It鈥檚 a humbling realization, knowing that left to my own devices and without the comforts, conveniences and trappings of modern civilization, I鈥檇 likely be dead within days.
Sad, but true. And it鈥檚 a fact that crosses my mind periodically.
It was brought to the forefront again recently, as hurricane force winds from Harvey and Irma demolished buildings, flooded entire cities and tore apart the power grids in Texas and the Caribbean, while an 8.1 magnitude earthquake struck southern Mexico, killing dozens of people.
Following these natural disasters, millions were left to deal with the terrible aftermath.
In the wake of all this tragedy, it鈥檚 natural to wonder how any of us would fare when faced with similar calamity.
Left to survive on our own, what actual, useful lifeskills would we bring to the table? How would many of us from Generation X 鈥� and those who鈥檝e followed 鈥� manage?
We are descended from countless generations who knew how to fend for themselves.
They could make clothing and blankets to keep winter鈥檚 chill at bay. They could find food when it wasn鈥檛 wrapped in plastic or cardboard and sitting on a shelf at the grocery store. And many among them could construct a shelter sufficiently solid to ward off most of what Mother Nature could throw at them.
They lived during a time when building a fire involved more than simply sliding the thermostat lever a few centimetres to the right.
These are skills I greatly admire, but sadly, do not possess. And it鈥檚 not like I had nowhere to learn them.
My mom sews, quilts, knits and crochets. When I was young, she grew much of the produce that we ate, and canned fish and vegetables to last us throughout the year.
For his part, my dad was a fisherman and a hunter who often spent days at a time alone in the woods 鈥� his own inexpensive form of therapy, no doubt.
He repaired his old vehicles and kept them running for years.
He even built his own house from the ground up 鈥� everything from carpentry to the electrical, plumbing and drywall.
Once you鈥檝e seen me slap on a coat of paint, you鈥檝e witnessed the full range of my builder鈥檚 skill set.
Hemming a pair of pants, sewing on a button 鈥� that, I can manage. I can knit back and forth in a straight line with the best of them. If you鈥檙e into patternless scarves with artfully dropped stitches, consider your neck covered.
Just don鈥檛 ask me to create anything that might keep the rest of you warm in a snowstorm.
Younger generations coming up behind us X-ers have their own unique set of skills. They are whizzes on computers in general 鈥� and social media in particular. These abilities are crucial in today鈥檚 workforce. But they aren鈥檛 going to be overly helpful when the lights go out.
There are whole sets of critical skills that are being lost to attrition, as Baby Boomers retire and move on to the next phase of life.
Obviously, this is not true of everyone. It鈥檚 just true of far more of us today than it was, say, 30 or 40 years ago.
There are still a precious few who possess these critical skills. They are the people we hire at exorbitant rates and then wait while they juggle a dozen different jobs, for other people who are equally skill-free.
We grumble and complain about the cost and all the time being wasted. And then what do we do about it?
Nothing.
Mostly because there鈥檚 literally nothing we can do.
brenda@langleytimes.com
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