I was listening to a local talk show the other day that brought the immortal words of Napolean Dynamite – “I got skills” – to mind. A caller was lamenting the fact that she was a young 20-something with a college degree who thought she had absolutely no utilitarian skills to speak of. She couldn’t change the oil in her car, could barely cook, couldn’t sew, couldn’t garden, really couldn’t do any of those things she thought made one independent of others. She had pioneer ancestors that she knew possessed skills such as knitting, cooking, tending livestock, blacksmithing, farming, etc., that not only kept a family alive, but that contributed to the well-being of the local community – a community that depended on each other and appreciated the skills each had to offer, no matter how small.
Take a look at your own life. What happens when the faucet springs a leak (for the 10th time)? Do you call the plumber because you don’t know a washer from a wrench? When your husband puts a hole in his shirt does it become thrift store fodder because sewing is not in your repertoire? If you want fresh peaches for a pie, do you run out to the backyard or the grocery store? Do you even know how to make a pie??? If your child is oozing blood from a gash in her arm, do you panic and woozily call 911 because you don’t know the first thing about first aid?
The point is we have become completely and utterly dependent on others to make our lives run. So much so that, although we may have known how to do many of those necessary, everyday things once upon a time, our children do not because we do not do them ourselves nor have we passed that knowledge on. A great article on how even the simplest of cooking instructions have changed over the years because our cooking savvy has declined to utter incompetence was published in San Diego’s Union Tribune on March 19, 2006. It raises the question of just where our cooking smarts have gone. The answer seems to be “in the grave!” (See www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060319/news_1n19cooking.html) Cooking isn’t the only skill either. Think about sewing, canning and gardening. Our parents and grandparents lived with the philosophy of making do, using up, doing it themselves, or doing without. What happened to that? Granted, it’s easier to pay someone else to do it for us, but did we really ever learn those skills in the first place? Or have we simply let that knowledge and ability die out of neglect? What are we passing on to future generations, the ability to dial the phone or to do things themselves? A Penny Closer also had a nice article on “lost arts” (http://apennycloser.com/2007/09/25/the-lost-arts/) worth the reading.
So, let’s think ahead a little. What happens when grocery store shelves are cleaned off and gas pumps are empty in a crisis (whether short or prolonged) and you have to depend on your own skills and self-produced products or those of your neighbors? What will your contribution to your community be? What skills and/or products do you have that could be bartered or traded for things you and your family might need? Given the economy we are currently in, perhaps it’s time to dust off those long ago-learned skills and start putting them to use, even if just to save a little in there here and now. If you never learned those skills to begin with, look into some local community education classes. I recently looked through the course catalog for the University of Utah Lifelong Learning classes and noticed these:
- Balcony Gardens
- How to Raise Backyard Gardens (next on my list!)
- Farm Your Small Acreage
- Homeowner Basics
- Raising Bees (already took that one!)
- Preserving Fruits and Vegetables
- Toolbox Basics
- Vegetable Container Gardening
These were just a few among a myriad of other arts and crafts classes. Our local school district offers adult and youth education courses that include certified CPR and First Aid, knitting and sewing basics, and cooking classes. There is a wealth of information out there, and many people willing to pass on their knowledge and skills…you just have to know where to find it! The book series “For Dummies” has some great and varied topics and uses a simple format for the dummy in all of us. You’d be surprised what you can find!
Perhaps we all need to take a look at what we can do skill-wise or what we can provide that can be of value. Me and mine? Well, I can sew (learned from my mom) although I don’t do it much with three boys. I can cook and garden a little (knowledge from my grandfather), although the moose eat most things! I have some beehives and plan on getting a few chickens (knowledge I owe to community education). I’m also certified in first aid (professional training) but would like to learn a little more about emergency medical procedures. My husband is a builder and so has a range of handy skills that would be of immense use. Most importantly, I grew up with the belief that if someone else could do something, so could I…it just might take me a little longer! I have tried to instill that belief into my children, as well, along with all those other skills that I learned at the knees of my grandparents, parents and others, for which I will be forever grateful.
