Lessons Learned

P

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
I am not a "prepper". I'm not even close to being a "prepper" BUT I was raised to be responsible for myself.
The general attitude was always expressed as "Don't be that guy...."
"That Guy" was the guy that had a spare tire but the spare was flat. Or had a jack but the jack didn't work. The guy that drove the boat 2 miles off shore and ran out of gas because he didn't check the tank before leaving the dock. The guy that had canned food in storage for the weather emergency but no can opener. The guy that just cannot manage to get to the airplane, bus, train, boat, truck........on time. We all know "That Guy".
From a young age I was told (repeatedly) to avoid being, "That Guy". It must have taken root because deep down inside my brain, I always tell myself, "Don't be That Guy".

Those lessons learned years ago have served me well. I'm thankful for the adults that helped to make me responsible for myself when I was young.
It was NEVER paranoia or fear, it was just, "Don't be that guy".
You don't need food and water for the apocalypse, but it would be nice if you could ride out the blizzard or hurricane without needing to be rescued.
You need enough gasoline to drive across the entire state without stopping but you should be able to cross a bridge and not run out of fuel.
Not paranoia, just a little responsibility.

It looks like our society may be returning to some normalcy. Maybe not tomorrow but I think we've turned the corner. As I look back at the last year or so, I find myself very thankful for the lessons learned many years ago.

Many of the men and women that gave me important lessons, ages ago, are now gone. I believe the best way I can honor those teachers is to pass on the lessons I learned to the next generation.
 
Ian

Ian

Notorious member
Possibly even more important than having the tools and resources is having some basic skills and a refined ability to solve problems creatively. It takes a lot of doing and paying attention to the ways of wise men to acquire that foundation.
 
D

Dusty Bannister

Well-Known Member
I was reading on one of the forums, comments from a person that was a bit upset because everyone had been telling him he should have been prepared for this current shortage. He had never experienced something like this and was just getting tired of hearing those comments. I sure would like to quietly take his car keys, turn on the ignition and see how much below a half tank of fuel is in that car. It sure sounds like he is "That Guy". I know that a lot of people do not have the discretionary funds to purchase the necessities and anything extra. Prioritizing what is a necessity may not be intuitive in some people.
 
Ian

Ian

Notorious member
Back in February last I started a new, more lucrative job and almost immediately had a major health scare. We keep a decent savings fund but had a newborn and 2-year old and the possibility of being out of work for months. I waited to make my pre-election purchase of reloading supplies (I typically add four year's worth of primers and powder before the March primaries) until May and the Rona had already started shortages. Anyway, wire and I talked and decided several hundred dollars wasn't going to make any difference in the long run so I filled some holes in the top layer and bought a few more bricks of primers and .22s that I didn't need but feels good to have while I shoot up the oldest stuff in the larder. Then BAM by September its all unobtainium, right when I'm back in business and have extra money to blow.

Oh well. I won't be short anything and won't be slowing my shooting any for years to come, but it's disconcerting that fresh supplies are going to have to wait a long, long time.
 
Last edited:
Ian

Ian

Notorious member
Yeah. I'm already telling my babies that someday all this is going to be THEIR problem. I can only hope that at least one of them takes an interest in my hobbies. Then there's my Dad's guitar collection, and books, and guns, and I don't really play. It might be more like my future son-in-law calling HIS dad with the news of what he was given in my will. Again, I can only hope. Otherwise most of this crap is going to end up in a landfill and the police station's destruction department.

I plan on wearing out as much of the stuff here in the Empire of Junk as I possibly can before I go.
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
2020 had almost zero affect on me.
other than having to wear a mask when I went to town, and the government giving me some money, nothing really changed.
 
Glaciers

Glaciers

Alaska Land of the Midnight Sun
Petrol & Powder said:
I am not a "prepper". I'm not even close to being a "prepper" BUT I was raised to be responsible for myself.
The general attitude was always expressed as "Don't be that guy...."
"That Guy" was the guy that had a spare tire but the spare was flat. Or had a jack but the jack didn't work. The guy that drove the boat 2 miles off shore and ran out of gas because he didn't check the tank before leaving the dock. The guy that had canned food in storage for the weather emergency but no can opener. The guy that just cannot manage to get to the airplane, bus, train, boat, truck........on time. We all know "That Guy".
From a young age I was told (repeatedly) to avoid being, "That Guy". It must have taken root because deep down inside my brain, I always tell myself, "Don't be That Guy".

Those lessons learned years ago have served me well. I'm thankful for the adults that helped to make me responsible for myself when I was young.
It was NEVER paranoia or fear, it was just, "Don't be that guy".
You don't need food and water for the apocalypse, but it would be nice if you could ride out the blizzard or hurricane without needing to be rescued.
You need enough gasoline to drive across the entire state without stopping but you should be able to cross a bridge and not run out of fuel.
Not paranoia, just a little responsibility.

It looks like our society may be returning to some normalcy. Maybe not tomorrow but I think we've turned the corner. As I look back at the last year or so, I find myself very thankful for the lessons learned many years ago.

Many of the men and women that gave me important lessons, ages ago, are now gone. I believe the best way I can honor those teachers is to pass on the lessons I learned to the next generation.
Click to expand...

Boy P&P you hit it squarely on the nail head. I remember when a boy I would listen AND watch the older folks, some family some not, but the point was I figured out early on you would learn cool stuff if you were quite and watched.

I ran Charter vessels out of Prince William Sound for 20 plus years and always, always came back under my own power. Sometimes it was very marginal, and sometimes after entering the harbor I would have help get to a safe place to tie up. The time in particularly that comes to mind, I had lost all helm control, still had shifting and throttle on the aft station. Used a five gallon bucket on a line tied to the rail. Obviously I was limping in slowly. But a bucket on a line you could move from port to starboard worked well. Used that on a small barg on the upper Yukon one time.

But when chartering in PWS where trips could be 150 to 200 nautical miles in a day you needed to have your act together especially when you were out in the Gulf beyond the Sound.
Anyway we had a lot of novice operators that had cheated or lied about there time on the water to get their license. Everyone monitored Chanel 16 for emergency broadcasts and calls for trouble or help. There were calls by the hobby, or write off my boat charters that would be in trouble from time to time. The professional operators would assess the problem by eve dropping. Unless it was a life threatening situation you would maintain radio silence. These's hobby charters would get their two bit butts in trouble, drive broken, engine quit, out of fuel, battery dead, or a whole host of preventable problems.
One time in particular comes to mind. I was the President of the PWS Charter Association for years, but there was always one guy that always objected to anything I would try to do. He always would run in the elections and not win. He always gave it a good effort though. So one year getting tired of the BS, I dropped out of the election. Bob took over. Lost 50% of our members in the first two years.
But that's not the story, just wanted you to get a feel for this know-it-all.
He was running a smaller boat, 28 foot IIRC. He had a drive fail off of Knowells Head. Made the call for assistance. It was late and myself and another vessel were coming back from the entrance when we over heard the call. Steve on the vessel behind me answered. I listened. Bob was certainly in trouble with 4 fishermen on board and being pushed into the rocks in the rough seas. I towed him into calm waters in one of the passages between islands. Steve in the other vessel followed as backup. I took his fishermen and inquired as to the problem. He had a Honda kicker mounted on the transom, so I wanted to know why he did not use it. All our radio transmissions had been on channel 16 because his radio would not work on any other Chanel. He had no back up hand held either. He said the Honda would not start. Wow. If a Honda won't start, it says to me "neglect".
So I had his fishermen and I got him to a safe place to set the hook, and was in the process of getting un tied from him. Steve came on the air and asked why I wasn't going to tow him in. 30 miles at 7 knots would be 11 at night. No way was I going to subject my fishermen and his to that BS. He could call a buddy and arrange a tow which would mean he would be out all night. I figured it would be good for him. But Steve is a good Boy Scout and towed him in.
Idiots can get you killed. I will always help a person in need, but, when neglect and stupidity are in the equation, my help will come with limits. Won't let them die, but, I'm not going on the block for stupidity.

Natural selection needs to do it's job sometimes without interference.
P&P has it right, "Don't be that guy"
 
Last edited:
462

462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
Petrol & Powder said:
You mean the Government giving you some of your OWN money back.
Click to expand...
My wife and I don't pay any federal and state taxes, so we got someone else's money, including our kids, grandkids, and probably several additional generations of grandkids. What a travesty.
 
P

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
There's no such thing as "government money", there's only your money and my money.

462, You may not currently pay federal and state INCOME taxes but I can assure you that you pay federal and state TAXES.
You likely paid income taxes at some point in your life. You certainly pay taxes now, even if they are not income taxes.

State & Federal fuel tax
Real Estate tax (and if you rent you pay that indirectly through your rent)
Excise taxes on ammunition, alcohol, guns, etc.
Personal property taxes
Sales tax
Utilities tax
Higher prices on imported items to cover tariffs
capital gains tax
Trust me, you pay taxes
 
Gary

Gary

SE Kansas
I actually sold a couple of bricks of primers a week ago to a fella from out of state . He drove 120 miles to my house to pick them up. He was flat out and I had some I could spare. $50/brick.
 
462

462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
Petrol & Powder said:
There's no such thing as "government money", there's only your money and my money.

462, You may not currently pay federal and state INCOME taxes but I can assure you that you pay federal and state TAXES.
You likely paid income taxes at some point in your life. You certainly pay taxes now, even if they are not income taxes.

State & Federal fuel tax
Real Estate tax (and if you rent you pay that indirectly through your rent)
Excise taxes on ammunition, alcohol, guns, etc.
Personal property taxes
Sales tax
Utilities tax
Higher prices on imported items to cover tariffs
capital gains tax
Trust me, you pay taxes
Click to expand...
I live in California and purposely left out the almost endlessly long list of taxes that we currently pay. We even pay taxes that go toward stuff that we don't benefit from. Oh, I'm all too well aware that the greedy and immoral Sacramento and Washington taxmen have their hands out.
 
dannyd

dannyd

Well-Known Member
462 said:
I live in California and purposely left out the almost endlessly long list of taxes that we currently pay. We even pay taxes that go toward stuff that we don't benefit from. Oh, I'm all too well aware that the greedy and immoral Sacramento and Washington taxmen have their hands out.
Click to expand...
Lived out there 36 years ago and your right they tax everything.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.