Reply #118: I recently read Fast Food Nation [View All]

[AnneD]

and it got my brain thinking about this. I remember having Mom and Pop hamburger places, but not that many. Sonic and Dairy Queen were the first chains out here. KFC was the first big national chain. I didn't have my first McDonald's burger until Junior High (not impressed). Mom believed in teaching all of us survival skills. She had home ec in high school but in that rural Az school boys and girls swapped for a semester so she got some shop experience too.

My skill inventory list...
I can proudly say I could survive most things. I can use rudimentary tools but modern knives, etc are faster(I want to learn how to knap flint but haven't done that yet). I can hunt and prepare the game and preserve it. I can cure the skin for wear, sew the hides together and even decorate them. I can make containers, shelters, and have a moderate knowledge of edible and medicinal herbs of North America. I know how to look for water and what water is safe to drink (factory pollution makes it hard to tell though). I can tell time by the sun and months by using a stick in the ground. I have medical skills, animal husbandry, and farming savvy. All this I learned from my Grandmother during my summer visits to Okla as a child. I tried to pass these things on to my daughter, but she was not interested. The funny thing is that when we go 'camping', she is always surprised at what I know...go figure.

Now if I have the luxury of electricity and running water, yes I can cook from scratch and frequently do. I can and preserve. Hubby says I own every cookbook in the world. While that may be an exaggeration, I generally don't need a computer generated menue-I know where they are in my library. I have switched over to organic veggies and meats because they just plain taste better (and this country girl can tell the difference-blind folded). As I get older I am finding that fast food does make me feel ill. The list of places I refuse to eat at grows longer and longer. I regret that I ever took my daughter to one but she really isn't too keen on them.

Now my daughter has learned to cook and sew and knows her way around technology better than I ever will. So I guess she is prepared for her world as she needs to be. I just wish she were more interested in the old skills.