- Joined
- Oct 8, 1998
- Messages
- 5,403
So,
I have been schlepping around this internet thing, and Bladeforums, and the WSS forums for a time.
And, I realized, when Rick aka Mr Wilder posted that he had cracked a thousand posts, that I was nearing three thousand.
As I considered that fact, I was at a loss, as to what to do, I wanted to maybe do a giveaway, as I have a bunch of stuff that I will never use, in a big Rubbermaid tote. But, I wanted a theme. Then, the other day, I was rummaging through that old tote, and came across a couple pieces of gear that have been with me a long time..
They don't get used anymore, the compass does'nt work.
But, I grabbed them, and brought them into the house.
And like the fetishes that they are, they started to work their magic....
You see, back some years ago, when I was in middle school, an older kid, just a few years out of high school, took me under his wing, so to speak.
This seems simple, but it wasn't, I was well on my way to being a real sh*thead. I was about as arrogant and full of myself as a kid could be. Like the proverbial pig in mud, I wallowed in it.
But, despite that, this guy, James, saw/felt/understood that I needed an older friend, and so he became that friend to me. He paid for it. I repeated things he had said in confidence, I ignored him when I should have been listening, and I failed to ask the questions about life that he could have answered. But, despite that, he stayed my friend.
And, his friendship was a real door to another world.
Because, he was a janitor at the Fairchild AFB Survival School. Fairchild is pretty big that way, they run survival schools for aircrew and pilots, and the Instructors School also operated out of Fairchild.
And James went through the trash, and started to glean all these things, knives, and compasses, which got him interested in Survival. And he shared that interest with me, and some of the loot.
Which is how I got that compass, and those knives.
And, now, I am at the cusp of making knives, and I remember that it was the outdoors, and those days with James, learning a knot or two and finding out how handy a knife could be that helped set me on this path.
The tragedy is that I cannot call James up, and thank him, or invite him to go camping or make him a knife. He died not too many years later, on his motorcycle. Not that it would have mattered, after about a year, as stupid children do, I had forgotten about him.
So, instead, I get to thank you all, it is my privilege to thank you for all the time that you spend here, and the great conversations we have about this subject and our love for it.
And, with that in mind, it becomes clear what my giveaway should be about.....
I have a bunch of stuff, and knives, and all that... And from my loot, my plunder, I am going to create a little survival kit.
I have a Cold Steel Canadian Belt Knife which is going to the anchor of this here kit, and I have a ferro rod, and I will put a bunch of stuff together and give it away.
But, to who?
Well, that will be the hard part, though I have a feeling it won't be too hard.
You tell me who should get it....
Maybe you know someone on the Forums who needs one?
Maybe there is a neighbour kid that needs one?
Maybe you need it?
I will wait about a week, and of the people that it should go to, if I need I will choose somebody at random.
And if you just have a story like this one here, feel free to tell it, it might get somebody thinking of the right person for the kit.
And if you have a bunch of gear, and nobody to give it to, feel free to piggy back off of this thread, and maybe we can give a couple kits away.
My only request is that you figure out a way to get some pictures or something of the recipient.
Anway, that's part of my story, and all I'm gonna tell tonight,
Marion
I have been schlepping around this internet thing, and Bladeforums, and the WSS forums for a time.
And, I realized, when Rick aka Mr Wilder posted that he had cracked a thousand posts, that I was nearing three thousand.
As I considered that fact, I was at a loss, as to what to do, I wanted to maybe do a giveaway, as I have a bunch of stuff that I will never use, in a big Rubbermaid tote. But, I wanted a theme. Then, the other day, I was rummaging through that old tote, and came across a couple pieces of gear that have been with me a long time..
They don't get used anymore, the compass does'nt work.
But, I grabbed them, and brought them into the house.
And like the fetishes that they are, they started to work their magic....
You see, back some years ago, when I was in middle school, an older kid, just a few years out of high school, took me under his wing, so to speak.
This seems simple, but it wasn't, I was well on my way to being a real sh*thead. I was about as arrogant and full of myself as a kid could be. Like the proverbial pig in mud, I wallowed in it.
But, despite that, this guy, James, saw/felt/understood that I needed an older friend, and so he became that friend to me. He paid for it. I repeated things he had said in confidence, I ignored him when I should have been listening, and I failed to ask the questions about life that he could have answered. But, despite that, he stayed my friend.
And, his friendship was a real door to another world.
Because, he was a janitor at the Fairchild AFB Survival School. Fairchild is pretty big that way, they run survival schools for aircrew and pilots, and the Instructors School also operated out of Fairchild.
And James went through the trash, and started to glean all these things, knives, and compasses, which got him interested in Survival. And he shared that interest with me, and some of the loot.
Which is how I got that compass, and those knives.
And, now, I am at the cusp of making knives, and I remember that it was the outdoors, and those days with James, learning a knot or two and finding out how handy a knife could be that helped set me on this path.
The tragedy is that I cannot call James up, and thank him, or invite him to go camping or make him a knife. He died not too many years later, on his motorcycle. Not that it would have mattered, after about a year, as stupid children do, I had forgotten about him.
So, instead, I get to thank you all, it is my privilege to thank you for all the time that you spend here, and the great conversations we have about this subject and our love for it.
And, with that in mind, it becomes clear what my giveaway should be about.....
I have a bunch of stuff, and knives, and all that... And from my loot, my plunder, I am going to create a little survival kit.
I have a Cold Steel Canadian Belt Knife which is going to the anchor of this here kit, and I have a ferro rod, and I will put a bunch of stuff together and give it away.
But, to who?
Well, that will be the hard part, though I have a feeling it won't be too hard.
You tell me who should get it....
Maybe you know someone on the Forums who needs one?
Maybe there is a neighbour kid that needs one?
Maybe you need it?
I will wait about a week, and of the people that it should go to, if I need I will choose somebody at random.
And if you just have a story like this one here, feel free to tell it, it might get somebody thinking of the right person for the kit.
And if you have a bunch of gear, and nobody to give it to, feel free to piggy back off of this thread, and maybe we can give a couple kits away.
My only request is that you figure out a way to get some pictures or something of the recipient.
Anway, that's part of my story, and all I'm gonna tell tonight,
Marion
