Toughness

[Roadking Larry]

“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”

― G. Michael Hopf,

 

[Snattlerake]

Man amputates his own arm.

https://www.5280.com/2018/10/its-been-15-years-since-aron-ralston-amputated-his-arm-in-blue-john-canyon/#:~:text=It was colossal, easily hundreds,of his adventure-packed life.

 

[rc508pir]

Reinstate the draft.

Yes but put them all in the same unit and use the trash as cannon fodder (because you know most of them are gonna be trash)

 

[yukonjack]

This is so true. John Andrews taught us how to mine beach gold at Nome. During the mining season he spent 12 to 14 hours 6 days a week shoveling into his beach box sluice. On the seventh day he did concentrate cleanups and laundry. In the winter John retired to Arizona where he had another mining claim. He was 84 years old.

Bill Munz would let us come out to his old bucketline dredge and show us how it worked. For the most part he ran the whole operation by himself. He invited us out to go scouting some good moose hunting sites at the end of the mining season. I'd have declined if I'd known we were going to be hiking 20 miles across the tundra. Bill was also an accomplished pilot. Unfortunately his plane was almost as old as he was and due to a mechanical issue he had to set it down in the tundra on the way to the Omilak silver mine.

In recounting the event Bill said "I was able to crawl into the back of the plane and turn on the ELT. After waiting about 15 minutes and realizing no one was coming I determined to rescue myself."
He retrieved his back pack and rifle. He told me he coulda hiked back to Nome or continued on to the mine. He choose to go to the mine. He said he'd made it about 15 miles when a helicopter appeared and circled around him before landing. He recounted a State Trooper got out and asked him if that was his plane that was upside down. He said the trooper told him they were there to rescue him. Bill told him that he'd already rescued himself but if they'd fly him onto the mine he'd be much appreciative. Bill was only 79.

I've met lots of characters like that over the years. They all shared the same common trait. Lots of physical activity.

I made my original post off of the conversations I had with Bill after the crash. Then this morning I remembered that there had been a news article about it. I got Bill’s age wrong by two years. I do clearly remember him saying that the plane had flipped and was now upside down.


Elderly Pilot Crash-Lands, Then Walks 15 Miles
July 8, 1987

NOME, Alaska (AP) _ A 77-year-old gold miner was slowed but not stopped when his small airplane crash-landed in western Alaska: He just got out and hiked 15 miles across the tundra.



Bill Munz was flying toward his remote mining camp when engine problems forced him down around 9 a.m. Monday, said state police spokesman Duke Ballard. The hard landing damaged the single-engine aircraft’s propeller, landing gear and fuselage.



Munz was unhurt but far from help, 100 miles east of Nome and 30 miles from his mining camp. There are no roads and no settlements in the area, so Munz grabbed his rifle, filed his backpack with rations, and started walking across the tundra toward camp, Ballard said.



Meanwhile, a satellite picked up a signal from the airplane’s emergency transmitter, and troopers dispatched a helicopter to the area. They spotted Munz at 6:30 p.m., about 15 miles from his airplane.



The troopers gave him a lift the rest of the way.




https://apnews.com/article/76c6cd1604ab395d9f983f7d6d4f9799

 

[HoLeChit]

man is no more, only males who eat.....poached eggs will be seen as the norm for masculinity.

Hey hey now, I eat lots of poached eggs and toast!

“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”

― G. Michael Hopf,

I came here to say this. It perfectly sums up why we see what we are seeing, and also describes where we are as a society. Hard times do not come to us easily now, which causes us to become complacent and lazy. I can walk out of my properly heated house, remote start my truck, turn on the seat heater, and go to the store to pick up groceries. Hardest part of all that is walking to and from the truck. I’m not saying that these modern conveniences are bad, but we now have to create those circumstances of struggle to develop such toughness. The grit and toughness, both mentally and physically that I had instilled in me while serving in the Marines served me well while in, but if I do not stay mindful and continue to hone said skills/toughness I lose it. It will always be there, but sometimes that edge isnt as sharp as it once was, or the edge isn’t quite as sharp. The reality in our nice, comfortable lives is that the element of toughness is something we have to find and practice ourselves. That toughness is different for each of us though, and changes as we grow/age. The same attitude and edge I had in Afghanistan back in 2010 isn’t going to serve me well now. Sometimes it’s hard to find a direction to push towards in the realm of personal development, and the easy times we are in now only make it harder.

 

[Glock 40]

I'll have to see if I can find the interview and honestly the guy's name escapes me even. He was discussing the "demasculinization" of men on TV, movies, etc. I hadn't really noticed but it's there right in our faces. The lumberjack man is no more, only males with skinny jeans who eat tofu, lettuce and poached eggs will be seen as the norm for masculinity.

My 17yo daughter and I have discussed this a few times actually over the last few months. She's 5' 2" 120lbs...pole vaults, shoots trap, plays basketball, carries over a 4.0 GPA. 3A high school. She's told me more than once that there are few to no boys there who are the type that can fix something if it's broke, is capable of problem solving during any kind of group work, or has a job that requires any kind of manual dexterity other than standing or even has a job at all even in the summer let alone during the school year. We're fairly rural too, so I know that influence to work should be there. She's helped me change gears in her jeep axles, put in a new fuel system front to back in a 66' Ford Bronco, and I didn't have to force her to help me with any of it, and then won't miss a school dance or a chance to wear a formal dress either.

Also under the same roof is my 13yo son, 5' 10" 160lbs, coordinated, athletic, would rather run over than around you on the football field or basketball court. Just as smart as his sister, but less motivated in academics (still makes As and Bs but rarely studies or makes much effort to make all As) and definitely less motivated to work. He will work if asked, can fix just about anything or solve anything you ask him to but will rarely take on the job himself without being asked. Pretty interesting personality differences and work ethics under the same roof, with the same influences and parenting.

Very interesting what you have observed. I can't find the article I read recently to link to, and a clear disclaimer I am in no way inferring this on your children.
It was talking about how current generation of 20+ year olds and teens are much less sexually active than previous generations. Also the higher occurrence of bisexual females. It mainly boiled down to the girls didn't find the boys as suitable partners, due to so many being effeminate and the boys lacking desire to court them. It said a lot of girls ended up trying things with other girls because the butch ones were more masculine than the males. It said a lot of males were even less interested in the females due to their lack of desire to practice good hygiene and essentially take care of themselves. So they would rather eat pizza and play Xbox. Its pretty sad state when boys don't want to chase girls.

 

[druryj]

Very interesting what you have observed. I can't find the article I read recently to link to, and a clear disclaimer I am in no way inferring this on your children.
It was talking about how current generation of 20+ year olds and teens are much less sexually active than previous generations. Also the higher occurrence of bisexual females. It mainly boiled down to the girls didn't find the boys as suitable partners, due to so many being effeminate and the boys lacking desire to court them. It said a lot of girls ended up trying things with other girls because the butch ones were more masculine than the males. It said a lot of males were even less interested in the females due to their lack of desire to practice good hygiene and essentially take care of themselves. So they would rather eat pizza and play Xbox. Its pretty sad state when boys don't want to chase girls.

Dang. Back in the day, chasing girls (and sometimes catching them) was almost a letter sport.

 

[HFS]

I didn't say I was for it, I simply answered the question with what might be one way to reinstate toughness.

If we tried to bring back the draft (actually go into the military, not some kind of Politically Correct "social service corps" for instance), the little dustups we saw in American cities last year would be nothing compared to what we would see.
Mamas would be out there marching and looting and burning with their draft-eligible kids (very few adult men would be protesting because so many kids today don't know who their daddies are).

 

[TwoForFlinching]

The web has a huge part in the wussifying of America. Back when you could either choose to fight back, or were forced to fight those that tormented you. Now people hide away to their safe spaces online, denying their inner rage until it turns on themselves. Surrounding themselves with people that think just like them, a variable circle-jerk daisy chain of narrow-minded comfort food for the soul. It's tragic.

 

[rockchalk06]

The web has a huge part in the wussifying of America. Back when you could either choose to fight back, or were forced to fight those that tormented you. Now people hide away to their safe spaces online, denying their inner rage until it turns on themselves. Surrounding themselves with people that think just like them, a variable circle-jerk daisy chain of narrow-minded comfort food for the soul. It's tragic.

And hiding behind the safety of a keyboard!