Question for the "old guys"...Is it just me or are there others?

[pargent]

you are just a late starter :thumbsup:

 

[Crow Beads]

We should come home from afar, from adventures and perils and discoveries every day, with new experiences and character. -Henry David Thoreau

 

[BullRunBear]

You are certainly not alone. My wife and I are using retirement to learn new skills: leather working, needle/fabric crafts, and many other older crafts. It is also a chance to renew old skills like woodworking with hand tools, cooking from scratch (tastes better and more nutrition), fly-tying, canning and pickling our own garden produce, etc. I'm even renewing my skills with ham radio. Over all this is learning more about history and reading the classics of philosophy and literature. And always more time with our BP arms and gear.

Even entertainment: board games, card games, jigsaw puzzles, whittling, reading out loud, and so on. In many cases these are things we haven't done in almost half a century. They help keep our minds sharp and hands usefully busy.

We are increasingly uneasy/alarmed by how many people and institutions are not prepared for trouble and don't even seem to care. Hell, I resent not being able to do basic car maintenance any more and these people have no qualms about basing their lives on systems they can't control and that can be taken away in a moment without warning.

There's satisfaction in acquiring skills and knowledge both for itself and in case of disaster. There is added satisfaction in that these activities are free/inexpensive and will last much longer than we will. Some self-reliance is a good thing.

Okay, I'll get off the soap box.

Jeff

 

[TFoley]

I hear what you are all saying, and agree with most of it. Things are a mite different here in UK, one way and another, but the threat of the SHTF remains identical, here, with the minorities and their rather quaint view on lifeforms that do not share their viewpoint or culture.

To that end, I've made it a point - in this law-riddled state where the amount of ammunition that you may legally hold is carefully controlled - of never having anything less than my full allowance, and yes, every fifty I shoot, I replace instantly that night. I also have a Lee Loader, that I can use anywhere that I happen to be, thousands of bullets in the two calibres of choice, large supplies of propellant for both nitro and subs for BP - I buy caps in 5000 at a time boxes.

I maintain a régime of kata with my hand weapons of choice, literally anything that I can pick up and use, after 31 years of wearing a green beret, but especially my katana and wakizashi, and I have an added advantage of being totally ambidextrous, able to use both blades simultaneously - one in either hand, something that got me into a whale of trouble at a local dojo a few years back... :wink: .

Right now, I'm waiting to be able to say that I'm 67 years old - next weekend - but far from defenceless. Breaking down THIS old fart's front door could be VERY painful for somebody.

Good luck to you ALL

tac, mrs tac and two long-dead Japanese swordsmiths

 

[Billnpatti]

At 72, most of the many pleasures that you mention are now sadly behind me. When I was about 30 years old, I took an interest in muzzleloaders and built one of the early T/C Hawken rifle kits. It was a .50 cal. caplock and became a source of great pride. I still have it and now when I look at it, I see so many things that I did wrong when building it. Oh, I could change them now but I want to leave it just as I made it. Besides, now I have many other muzzleloaders and have gotten to where I only want the ones that are beautiful and accurate. That old T/C still has a place in my gun safe and I take it out now and then to shoot in a match.

Not long after building my T/C, I got involved in a Civil War reenacting group. I got all kitted out and did all the things that Civil War reenactors do.....and loved it. I began acquiring and building more muzzleloading rifles as time went on. Then some years later, I retired and we moved to Indiana. There I met many folks who were deeply into muzzleloading and the historical aspects of it and I entered that phase. I got to shoot in several matches at Friendship and felt that I was getting a peek at what Heaven must be like. All along, I was piling up years and arthritis began to set in. My infirmaties reached the point that I could no longer enjoy living outside and sleeping on the ground for even a couple days at a time. Even so, I managed to go hunting in my favorite woods with either my muzzleloading rifle or shotgun by my side. Those chilly days in the woods were wonderful and if I managed to bag a few squirrels, so much the better.

A couple bad falls that injured my lower back and the continued ravages of arthritis and two replaced knees slowed and finally ended my days of squirrel hunting. Too much pain. I just couldn't enjoy the hunt any longer. I still refused to give up on shooting my muzzleloaders but saw no use in getting all kitted out just to shoot paper so my tricorn sits on a shelf in my closet and my trousers, shirt and hunting frock just hang in my closet gathering dust. Now, I make our club's monthly shoots but I have to keep a chair nearby for when I must rest my hips and back. It ain't what it used to be but I still am able to shoot my beloved muzzleloaders. I know the day is coming when even that will be taken away from me and I will be left to simply clean and caress my unfired guns and remember the good old days.

So, in closing, let me quote from the wisdom of an old tombstone where someone wrote "As you are, I once was. As I am, you shall be." Live, learn, enjoy and share it for it ain't permenant. :hatsoff:

 

[desi23]

I somtimes feel like a left over from the stone age myself. I was born in the 50's, loved TV westerns, Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett and developed a fascination with history from the shows and the books I read.

The first gun I ever bought with my own money was a flintlock pistol. I had been reading the "Horatio Hornblower" books and wanted a pistol of the style of that era and found it at a yardsale. I have been collecting, trading and, for a while, actively dealing in firearms and historical items largely because of those early influences.

With the kids grown and more time on my hands I'm spending more of that time doing the things I enjoy most. the old guns come out, I enjoy being outside, food tastes better cooked over an open fire, life is just better at a slower pace.

 

[Rifleman1776]

For Shifty...Have you ever read the Terry C. Johnston mountain man book series? There are three trilogies and the original one is kind of in the middle..."Carry the Wind," "Borderlords," and "One-Eyed Dream." If you have never read these, you are in for a real treat.

Yes. Fiction but excellent. Lot if genuine information in them. Some will argue the 'authentic' details but I'll betcha 90% accurate.
Sadly, Johnston died young.

 

[Shifty]

I hate what is happening here in this country,around here the schools are beginning to stop teaching the little kids how to write in Cursive,and most kids don't even know which state borders theres,and when I ask a High School kid if he considerd going to vocational school later he says what,after I got back from Nam and got a job I went to vocational schools at night for yrs trying to learn all I could ,wanted to be a machinists but it never happened, retired from construction really discuraged the young kids coming in where scared to death when a blue print was laid in front of them, they can't handle manual mental work.Maybe I should of had more spelling classes :haha:

 

[radman]

well im 43 and have always had a connection to flintlocks living in the woods and general colonial history and living.it helps that i grew up hunting and fishing i suppose, but most of the people i hunt with have no desire to shoot flintlocks or learn the old ways.i think its either something your drawn to or not but studying and learning about the way things were done back then makes you realize how resourceful and adaptable people were then.most people nowdays just take all of our conviniences for granted they have almost clue of how to get by with whatyou have and get what you need from the woods.when you actually get out and use some of the old skills and see how things were done you realize what was necessary just to survive.modern society is so far out of touch with real survival skills they wouldnt make it two weeks inthose days . i just shake my head at them.

 

[smo]

What took you so long? :idunno: :idunno:

I was fortunate enough to have been born in the late 50's and was able to see and remember some of what a great Country we lived in back then. All though times were changing. Most people still worked hard, made a living,owned a home and raised a family. I had 2 Uncles who never had a public jobs... they just didn't have time for them. One was a share cropper, He sold crops & fire wood and did what ever other odd jobs he could do to get by. The other one whittled gun stocks and made furniture. Both of those old guys were as happy as they could be. They never done without anything they needed and always had cash money on hand. What I learned from those two was #1 you don't always need everything you want and #2 anything worth having is worth waiting on. They never knew the meaning of " The Rat Race". Most of us who do remember those days would be fine living in the old ways, But there would be millions of people that would not have a clue where to start. :shake:

 

[graybeard]

I will be 81 this summer and am trying to ignore it. Except for a minor heart attack a couple of years back I've enjoyed good health all my life. I still can hunt grouse all day with a shotgun at high port, even though I left my pump in the safe and used a flintlock musket in 20 gauge last fall. Year before I got a deer with a flintlock rifle. Don't slow down. I'll admit I haven't slept on the ground in many a year (use a cot or air mattress) but still live in a tent for weeks at a time in trout season. I find it very easy to slip through the woods, flintlock in hand, and imagine Maj. Robert Rogers still commands the fort at the straits. I'm really not very PC, but love the feeling. My advice for longevity is to find things you enjoy, do them and avoid stress. Don't smoke cigarets but do drink good whisky (single malt preferred). I don't post very often in a year's time, because I usually don't know anything about the subject or because someone else posted what little I know ahead of me. But you don't need to know a damn thing to love the woods, flintlocks, and fly fishing. graybeard

 

[Otter]

It ain't just you by a long shot . . .

From my profile : "Wanted to shoot ML's since I watched the TV show Daniel Boone as a kid. Drooled over the Dixie catalog in my college days. Finally was in a position to get into the sport about 20 years ago, and that created a monster. I'm a very shirt tail relative of Daniel Boone (by marriage) as one of my great uncles, Flanders Callaway, married his daughter, Jemima. So, I guess I come by the affliction somewhat naturally. I cast all my own RB's and most of the other bullets I shoot. I shoot mostly BP guns of all types but do have and shoot some of the older caliber modern stuff."

I also have made most of my rendezvous gear (including clothing and moccasins), accoutrements and camp implements. I am now getting older and am failing a bit, physically, and am not able to do much hunting and camping any more . . . I do still go to the range as often as I can, though.

 

[hanshi]

:idunno: Well, I was born in the 1940S and remember outside plumbing and dirt roads. What I can't remember is exactly what we're talking about. :shocked2:

 

[Robby]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCsJzFK7_as
:hatsoff:
Robby

 

[Spikebuck]

Many people simply sat and died because they did not even have water or food available.

Those of you who have already acquired all the needed skills to survive outside of society if needed or desired and those of us trying to learn the old ways/skills will be way ahead of the 99.9% of the rest of the population when disaster strikes. Look what happens on just a relatively "small" scale, like Rifleman's example, or even a hurricane Katrina type event. I'm not saying everyone needs to be a "Doomsday Prepper" but many people cannot even "live" for an hour without their smartphone anymore, much less several days or weeks without any modern conveniences.

It's not only personally extremely satisfying to have these skills, it's downright smart.

 

[usmchomesteader]

Robby...I remember that song and Jimmy...I guess that is what this is all about "being young at heart" and I am with you there. Bob P.

 

[fraungie]

u r not alone my friend I am 60 and I hear your song Something very satisfying about loading a muzzle loader and takung it for a walk. God bless us and this web site.

 

[Dave Marsh]

We are on about the same path. "Soon I will be 65 and am now fully retired, and for some reason, perhaps old age, senility, a rebellion against this modern age and what is happening to our society, or something else, I have developed a desire or longing to experience to a certain extent the lives of our country’s pioneers."

My wife and I (married 45 years) still go camping and cook everything on a fire. When we tell people what we are doing they look at us like we are crazy. No TV -- no cell signal oh my god how can you live.....I feel prepared in the event of a disaster and others are correct that we have people who wouldn't live a day without the modern conveniences. Some cannot take care of themselves. I always use the example of my little sister and her husband who had a bat in the house and called 911 as they did not know what to do. That is downright helpless to me.

I am enjoying retirement and the outdoors....

 

[sidelock]

You are singing my song........ keep it up. :thumbsup:

 

[BullRunBear]

To quote Jeremiah Johnson from the movie:

"Sound wisdom".

I would add: We have to stay informed but don't have to wallow in the miseries of the planet. And don't forget the bourbon when the single malt runs out. :wink:

Jeff