Comments on: We Don’t Have To Practice Being Miserable http://thetexasring.com/2009/12/14/we-dont-have-to-practice-being-miserable/ Common Sense In A Ridiculous World Sun, 01 Aug 2010 05:04:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Vernon http://thetexasring.com/2009/12/14/we-dont-have-to-practice-being-miserable/comment-page-1/#comment-125 Vernon Mon, 28 Dec 2009 13:52:09 +0000 http://thetexasring.com/?p=148#comment-125 Linda, Just discovered your writing over at Whiskey and Gunpowder. Awesome and inspirational don't begin to do justice to describe your writing. Your whole philosophy resonates deeply with my own. I tried responding to one of your posts over there, but it never showed up, so thought I would try over here. I read "Patriots" in just over a day. Wouldn't have taken so long if I hadn't had to waste time with work and sleep in between chapters!! Your comments about the group needing to produce something useful really added a whole new dimension to my thinking. Thank You! After reading your writings that first day, I spent the whole next day at work lost in a daydream. Short version: I get an early retirement from the Post Office next year (allowing a modest self sufficiency), join your community and build a wooden boat with a coal fired steam engine and power take off for all the industrial equipment to be carried on board from place to place to provide needed services in the post TEOTWAWKI world. I grew up on a farm, have a degree in Aerospace Engineering and one in Computer Science and have taken a couple of classes in metal working, so I think I at least have the potential to be a contributing part of a community like yours. I am also a decent shot with a pistol, shotgun and rifle (30 round magazine into a 3" target at 100 yards in about 20 seconds with my AR-15) and have a firm belief in the right and obligation of a man to protect the people and place that are his own. There is property available near me in southwest Washington that would be good for a retreat. I have family and friends who are very like minded. Unfortunately, I think we are running out of time. Your writing has inspired me to take a hard look at what is really important and make a concerted effort to beat the looming deadline. Thank you, again for your wonderful writing. Vernon Linda,

Just discovered your writing over at Whiskey and Gunpowder. Awesome and inspirational don’t begin to do justice to describe your writing. Your whole philosophy resonates deeply with my own. I tried responding to one of your posts over there, but it never showed up, so thought I would try over here.

I read “Patriots” in just over a day. Wouldn’t have taken so long if I hadn’t had to waste time with work and sleep in between chapters!! Your comments about the group needing to produce something useful really added a whole new dimension to my thinking. Thank You!

After reading your writings that first day, I spent the whole next day at work lost in a daydream. Short version: I get an early retirement from the Post Office next year (allowing a modest self sufficiency), join your community and build a wooden boat with a coal fired steam engine and power take off for all the industrial equipment to be carried on board from place to place to provide needed services in the post TEOTWAWKI world. I grew up on a farm, have a degree in Aerospace Engineering and one in Computer Science and have taken a couple of classes in metal working, so I think I at least have the potential to be a contributing part of a community like yours. I am also a decent shot with a pistol, shotgun and rifle (30 round magazine into a 3″ target at 100 yards in about 20 seconds with my AR-15) and have a firm belief in the right and obligation of a man to protect the people and place that are his own.

There is property available near me in southwest Washington that would be good for a retreat. I have family and friends who are very like minded. Unfortunately, I think we are running out of time. Your writing has inspired me to take a hard look at what is really important and make a concerted effort to beat the looming deadline.

Thank you, again for your wonderful writing.

Vernon

]]> By: Linda Brady Traynham http://thetexasring.com/2009/12/14/we-dont-have-to-practice-being-miserable/comment-page-1/#comment-124 Linda Brady Traynham Thu, 24 Dec 2009 10:29:58 +0000 http://thetexasring.com/?p=148#comment-124 Fascinating, CH, thanks! Aren't you GLAD we didn't grow up like "normal" people?! Salt the hide down, huh? I've heard of using brains and tannin...Linda Fascinating, CH, thanks! Aren’t you GLAD we didn’t grow up like “normal” people?! Salt the hide down, huh? I’ve heard of using brains and tannin…Linda

]]> By: C Harriger http://thetexasring.com/2009/12/14/we-dont-have-to-practice-being-miserable/comment-page-1/#comment-123 C Harriger Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:33:54 +0000 http://thetexasring.com/?p=148#comment-123 Never got to trap the beaver. Poachers move in before the regular season opens and clean the creatures out.Tough lesson for a young man who wasn't taught that way. The Red Fox is another story. Apprenticed for two years with an old trapper and got good at that trade. I had forgotten about trapping until one day i was substitute teaching in a local high school when a TV came on over my head with some nonsense and ended with a bear and a large trap slamming shut. I asked if any of them had ever killed anything hunting, fishing or trapping. They couldn't imagine such a thing other than one or two boys who had been fishing. I proceeded to tell my story including the killing of the fox by standing on his chest to avoid any blood shedding that would spoil the site. You hated to give up a good location and blood would taint the ground in that spot. The fox is in fact a pretty wily creature. I then described skinning from nose to tail, stretching and salting the hide. They were on the verge of puking by that point. Revenge for their snotty attitude towards subs. Some of us really do know things they could never imagine and the best part is the fact that this was all normal in the life of a teenage boy back then. By the way, the fox brought four dollars per hide from the state. Bounty money. c- Never got to trap the beaver. Poachers move in before the regular season opens and clean the creatures out.Tough lesson for a young man who wasn’t taught that way. The Red Fox is another story. Apprenticed for two years with an old trapper and got good at that trade. I had forgotten about trapping until one day i was substitute teaching in a local high school when a TV came on over my head with some nonsense and ended with a bear and a large trap slamming shut. I asked if any of them had ever killed anything hunting, fishing or trapping. They couldn’t imagine such a thing other than one or two boys who had been fishing. I proceeded to tell my story including the killing of the fox by standing on his chest to avoid any blood shedding that would spoil the site. You hated to give up a good location and blood would taint the ground in that spot. The fox is in fact a pretty wily creature. I then described skinning from nose to tail, stretching and salting the hide. They were on the verge of puking by that point. Revenge for their snotty attitude towards subs. Some of us really do know things they could never imagine and the best part is the fact that this was all normal in the life of a teenage boy back then. By the way, the fox brought four dollars per hide from the state. Bounty money. c-

]]> By: Linda Brady Traynham http://thetexasring.com/2009/12/14/we-dont-have-to-practice-being-miserable/comment-page-1/#comment-122 Linda Brady Traynham Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:12:17 +0000 http://thetexasring.com/?p=148#comment-122 The simple things are the best, aren't they, C? My mother would make a quick batch of cornbread when we came in late from a trip because that heavy, rich bread meant "home" and comfort to HER. A slice of meat or cheese does it for me...or simple, rich mashed potatoes. How good it is to remember like this. I had forgotten the cornbread story a few months ago until my brother told me how bitterly HE remembered it as cornbread and milk for dinner, which made him feel poor. I think it was 20 minutes to something hot, myself, because Mother was very, very aware of the Depression. She virtually never almost never served hamburger in any form--meatloaf perhaps twice a year, I guess hamburgers once the other two quarters, and NOTHING would have induced her to put bread crumbs in it because that was proof positive of POVERTY. No, Mother, if you mix eggs and pepperidge farm into 84% lean ground chuck it holds in just the right amount of fat! Oh, goodness, what a riot I am, too. I just realized that in my mind boiled beans mean poverty! Not good, rich baked beans with lots of molasses, brown sugar, extra bacon, mustard, and so forth, but navy beans or pinto beans. Tiny new green lima beans smothered in butter, now, are better than ice cream! A meatless meal? We will all starve to death, of course. Laughter...actually, Mother DID teach me that if you open the freezer and nothing falls on your foot WE'RE ALL GOING TO STARVE TO DEATH! I joke about it, but to her it wasn't funny. I can't bare to see empty plates or dishes on the table; obviously there wasn't enough if there aren't scraps left for the dogs...and that's my South'n heritage: the worst thing that could possibly happen is to run out of anything on the table when there are guests. That would be a disgrace so low and deep that the family would never recover and someone would blackball you at a club. How absurd I am. Is anything "unthinkable" any more? Thanks for writing; y'all come back to see us. Did you trap any beaver? Can you tell me how to tan their hides? Linda The simple things are the best, aren’t they, C? My mother would make a quick batch of cornbread when we came in late from a trip because that heavy, rich bread meant “home” and comfort to HER. A slice of meat or cheese does it for me…or simple, rich mashed potatoes. How good it is to remember like this. I had forgotten the cornbread story a few months ago until my brother told me how bitterly HE remembered it as cornbread and milk for dinner, which made him feel poor. I think it was 20 minutes to something hot, myself, because Mother was very, very aware of the Depression. She virtually never almost never served hamburger in any form–meatloaf perhaps twice a year, I guess hamburgers once the other two quarters, and NOTHING would have induced her to put bread crumbs in it because that was proof positive of POVERTY. No, Mother, if you mix eggs and pepperidge farm into 84% lean ground chuck it holds in just the right amount of fat! Oh, goodness, what a riot I am, too. I just realized that in my mind boiled beans mean poverty! Not good, rich baked beans with lots of molasses, brown sugar, extra bacon, mustard, and so forth, but navy beans or pinto beans. Tiny new green lima beans smothered in butter, now, are better than ice cream! A meatless meal? We will all starve to death, of course. Laughter…actually, Mother DID teach me that if you open the freezer and nothing falls on your foot WE’RE ALL GOING TO STARVE TO DEATH! I joke about it, but to her it wasn’t funny. I can’t bare to see empty plates or dishes on the table; obviously there wasn’t enough if there aren’t scraps left for the dogs…and that’s my South’n heritage: the worst thing that could possibly happen is to run out of anything on the table when there are guests. That would be a disgrace so low and deep that the family would never recover and someone would blackball you at a club. How absurd I am. Is anything “unthinkable” any more? Thanks for writing; y’all come back to see us. Did you trap any beaver? Can you tell me how to tan their hides? Linda

]]> By: C Harriger http://thetexasring.com/2009/12/14/we-dont-have-to-practice-being-miserable/comment-page-1/#comment-121 C Harriger Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:01:07 +0000 http://thetexasring.com/?p=148#comment-121 Your story of hunger late at night brought back a memory from 50 years ago. I was 17 and my father had dropped me off in a wilderness area called Silver Creek for the purpose of scouting some old beaver dams. Dead of winter with average snow depth of two feet or more. I lost track of time and started out too late. No food since morning. Here is the interesting revelation on hunger i have never forgotten. In the dark of night in the forest i dreamed of simple food not exotic food. Only when we have the daily ordinary foods do we long for the steak and seafood dishes. I hit the back door around 10 at night and asked for buttered bread and baked beans from a can. Nothing else sounded good. Love your writing, keep it up. c- Your story of hunger late at night brought back a memory from 50 years ago. I was 17 and my father had dropped me off in a wilderness area called Silver Creek for the purpose of scouting some old beaver dams. Dead of winter with average snow depth of two feet or more. I lost track of time and started out too late. No food since morning. Here is the interesting revelation on hunger i have never forgotten. In the dark of night in the forest i dreamed of simple food not exotic food. Only when we have the daily ordinary foods do we long for the steak and seafood dishes. I hit the back door around 10 at night and asked for buttered bread and baked beans from a can. Nothing else sounded good. Love your writing, keep it up. c-

]]> By: Linda Brady Traynham http://thetexasring.com/2009/12/14/we-dont-have-to-practice-being-miserable/comment-page-1/#comment-120 Linda Brady Traynham Fri, 18 Dec 2009 08:00:09 +0000 http://thetexasring.com/?p=148#comment-120 Right all down the line, Kevin. Thanks. I told my odd stories to show how life is changing and how "charity" and lack of planning are more dangerous than ever. The world is changing, and those of us who live through it will have a far better one because the leeches and drones are going to die from the inability to take care of themselves or the character flaws that lead them to believe they can take what they want and get away with it. No, of course I don't want to see people die. I want them to learn to take care of themselves and their children and their own problems just as we all work to do. The luxuries we could have had were stolen from us so that others could defy the basic rules this country was founded on: freedom, sanctity of private property, "If you don't work you don't eat," and that we are one nation under good, united, NOT diverse. Variety is nice in menus and shoes; it is no way to forge a nation. Do all of you who write know how much you add to my life? Thank you. Hugs, Linda Right all down the line, Kevin. Thanks. I told my odd stories to show how life is changing and how “charity” and lack of planning are more dangerous than ever. The world is changing, and those of us who live through it will have a far better one because the leeches and drones are going to die from the inability to take care of themselves or the character flaws that lead them to believe they can take what they want and get away with it. No, of course I don’t want to see people die. I want them to learn to take care of themselves and their children and their own problems just as we all work to do. The luxuries we could have had were stolen from us so that others could defy the basic rules this country was founded on: freedom, sanctity of private property, “If you don’t work you don’t eat,” and that we are one nation under good, united, NOT diverse. Variety is nice in menus and shoes; it is no way to forge a nation. Do all of you who write know how much you add to my life? Thank you. Hugs, Linda

]]> By: Linda Brady Traynham http://thetexasring.com/2009/12/14/we-dont-have-to-practice-being-miserable/comment-page-1/#comment-119 Linda Brady Traynham Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:53:53 +0000 http://thetexasring.com/?p=148#comment-119 HI, Jennifer! I'm so glad you got over here from W&G; we're a spin-off! Here is where we're friends, and everyone is encouraged to write, and we can talk about everything we want to. "It is mind-boggling the things that now come already packaged and ready to eat. My hardy grandmothers would not believe it." Isn't it though? Overpriced, bad nutrition, not much taste, but so eeeeeasy. Ugh. "Since we live 30 minutes from any provisions, we think way ahead. And then yes, we do have the chickens," LUCKY you to live that far out (and to work at Wal-Mart while you still have to work) and I'm so GLAD you have chickens! Crew, the Jen-B wrote about how much her cow adds to her life! She's our sort of lady. Kristen has goats and lives in the country, too. What kind of hogs? We trapped ours wild! As to the root and storage cellar, that is a MAJOR upgrade I wish I had. Cellars are almost unheard of in central Texas. Kristen lives in VA. How about you? To me, REAL wealth is not wanting anything pretty reasonable that you cannot have. No, I cannot have Liz Taylor diamond earrings, but those are scarcely reasonable. I can't have a limousine and I would hate one. I DO have a gorgeous collection of old Jaguars which you can get for two to five thousand, no more than ten, quite easily. What YOU have is freedom from most petty bureaucrats and from crowds and noise. You have your husband around far more than most. You have dreams for the future and livestock. Some lovely day you'll get a milk goat! If THAT isn't riches, what is it? I'm so glad for you, and your letters always lift my heart. Thanks a lot! Hugs, Linda HI, Jennifer! I’m so glad you got over here from W&G; we’re a spin-off! Here is where we’re friends, and everyone is encouraged to write, and we can talk about everything we want to. “It is mind-boggling the things that now come already packaged and ready to eat. My hardy grandmothers would not believe it.” Isn’t it though? Overpriced, bad nutrition, not much taste, but so eeeeeasy. Ugh. “Since we live 30 minutes from any provisions, we think way ahead. And then yes, we do have the chickens,” LUCKY you to live that far out (and to work at Wal-Mart while you still have to work) and I’m so GLAD you have chickens! Crew, the Jen-B wrote about how much her cow adds to her life! She’s our sort of lady. Kristen has goats and lives in the country, too. What kind of hogs? We trapped ours wild! As to the root and storage cellar, that is a MAJOR upgrade I wish I had. Cellars are almost unheard of in central Texas. Kristen lives in VA. How about you? To me, REAL wealth is not wanting anything pretty reasonable that you cannot have. No, I cannot have Liz Taylor diamond earrings, but those are scarcely reasonable. I can’t have a limousine and I would hate one. I DO have a gorgeous collection of old Jaguars which you can get for two to five thousand, no more than ten, quite easily. What YOU have is freedom from most petty bureaucrats and from crowds and noise. You have your husband around far more than most. You have dreams for the future and livestock. Some lovely day you’ll get a milk goat! If THAT isn’t riches, what is it? I’m so glad for you, and your letters always lift my heart. Thanks a lot! Hugs, Linda

]]> By: Linda Brady Traynham http://thetexasring.com/2009/12/14/we-dont-have-to-practice-being-miserable/comment-page-1/#comment-118 Linda Brady Traynham Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:45:10 +0000 http://thetexasring.com/?p=148#comment-118 Kristen, it sounds no such thing. It sounds kind, practical, efficient, and beneficial to the characters of those who have been thrust into a habit of dependency. Charity begins at home and spreads to churches and schools. The entitlement mentality and the political rewards pushing it has brought are one of the primary factors that destroyed our economy and our national character. A helping hand up, sure. A hand out, no. Kristen, it sounds no such thing. It sounds kind, practical, efficient, and beneficial to the characters of those who have been thrust into a habit of dependency. Charity begins at home and spreads to churches and schools. The entitlement mentality and the political rewards pushing it has brought are one of the primary factors that destroyed our economy and our national character. A helping hand up, sure. A hand out, no.

]]> By: Kristen Hall http://thetexasring.com/2009/12/14/we-dont-have-to-practice-being-miserable/comment-page-1/#comment-116 Kristen Hall Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:21:24 +0000 http://thetexasring.com/?p=148#comment-116 Great article, Linda! We have a "graduate degree" in helping people who then take advantage of our kindness. We have done what we could for homeless "will work for food" people (they don't), people between marriages (for good reason) and all kinds of people in other categories. Our rule of thumb has become - if they aren't immediate family, they're on their own. I know how heartless and cold that sounds. It doesn't mean that we won't offer a kindness to strangers - we just don't let them LIVE with us and eat the pantry empty. Better that if they are hungry we bring them a little something, rather than give them free access to put us in their position. Great article, Linda! We have a “graduate degree” in helping people who then take advantage of our kindness. We have done what we could for homeless “will work for food” people (they don’t), people between marriages (for good reason) and all kinds of people in other categories. Our rule of thumb has become – if they aren’t immediate family, they’re on their own. I know how heartless and cold that sounds. It doesn’t mean that we won’t offer a kindness to strangers – we just don’t let them LIVE with us and eat the pantry empty. Better that if they are hungry we bring them a little something, rather than give them free access to put us in their position.

]]> By: Jennifer B http://thetexasring.com/2009/12/14/we-dont-have-to-practice-being-miserable/comment-page-1/#comment-115 Jennifer B Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:15:42 +0000 http://thetexasring.com/?p=148#comment-115 Discovered this website. Can't wait to dig in. I actually work at a Walmart, unbelievably, and see the throngs every day filling the carts. It is mind-boggling the things that now come already packaged and ready to eat. My hardy grandmothers would not believe it. Since we live 30 minutes from any provisions, we think way ahead. And then yes, we do have the chickens, just got some fancy hogs, and spent too much of our stash on a cellar. Admittedly, we did not think this way when we were younger, but boy, do we now. We took a camping trip to Colorado this summer spontaneously, actually decided to go in the morning and left in the evening, and really didn't need to buy anything extra. We were so proud. Got to go give out the $4.00 rxs. Jennifer Discovered this website. Can’t wait to dig in. I actually work at a Walmart, unbelievably, and see the throngs every day filling the carts. It is mind-boggling the things that now come already packaged and ready to eat. My hardy grandmothers would not believe it. Since we live 30 minutes from any provisions, we think way ahead. And then yes, we do have the chickens, just got some fancy hogs, and spent too much of our stash on a cellar. Admittedly, we did not think this way when we were younger, but boy, do we now. We took a camping trip to Colorado this summer spontaneously, actually decided to go in the morning and left in the evening, and really didn’t need to buy anything extra. We were so proud. Got to go give out the $4.00 rxs.
Jennifer

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