Never Leave Home Without Them
I always have a knife and a way to make fire.
Back in 2000, I was working for a firm that ran a series of management training Monday Mornings. We were six or so to a table, eight or nine tables, the entire staff, pretty much. Most of it was basic team-building, getting to know the people you work with, some creativity exercises, etc., etc. Then, on the sixth Monday came the final exercise.
You and the people at your table are coming back from a vacation in South America. Over the Caribbean, you hit a storm. The plane crash lands. The pilot is killed. The plane is unflyable. You all are all right. You have no idea where you are, but you can see that you are in a jungle on a mountain. You take everything out of the plane. Here is the inventory. You all have to come out alive together.
First of all, let me say that one team did not come out at all. They settled down where they were.
I said to bring the large Christmas candle so that we could build a fire. My team mates said that being in the jungle, it would be easy to start a fire, so we don't need the candle. I said to leave the revolver and rum behind because with that combination, someone is not coming home. My team mates said to bring the revolver because you can fire it into the air to attract natives who will help you. I said to head downhill. My team mates wanted to climb higher to get a look around. It was a long morning...
At the end of it, the mentors gave us the answer from the back of the book, the US Army Ranger book.
Always have a knife and way to make fire, say the Rangers. So, since then, I always have.
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Epilogue. The Rangers also said to stay with the plane for 72 hours because you know that someone will miss you and come looking for you. Setting the plane on fire would be a good signal, they said. And head downhill.
So, at the time, I was learning to fly. I had not yet soloed. One landing was a bit short and the instructor corrected me. When we were down, he asked, "Now what would have done if you landed in that bean field?" I said, "Wait 72 hours, set the plane on fire and walk into the airport." He did not get it, but I still find it funny.
Back in 2000, I was working for a firm that ran a series of management training Monday Mornings. We were six or so to a table, eight or nine tables, the entire staff, pretty much. Most of it was basic team-building, getting to know the people you work with, some creativity exercises, etc., etc. Then, on the sixth Monday came the final exercise.
You and the people at your table are coming back from a vacation in South America. Over the Caribbean, you hit a storm. The plane crash lands. The pilot is killed. The plane is unflyable. You all are all right. You have no idea where you are, but you can see that you are in a jungle on a mountain. You take everything out of the plane. Here is the inventory. You all have to come out alive together.
First of all, let me say that one team did not come out at all. They settled down where they were.
I said to bring the large Christmas candle so that we could build a fire. My team mates said that being in the jungle, it would be easy to start a fire, so we don't need the candle. I said to leave the revolver and rum behind because with that combination, someone is not coming home. My team mates said to bring the revolver because you can fire it into the air to attract natives who will help you. I said to head downhill. My team mates wanted to climb higher to get a look around. It was a long morning...
At the end of it, the mentors gave us the answer from the back of the book, the US Army Ranger book.
Always have a knife and way to make fire, say the Rangers. So, since then, I always have.
-----------------
Epilogue. The Rangers also said to stay with the plane for 72 hours because you know that someone will miss you and come looking for you. Setting the plane on fire would be a good signal, they said. And head downhill.
So, at the time, I was learning to fly. I had not yet soloed. One landing was a bit short and the instructor corrected me. When we were down, he asked, "Now what would have done if you landed in that bean field?" I said, "Wait 72 hours, set the plane on fire and walk into the airport." He did not get it, but I still find it funny.
When I got home, my wife was sitting in the kitchen wide-eyed but happy to see me. She had been asleep when the FAA called to ask her my whereabouts.
That incident was after the survival exercise, or I would have been very smart by experience about an otherwise arcane fact.
"The pistol. Once I have that, everything else is easy. There will be no arguments."
In my regular work now, working with horses, I always carry a knife, even when providing pony rides for little children. There is usually a cheap cigarette lighter in my truck, too. They're tools for making repairs to rope and cord, among other things.
Some fine day I may discover that in order to bring my pony ride in to a public school, I must surrender my knife. What will happen? I'll simply take my ponies and leave.
But for GP leaving home in a car, I think I'll start carrying pocket knife which I have and lighter which I also have since I quit smoking five years ago.
I carry a concealed pistol but that alone can't solve every unforeseeable problem that may unexpectedly crop up.
Better to carry more than you need than what may prove to be less,
Now here's an easy item to carry.
EPIRB Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon.with GPS and something called an 'I'm OK Button.
Not sure what TSA would make of it but if one survives a crash definitely sit by the site of the wreckage doing all the other stuff but turn on the EPIRB and the whole world will instantly know two things. Your location. You need help. Coupled with an overdue flight report the rest of the stuff other than emergency medical etc. is a matter of a wait for a known rescue.
the other problems are solved as a result.
Most if not all aircraft and boats to ships carry these devices and they come in personal sizes.Good for 24 to 96 hours of transmitting time.
I have never had a problem with getting through TSA with it.
One thing about this is that the wilderness scenario is interesting but unlikely. One time (after that job; and after 9/11), I was working as a security guard. On break, some of us were standing outside the back door and the conversation turned to survival gear. Right there, we had fire starters, rabbit traps, you name it... Our supervisor laughed. "If anything like 9/11 happens again, you are not going to be caught in the desert. You are going to be caught in an elevator." From the leg sleeve of his BDUs he pulled out a 6-inch pry bar. Now, I have one of those, too, but it is in a go-bag; I do not carry it, I confess.
This was before 9/11, so bringing a pocket knife and cigarette lighter was allowed. And even today, a charter would be different. The storyline was that this was a small plane: we six were the only passengers.
I like the line from The Edge: People caught in the wilderness die from embarrassment at not doing the one thing that would have saved their lives.
For a gun to provide food, you need to be able to actually use it that well: six shots is all you get. How do you feed a handful of people from squirrels and monkeys? Again, these were just plain folks, right off the disaster movie screen.
One of my team mates was a bit different: blue collar machines manager, a tomboy. She wanted to leave us all behind and head off on her own. I leaned over and said that in real life, she and I were out together, but for this, we had to bring all of them with us. I was looking at at least one overweight out of shape coronary in group. So, she sat there with us but did not say much.
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