'd just been looking at it that morning I would have seen the raggedy weeds, all the things that needed to be done, etc etc etc....

So it was good to see it all through "fresh" eyes...

I drew her a map to where she could find some inexepensive used nesting boxes (in good shape) and gave her a bar of my goat milk soap from my little store as she left....

Life is way too short to work at a job you don't like, rush around working long hours to pay for a house you never get to enjoy....

When we die it won't matter how many hours we worked or what our salaries were....and that's sure not the things our kids will remember....

I have folks driving up here now from the suburbs of Birmingham to buy my homemade jelly and get my "farm fresh eggs from happy chickens," but one yuppie-type man (who comes with his wife late every Sunday afternoon after eggs) said it's not just the eggs....that come for the "experience" of coming to the country, to my little farm....

I am blessed.....I am 55 years old....I am poor financially....I am rich beyond all measure....

[bookwormom]

quote
When we die it won't matter how many hours we worked or what our salaries were....and that's sure not the things our kids will remember....

what will they remember?


thinking about the whole subject, another aspect is quality versus quantity. Lots of quantity, (oops) and it is all the same no matter wherever you go. It is what we call the Coca Cola Culture. I told my husband we don't need to go anywhere because it is the same wherever you go. Mac Donald everywhere, Taco Bell,etc, etc,etc. And they are full any day of the week. I do not want to spend my time working to pay for artificial food and stuff I do not need and want. But most people are well trained consumers, and their kids are really trapped in it. I mean, you get picked on in school if your clothes are not the right designer stuff. I used to drive the kids in school nuts when I was subbing. I would ask them if they get the clothes at a reduced rate for carrying the advertisement on the back. No Mrs. H. you just don't get it. Well, if they did not pay me for it, I sure would not advertise for them. on and on we went. It is what was put in the brain. I did not make an impression on them. I remember a teacher raving about another teacher's cake, how wonderful, that icing, what brand? NOBODY was interested in my (great) bread after they found out it was homemade, actual silence. (I was asked where I bought it)

you have to stiffen your spine and exude confidence. that will shut them up. I remember when my kids were kids, I had no money nor inclination to pay for stupid stuff, my kids knew it and what was good, they saw my point and never became brainwashed consumers. ( we did janitorial work at the time to tide us over) I did a lot of sewing in those days. Daughter had a big red apple appliqued on her down coat where she tore it, 15 years later she still wears it. Her gray knit socks were darned all colors of the rainbow. Some kids tried razzing her, she ignored them, turning a cold shoulder to them. would you believe, she became something of a trendsetter.
She had her picture in the paper for winning contests in piano playing, she played in a medeaval musical group, she had sheep and chickens, nobody had seen a green egg before, held a lamb. It became a status symbol to get to sleep over in our hayloft. (bring your own sleeping bag). The kids (teens) made lasagna totally from scratch, I mean the dough was rolled out. (Do not cook it first but put the layers in with uncooked pasta sheets). A whole bunch of them rode down the pasture hill one winter in an inflatable leaky boat, you could hear their yelling and laughing down in the village. Our handycapped son painted the little cabin in the woods red white and green. He told us those were the colors of Italy. (Huh?)
Maybe due to watching TV so much, there is also a dearth of imagination. With less there is a lot more, fun, appreciation, satisfaction. But you have to do it yourself. This is just me, digging around in my memories.

[Txanne]

Ride----another thought--if I slow down any --bury me!!

And another thought----some are moving so fast--so they dont have to face their mistakes---stand stil they catch up with you---just ask an over--burdened credit card holder!!

I cooked a ham on my wood-burner for Christmas dinner---when I was off grid---made coffee---oh well I wont bore ya!!

annie

[Txanne]

I dunno but common sence ain't all that common anymore. I tend to come here to see it is much more common here, and to be my jerky self..

At primitive events circa 1750-1840 I hear things like:

WOn't you be happy when this is over so you can go to McDonalds.. I consider McDonalds to be poision palace extroridinair..

Are you really going to cook on that fire? *Duh how else am I gonna cook this sirloin?

"Are you making tomatoe sauce from those tomatoes?" " I thought it came in jars from the store." *No I am making a bomb, to blow your ass to hell and back..

"Isn't that lead round ball dangerous?" *Yeah stand over there by the target and find out!

"Are you really using that bow drill to start a fire?" Yeah and the excercise is great see my pleted abs!

"Gee that aluiminum looks just like silver!" How do you polish that to be that way?"
Duh there was no aluminum in 1758 and this is sterling silver..

"Is that pot in your pipe?" Yeah I have special permission for the gummymint at primitive events as it was legal then.

"How come your fire isn't smokey?" Because I don't like smoke in my eyes..

"If you are so good at woodslore, why is your fire so smokey?" Because I hate bug bites..

"Why do you live in a tee pee?" Because the gummymint has a problem with me being naked in public.

"I didn't know native Americans painted tee pee pole shiney black?" They didn't and that ain't paint it is smoke.

"Hey honey, kids come in here and see this set up, It looks like real!" Hi, how are you; *you and your entire family have just made yourselves my prisoners... Torcher time is nearly ready.

"Are you really mean?" No my agent makes me paint this way

"Is this a real wedding?" No tomorrow night that woman is mine for the night!

"I didn't know ministers of the cloth wore paint at weddings!" You don't know much, and I am no minister; he's late.





Aint it so ---aint it so!!

The dumbest one i heard off grid was [[[where did you get that wood?

Out of the woods stupid!!


baaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahaha

Txanne

Mac--i just have to meet that sour to the point old mug of yours11

[Txanne]

Peace,

There she is, long time no see......I hope all is well?

333


I am well--thank you for asking----

Just when you'll thought it had quietened down huh? ;D


annie

[Mac_Muz]

I heard a girl say: "I can't go to wallmart I am not dressed!"

I hate going to wallmart, but I do when I have to, but I had no idea I should be dressed some special way... Mostly I go there in what ever rags of the day I have on, and I don't get dressed any to special to work on car, bikes, cut trees down, and other things that float my stick for work.

Will my image be effected? *;D

"Txanne"

"Mac--i just have to meet that sour to the point old mug of yours11"

When ya comin ta' vist in my Nothern Rain Forest? *Ain't got no bugs now.. I'l have Madame Mac put out a lamp...

[AlchemyAcres]

The root of the 'problem' (IMHO) is the lack of truly defined goals at every level..personal...local...regional....and certainly national...Does this country have clearly defined goals..or even one clearly defined goal...???..

Oh wait,,,yeah there is one...lets spend billions of dollars on a trip to Mars....that's the goal...pretty crazy if you ask me...

Nothing about truly preserving liberty at any cost..truly planning for the future...or anything like that...naww!!!!!!!!!

Actually, I'm not covinced that the silly Mars thing qualifies as a clearly defined national goal. Can you name one???

We're like a ship...sails down...adrift in a sea of sh*t..no truly defined destination.

~Martin