nollart
11-07-2008, 08:46 AM
I learned a great deal about survival while living for four years in a small village in central Mexico. For many of the poorer families living there, survival was a way of life that they entered into everyday with the full knowledge that failure meant their kids might not eat that night. It had nothing to do with a lifestyle choice.
*I read an article recently about adaptation as a primary means of coping with changing circumstance. Mexicans are extraordinary adapters. Living with a history of political and societal instability for generations and with strong roots in indigenous cultures, they are expeerts at finding ways at making one thing substitue for another. I remember one time coming back to San Diego by sea from the Sea of Cortez, I was running low on fuel and had to stop in Turtle bay about half way up the west Baja. I didn't have enough cash and Turtle Bay was way way off the beaten path. I had to hitchhike 125 miles through the baja desert on a seldom used road to get to a bank to get the cash. One the way back I hitched a ride in the back of a pickup truck traveling with an old semi carrying supplies. The semi got stuck in a place where the road turned into a salt flat and while stuck, one of the tires went flat. We discovered the only spare was also flat and uninflatable. If you've ever tried to reinflate a semi truck tire you know that it is not easy without a means of keeping the tire against the rim. We had nothing to do that. Instead, the mexican driver had his compadre get some gas while he got the tire off the truck, patched and ready. He had the compressor hooked up and running and had his partner sprinkle gas on the inside of the tire and throw in a match. The tire blew up with a whoosh, sealed the rubber against the rim and the inflation began. All we had to do then was get unstuck which is another story, needless to say we adapted.
*Some other great adapters are the mennonites. My ancestors on my mothers side were Mennonites and I have spent some time on the colonies. Surviving since the fifteen hundreds in small groups throughout the world, they have devised a system of cooperation that leaves them able to adapt easily to the winds of change. I'm sure there is much that could be learned from them and look forward to spending more time on their farms. Last time I was there they were making home-made root beer that was like nothing I've ever tasted.
*Well, anyway, congratulations on a great site and for all the valuable information. We have added a fairly complete line of emergency preparation products and preparation guides to our site www.drinking-water-filter-system.comand will probably develope a new site featuring those products.
*We are looking for reviews of products as well as the content of the guides. Any suggestions, both positive or negative will be appreciated.
Dan
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*
*I read an article recently about adaptation as a primary means of coping with changing circumstance. Mexicans are extraordinary adapters. Living with a history of political and societal instability for generations and with strong roots in indigenous cultures, they are expeerts at finding ways at making one thing substitue for another. I remember one time coming back to San Diego by sea from the Sea of Cortez, I was running low on fuel and had to stop in Turtle bay about half way up the west Baja. I didn't have enough cash and Turtle Bay was way way off the beaten path. I had to hitchhike 125 miles through the baja desert on a seldom used road to get to a bank to get the cash. One the way back I hitched a ride in the back of a pickup truck traveling with an old semi carrying supplies. The semi got stuck in a place where the road turned into a salt flat and while stuck, one of the tires went flat. We discovered the only spare was also flat and uninflatable. If you've ever tried to reinflate a semi truck tire you know that it is not easy without a means of keeping the tire against the rim. We had nothing to do that. Instead, the mexican driver had his compadre get some gas while he got the tire off the truck, patched and ready. He had the compressor hooked up and running and had his partner sprinkle gas on the inside of the tire and throw in a match. The tire blew up with a whoosh, sealed the rubber against the rim and the inflation began. All we had to do then was get unstuck which is another story, needless to say we adapted.
*Some other great adapters are the mennonites. My ancestors on my mothers side were Mennonites and I have spent some time on the colonies. Surviving since the fifteen hundreds in small groups throughout the world, they have devised a system of cooperation that leaves them able to adapt easily to the winds of change. I'm sure there is much that could be learned from them and look forward to spending more time on their farms. Last time I was there they were making home-made root beer that was like nothing I've ever tasted.
*Well, anyway, congratulations on a great site and for all the valuable information. We have added a fairly complete line of emergency preparation products and preparation guides to our site www.drinking-water-filter-system.comand will probably develope a new site featuring those products.
*We are looking for reviews of products as well as the content of the guides. Any suggestions, both positive or negative will be appreciated.
Dan
*
*