Be Brave Not Safe

As Cindy, the boys and I sat in a semi-circle of chairs the other night, on the deck viewing the sunset across Moosehead Lake, one of the boys mentioned how crazy it is that people they know haven’t had some of the most basic of life experiences.

Sunsetting over Moosehead Lake

As we continued the conversation, the following activities were brought up as things we’d consider unfortunate if we had NOT experienced them:

• Swimming
• Riding a bike
• Fishing
• Building a campfire
• Shooting a gun

Looking at things a little differently, you might even say these inexperienced souls haven’t had the opportunity to convert a phenomenon (related to the laws of nature) to a life skill.

Phenomenon – a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose cause or explanation is in question.

You see, anyone reading this has observed the above activities happen on TV, and/or being performed by someone they know. But, until one has personally experienced and mastered the above, the activity remains a mystery…

They ask (consciously or subconsciously) – How DO they do it?!?

Lest you think this topic is whimsical, let’s cover the value of each of these life experiences…

Swimming

Several years ago we had invited neighbors (who have long since moved away) to join us for a swim in our pool.

The kids were in the water within seconds of arrival. The dad and I sat talking, in chairs under the umbrella, until I decided it was time to leap into the pool myself.

Upon inviting the dad to join me he said: No thanks. I can’t swim. I’ve found that I just don’t have the buoyancy of most people.

Man, did my mind spin with possible responses: none of which would have solidified our friendship 🙂

I let it go and enjoyed the cooling swim…

Let’s consider some facts that are realities for ALL humans:

• About 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered in water. That being the case, it would seem to be useful (as well as fun) to be able to safely navigate it “by hand.”
• The human body is more than 60 percent water (blood is 92 percent water; the brain and muscles are 75 percent water; and bones are about 22 percent water). Since we are all, as far as I can assume, human, then we ALL have the same buoyancy factor.

The ability to swim starts in the mind (belief).

It is so nice to know that our boys can jump off a cliff, into the crystal clear, deep waters of Moosehead Lake (or any body of water on the planet) and swim like a fish. They acquired these skills (of leaping off cliffs and swimming) long, long ago – from observing their father 🙂

I must confess…After the boys headed for home (because they had work the following day) I had a slight mishap. You see, upon diving into the lake from a rock (the big one in the center of the above picture), my big toe hung around with that rock a little longer than the rest of my body. When I hit the water I noticed an undesirable sensation – PAIN!!!

Cindy, the master of broken toes, quickly diagnosed that I have probably fractured mine. Oh well, all in good fun 🙂

Hopefully, this won’t prevent me from competing in our church’s annual Survivor event, taking place in 10 days.

Riding a Bike

I still remember my first experience learning to ride. After much encouragement, my dad launched me on my new bicycle that my grandfather had just purchased for me. I wobbled around a bit and crashed in the grass. We then gave it another shot and I was off. Still a little wobbly, but I was successfully propelling myself across the land.

I had NO IDEA “how” I was doing it. All I really had to think about was one thing: keep peddling and it just seems to work.

Upon learning this skill I had dramatically expanded my horizons with this new form of transportation that was now available to me!

This free mode of transport can be used to travel through the woods of Maine, on the streets of Copenhagen, Denmark (with 100’s of other biking commuters) or across the Golden Gate Bridge, in San Francisco, to beautiful Sausalito.

It is so much more rewarding to view these locations from the seat of a bicycle (up front and personal) vs. behind the closed windows of an air-conditioned vehicle. Not to mention the aerobic exercise it provides.

The ability to ride a bike starts in the mind (belief).

In the spirit of brevity, this concludes part 1 of the topic: Basic, Must-Have Life Experiences.

Get out there, and have some!

p.s. – It is raining this morning at Moosehead Lake. So, Cindy and I are taking a break from the sun as we sit undercover. Hopefully, we’ll see more deer from our vantage point. Last night we observed a sizable buck just feet from the deck, overlooking the lake. We could almost reach out and touch him! It was too dark to take a picture, so you’ll just have to believe me 🙂

After reading the prior post some may ask: Man, is this guy schizophrenic? He just hammered on the importance of leveraging available technology.

Just having some fun, and hoping to get you thinking.

Here we go…

Have you ever been involved in a power outage lasting multiple days? NOT a totally uncommon occurrence in New Hampshire (and other territories as well). In the 21 years we have lived here there have been several multi-day power outages, mainly due to snow. And, if I recall correctly, the longest in duration (for my home, at least) was 5-6 days. In other parts of the state it lasted longer!

For those who haven’t lived through a power outage, here are just a few things you live without, unless you are prepared:

• Running water – To drink, and you’ll soon find the importance of the kind that refreshes the toilet 🙂
• Heat – And, if the house temperature drops below 32 degrees the water pipes freeze, explode and cause damage.
• Cold – The refrigerator no longer chills and items in the freezer thaw out.
• The ability to cook resulting from no working stove, microwave, toaster or coffee maker
• Other things we take for granted – Lights, TV, hair curler, etc.

What is a person to do?

We realize that power outages can be a hardship, even dangerous, for some. However, my family actually enjoys these experiences. It is an adventure, right at home! While it may not be quite as comfortable as when we have power, it is VERY close.

Why? Because we are prepared.

When the power goes out we simply start the generator, which powers the home essentials, and during the winter months fire-up the wood furnace.

One year, we also had the task of removing a large oak tree which had fallen across BOTH of our trucks. Was that a bad thing? No way. You should see all the firewood we reaped from that incident. We are still burning it 🙂

Now, the above steps (powering the home essentials and keeping things warm in the winter) are easy enough for a short term outage. But, what happens if it lasts multiple days? Things to consider include:

• Fuel for the generator
• Food and other supplies

First, we maintain additional supplies on-hand, including:

• Several tanks of gasoline
• An extra propane tank for the grill
• Stocked cupboards (comes naturally for a family of 6 🙂 )

Even so, the above will become depleted over time…And, additional scenarios one must be prepared for include the possible added “inconvenience” of the local grocery stores, gas stations and other service providers not having power as well. This has been the case on more than one (power outage) occasion, simply adding a little complexity to the adventure. Some related twists may include:

• The grocery store being open, but unable to process electronic transactions. No problem, if you have some cash stashed away for just such an occasion.
• Gas stations, on the other hand, require power to pump the fuel out of the tank in the ground. As such, this requires a bit of travel to find a facility with power to do so. However, the roads may be in bad condition making it difficult to travel. Again, no problem. This is a lot of fun, with a 4 wheel drive vehicle 🙂
• Often, when power outages occur landline telephones go down as well. To that I’d respond with: who cares? In all the years we’ve lived in NH we have NEVER lost cell signal during a power outage. I’m not saying this couldn’t happen, but it hasn’t – yet.

The above highlights how a family of 6 has smoothly sailed through a number of short-term adventures (I mean power outages).

Oh, and for those who are thinking they now know where to get all their stuff during an outage, I’ll let you know that we have guns – lots of guns 🙂

Now, what if there was a long-term outage lasting multiple weeks or months? Could you deal with this – at home?

I know, I know…Some will say: That is a very unlikely scenario. And, if it were to occur I’d simply be in the same boat as everyone else.

Perhaps.

But, is this REALLY your line of thinking?

For many of us, there are very simple steps we can take to be prepared (as outlined above). Why do I say “many of us”? Because, those who live in an apartment building or in a city are “pretty much” dependent on someone else for many of the basics we take for granted. And, I’d dare go so far as to say that things would very likely become VIOLENT in a city, during an extended power outage! Not a place I’d want to be…

What is a person to do?

Get prepared. And, prepare your young-uns!

How? Well, if you’ve never had the opportunity to experience living off the land or in the wilderness, do so! Because, there are many parts of the country where you can actually sustain yourself indefinitely without electricity – if you know how. Realize, we mere humans did so many years ago. Some still do.

I am so glad I encouraged (they would say forced 🙂 ) all my boys to go through Cub Scouts. Not only is this a solid, character-building program it also serves to provide basic, pragmatic skills for survival that every human being should know.

We may not be anywhere close to the caliber of a Bear Grylls, but we are fortunate enough to live in an area and have the knowledge and experience to sustain ourselves off the land.

How about you?

Always remember: We are responsible for ourself!

I write this as I sit in a beautiful home on Moosehead Lake, in Maine, which is adorned with 3 deer heads, moose antlers, a bear skin, stuffed pheasant and several other animal pelts (fox, etc.). And, plenty of firewood!

Can you hear the loons?

Cindy and I are now going fishing, with the goal of hauling some trout out of the lake for dinner 🙂

All the best!

My wife and I are at Hampton Beach, as I write / post this.

We decided a couple of days ago to spend 1-2 nights here as the weather looked PERFECT for the beach!

As we’ve done before, we simply packed up, drove here and then figured out where we’d stay.

When we arrived, on a Wednesday afternoon, the main strip (Ocean Boulevard) was packed with cars and people: the normal scene for a hot, sunny, summer day.

About a 1/2-mile onto the strip we spotted a place we had stayed previously. On queue, Cindy jumps out of the car and runs into the office to see if they have any good rooms available. I’m sitting with the car idling in the walking lane as scores of people must avoid me (an annoying obstacle in their path): for what seemed like an eternity. Why doesn’t she just get the room?, I’m asking myself 🙂

Finally, she returns. They ONLY had rooms with an ocean view, but no balcony. She checked-out each available room with the host, and decided they weren’t good enough. At this point I just wanted to get on with life at the beach, but went with her lead.

Thankfully, the motel she visited gave her names and numbers of 2 other places with balconies, which may or may not have availability for the night. We called the first one: $250 / night. Too much! Upon calling the second place we scored: a reasonably priced room with a balcony.

Once we unloaded, parked Rover and finally got into the room I was VERY happy that Cindy didn’t give up by merely accepting a room with a view (as I might have).

You might ask, Why oh why is a balcony so important? So many reasons!

• We got to sit outside and experience the fresh ocean breeze and watch all the hot cars and cool people go by 🙂
• We were only 2 rooftops away from the restaurant where the folk singer was strumming on his guitar and sharing some GREAT tunes!
• We had a front row seat to the awesome fireworks display (which we didn’t expect)
• We have a nearly 180-degree view of the Atlantic Ocean! The first picture was taken the afternoon we arrived. The second is of this morning’s sunrise, as I began writing this post. If you click on the images you’ll get a better view…

During our time cruising the strip, looking for our room, I noticed that one of my favorite rock bands, from my teenage years, Blue Oyster Cult, is playing tonight at the Hampton Beach Casino and Ballroom!

So, shortly after settling in to our room I ordered 2 tickets. That is what we’ll be doing tonight 🙂

Now, since the room we are currently in was only available for one night we must go through the “find a room with a balcony” exercise all over again 🙂

Hopefully we’ll score an even better balcony and get out on the beach in the next couple of hours. Wish us luck!

In closing, never settle in life.

When going on vacation, get a room with a balcony. Don’t get stuck in a room that merely has a view. Enjoy life to the fullest!

Have a great day!