Wow, this is an awesome topic. I think this will be a rambling post nfor me. I have so many thoughts on the subject. To give some background, I am 48 and my Dad is 68 we all grew up in NYC.

Growing up, my Dad didn't pay to have anyone fix or do anything around the house. He did it himself and had me help. I became a jack of all trades and a master of none. When I was a kid, like 10 years old, I would hustle for a buck cutting lawns. When I was 13 I would work on the neighbors cars and my Dad's friends would drop off the cars for me to work on. My Dad had a vast collection of tools, that he would buy as projects came up. I could work on cars, do light construction and woodwork, plumbing and electrical. I spent some money on myself, I saved some and I used the money for Holiday gifts for my family. I was a Cop for 20 years, when I retired I became a Harley mechanic, due to the fact that my Dad taught me mechanics.

My kids are 20 and 21. I divorced their Mom when they were 5 and 6 years old. My kids can't even clear a stopped drain. Since I did not live with them, projects never came up when they were around. They never learned to work with their hands, because I was not around on a daily basis, only seeing them every weekend. As a matter of fact, they really have no work ethic.

When my Dad was a kid (born in '42) he lived in Queens, NY. His Dad delivered milk by horse and wagon. He helped him on that route as well as his Uncle's construction firm. His Dad taught him to work with his hands.

My Father in law (also born '42) grew up on his father's farm in Pa. They were poor, with the crops they grew, they sold it locally and once in a while traded off for beef. They had chickens also. His Mom died when he was an infant and had 2 brothers. The kids all ended up in foster care until the Father remarried a couple of years later and got the kids back. They hunted daily. If they didnt hunt, they didnt eat meat. My FIL had a tragic hunting accident, he accidentally shot his cousin. The sheriff told his father to give up his weapons or the kid goes to a home until court hearings were adjudicated. His father said, "take the boy". He spent a year there, keep in mind his father might sound harsh, but w/o weapons, the family would starve.

The difference between my father, my father in law and me is that my FIL is better conditioned to survive should the economy tank. He has survival skills. I have never hunted, so I would not even know how to dress a deer. My kids would never be able to make it on their own. It could happen that this economy totally shuts down, the way the US is going. Desperate times would be an understatement.

The people of the Great Depression are Survivors, getting through that then WWII. Nowadays people would lay down and die or just kill people to get what they want. It could be apocolyptic.

Damn, I need a drink, is it beer:30 yet?

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Fidelis Ad Mortem