A documentary... 'Without Bound'...

[cwf]

Hope you can get through the beginning of this... it does pick up later...

Dream and 'Stream... someday the second part.. =)

http://youtu.be/Lg37Cbx-kak

[ROBERT CROSS]

........."off the grid" tips.


It looks like I will need to become part of a larger community of people prepared for survival.

Some tip's for the community to remember….


You can make a fire by vigorously rubbing elk together, Also beavers. Rub those beavers.

You can make a signal fire by burning Celine Dion CDs.

There’s no need to be afraid of strange noises in the night. Anything that intends you harm will stalk you silently.

If you encounter a black bear, attempt to cross the road or distract it with rap music.

If you encounter a grizzly bear, attempt to punch it in the eye. This will not scare the bear off, but you’re dead anyway so you don’t want to go out like a wus.

You can determine which direction is north by asking someone.
Failing that, float a stick on a still body of water. North will be the direction that is opposite of south.

Never make RIGHT turns when you’re lost in a forest. Right turns attract left wing zombies.

Punch squirrels to vent your frustrations

Plant a garden. Vegetables can sustain you if you plan on sitting still for the better part of a growing season. And you have vegetable seeds handy.

If you brought a cow, milk it.

Bob

[slowmover]

Good choice.

One cannot but think of Mr Steinbecks two novels when looking at being vagabond. There were those portrayed for whom the condition was temporary and at a high cost, and those for whom as age and regrets settled that lack of permanent community meant a form of exile. An accumulating cost.

What cell phones and Internet access appear to make possible, this comfort of being far yet near

[slowmover]

Good choice, Channing.

One cannot but think of Mr Steinbecks two novels when looking at being vagabond. There were those portrayed for whom the condition was temporary and at a high cost, and those for whom as age and regrets settled in that lack of permanent community meant a form of exile. An accumulating cost. First mind, then body and spirit.

What cell phones and Internet access appear to make possible, this comfort of being far yet near, this hollow substitute, would undermine the premise of this video were it removed. Given the high societal cost of same it is also not in any sense robust. An iron tool is robust, whereas electronics -- most especially their connectivity -- are not.

Lack of land means next to no way to feed, shelter or clothe ones self.
However pleasurable to be free of the cost of land it is transitory no matter how long it may last.

Sooner or later the nomadic pose a challenge to settled society. No wonder it is penalized, even criminalized. A drought may drive the herders one way just as subsidization failure of roads, fuel and Internet may drive others of today.

Those who have a trade which requires being on the spot where it is needed have the advantage. Be this skilled labor to build pipelines, dams or electric transmission one is underwriting a fair trade. Specialized skills. Where one parks overnight on the streets for weeks in a region is not seen as such when not involved in the life of the community. This includes migratory farm workers or warehouse runners.

It's a dilemma. Where is the doorway? The fraternal organizations and church memberships of an earlier era -- predicated on literacy -- were the way the frontier was settled. Politics revolved around such. One could become known to strangers. Character assessment.

TV has rendered them non-existent as much as government substitutes in the form of Social Security or subsidized healthcare broke ties to others outside immediate family.

Atomization isn't the answer. One of the rising causes of death among men age 50 and up is suicide. There are fewer men of working age today employed full time than at any period since WW II. And other sobering statistics not in any sense debated for solution.

Better, then, to assess options such as being vagabond and try to find a way through. Anyone with a pension not fully funded, or dependent on stock market returns is in no way "safe". This includes government pensions. Financial rules now predicate in event of bank or systemic failure that individual account holders will own institution shares, not access to cash.

A well stocked RV seems an asset to me. The longer one can go without outside supply of fuel, food or water, the better. One has to land somewhere, eventually. Best to have choices on where and with whom to settle back down. Two weeks and a thousand miles could mean the difference that matters.

So, in light of this video, we might say that being free is also being prepared. Would that homeowners and renters applied the same metric. Property taxes, alone, make that form equally untenable.

[cwf]

Bob, That's funny!

Obviously, lots of the 'freedom' these folks are "enjoying"... are POSSIBLE because of the 'society' they 'reject'. Where else would they get the 'van', camper, PC, camera... guitar strings... food... fuel... clothing... etc... ???

Most of us realize we are not 'islands' unto ourselves.... and have an innate understanding that we can come together for good. How else would these 'independent/free' people actually 'survive'... Rather, perhaps they are 'minimalists'....

It did not appear to me the folks in the 'documentary' were real 'hunter/gatherer' stock. I saw no stretched hides, no 'smoke rooms' for preserving meat... no process of 'gardening'... heck, even the chairs were 'store bought'. While I could do most of these things, you only want me to sing SOLO (So Low you can't hear me).. but, I can hunt, fish and 'survive'... Some folks were pushing carts in a grocery store!!!!

Things said in the beginning of the video are addressed throughout. Yes, there is a pattern of 'fear' and we deal with it. We teach our kids, just as we were hopefully taught... 'hot stove'... 'sharp knife'... etc.. a basic 'flight' response... rarely are we taught to 'stand our ground' as this really puts your belief's to a point of validation... to a test...

Regarding 'survivalists'.... many can name the 'dark' things of life's journey. One man's trap....another's security. We ALL make these 'choices' as a 'survival' structure of our own.... each one 'tweaked' by infinite inputs from societal structure, from life experience and from life's survivals.

I've said before.. "Lose the LUMPS, not the LESSON!"

I do enjoy 'visiting' folks 'online/virtual' like this forum provides....and when close enough for a nod, smile, handshake or an appropriate embrace.. or to 'break bread' or offer/share a toast, to live the quote "...life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." with other's who live the hope, not just hope to live. Gathering with 'like minded folks' is one of the human tendencies that our 'society' enables. We CAN choose to associate with others...which by default also means I can choose to NOT associate.

I was impressed tho, how one guy could rattle off a quote.... very impressive, he must have a LOT of time on his hands..and gifted with a wonderful memory!!!


For me, I looked for the 'good'...as well as the challenges... and perhaps 'fulltiming' insights..

Remember, lose the lumps, not the lesson....

[mayco]

Good video with some reality checks. I agree with the notion of how we are fed a steady stream of fear based stories by the media.

[Lily&Me]

An interesting video.

I agree with Channing, that they may more accurately be characterized as minimalists.

I admire those who are willing and able to live off the grid, and I would really like to see Quartzite sometime, but doing that for a few days at a time is all I would be interested in.

What can I say.


Maggie

[Pagey]

Haven't had the chance to watch the video yet, but I do follow a couple of preppers' sites, mainly because they do have some good boondocking gear and tips.

Bought my solar oven and water distillation system through one and got matchless fire starters from another, plus I took a medicinal herbal class in which I learned a great deal. Arthritic knuckles haven't bothered me since I started taking tincture of Solomon Seal...works better than ibuprofen without the side effects.

[mandolindave]

Part of me feels like I am a slave to a piece of land.

Part of me feels like I would be homeless in a rented apartment

Part of me feels that I am building a future for the kids

Part of me feels that I want to full-time half of the year

Part of me never wants to buy or a sell a house again

Part of me feels like my trailer would be the coolest, rolling home

One thing that a lot of full timers talk about is, meeting more people, that they end up saying goodbye to.

[BoldAdventure]

Interesting video.

It seems, as though there is a group of full-timers whose goal is to simply, be hobo's full time. Pretty common with 20 something couples who only want to earn enough to scrap by, boondock always, dumpster dive and believe they're rebelling against consumerism while posting about their latest yard sale finds on Facebook and Instagram with their new iPhones.

[Pagey]

I have now watched the video. I read Bob Wells' and Randy Vinings' blogs and remember when they posted about this video being made. Randy is very well read and writes wonderful poetry.

We are going to full time, starting this summer. We are not going to be homeless. We are going to be houseless. Getting rid of the stuff has been freeing. I am already feeling lighter of heart and spirit.

I hope meet some of you on our travels as we will attend rallies as we travel.

Be well all.

[Lily&Me]

"Houseless".

I like that.


Maggie

[FastEddieB]

Thanks for the link. Will definitely check it out.