Tomorrow's LBS ride: Patapsco, from Catonsville Community College parking log. Wheels up at 7:00. Probably 3 hours easy on MTBs - the Tour de Patapsco.
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The picture in the post below inspired an interesting comment from reader JAA. Regarding the Colt M4 Carbine knockoff in Hello Kitty colors, he states:
My yr old LOVES Hello Kitty...but my wife doesn't want guns in the house...a dilemma no?
An old retired Marine colonel who was a preeminent expert in self defense, military tactics and a variety of other topics, thought he had a pretty good start on a list of essential skills. His name was Jeff Cooper, and I didn't always agree with his opinions; by the time I started reading his commentary, he had reached an age where some of his more "unacceptable" opinions were tolerated, because he was an old coot. But I viewed his opinions like a lot of people's opinions - just because he was old and cranky and sometimes said things I was violently opposed to, most of what he said had a lot of merit. He had lived a lot and had learned a lot. Anyhow, here's what that old prolific writer thought:
What should a young male of 21 know, and what should he be able to do? There are no conclusive answers to those questions, but they are certainly worth asking. A young man should know how this country is run and how it got that way. He should know the Federalist Papers and de Tocqueville, and he should know recent world history. If he does not know what has been tried in the past, he cannot very well avoid those pitfalls as they come up in the future. A young man should be computer literate and, moreover, should know Hemingway from James Joyce. He should know how to drive a car well--such as is not covered in Driver's Ed. He should know how to fly a light airplane. He should know how to shoot well. He should know elementary geography, both worldwide and local. He should have a cursory knowledge of both zoology and botany. He should know the fundamentals of agriculture and corporate economy. He should be well qualified in armed combat, boxing, wrestling and judo, or its equivalent. He should know how to manage a motorcycle. He should be comfortable in at least one foreign language, more if appropriate to his background. He should be familiar with remedial medicine. These things should be accomplished before a son leaves his father's household.That is an interesting list of skills, and I think the only people as a group possessed of that particular skillset at age 21 are military personnel, or the occasional civilian of wide and varied interests and lucky enough to be born into a household where the parents had wide and varied interests. Oh yeah, Cooper aimed it at young men, but I don't see any reason why those things don't apply to young women as well. Do I hit every qualification on the list? No, I fall short on three of them. I wouldn't mind acquiring those skills.
To that list, I'd add only basic land navigation skills, and music; a young person should know how to get around on city streets or in the woods, and to play an instrument with reasonable proficiency.
What skills would you add or remove from the list?
3 comments:
I'd say definitely be able to change a flat on a car. My dad taught me to do it in the dark. I'm amazed how few people can do it.
Drive a stick. Do basic bike repair (flats, chain).
Have read the Bible. Even if you don't believe it's the source of a vast amount of cultural references.
Knowing a bit of German actually got me out of talking to this truly batshit old lady a few days ago.
He should know that life is too short for cheap cigars, cheap bourbon and cheap women.
Semper Fi.
Mayhew, good stuff. Russell - Hoo-ah. (USA->USMC Translator - "ooo-rah.")
I was thinking about adding "how to handle a dog" and "self-supported camping." Avoiding the cheap cigars and bourbon is pretty easy, since they are indulgences that tend to strongly discourage the user. Man relationships between the sexes... that's a harder one to teach. Cheap women... well, they can be a lot of fun for a while so I'm going to try to teach the boy not to traffic with cheap women, but if he happens to go through a cheap and shabby-acting period in his own life, as I and a lot of guys have done, I suppose schooling him in defensive measures - psychological, procreative and hand-to-hand combat based on moliter manus imposuit (yeah, I got a story behind that one, and I was very much the victim) - might be in order. Thing is, as Mencken noted, a lot of women who start out pretty cheap end up pretty respectable and quite worthwhile (as do a lot of men). My wife fortunately consorted with at least one cheap man and made him somewhat respectable. So I might rephrase that to "respect all women, but only love women who respect themselves." So too with men - "be appropriately courteous to all men, but only be friends with those who, like you, are willing to earn it and worthy of that gift."
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