New Member My Brother Calls Me Grizzlyette Adams Like It's A Bad Thing...

Discussion in 'New Member Introduction' started by GrizzlyetteAdams, Jan 29, 2019.

0/5, 0 votes

  1. GrizzlyetteAdams

    GrizzlyetteAdams Crap Creek Survivor
      390/460

    Blog Posts:
    3
    I have lurked here for a bit, and decided to come out and meet the people that make this place rock! I am looking forward to learning more from you, and hope that I can contribute something too.

    I see that several of my friends (TMTtactical, Morgan101, IBME, and others) recently joined...so I am thinking, “Monkey see, monkey do, I will join too.” Haha, it is all TMTtactical’s fault…he told us about this place. (Thank you TMT!)

    I believe my intro is the longest post I’ve ever made on a message board. I thought about trimming it but didn’t because if it encourages just one person to pursue and persist in their goal to be more self-sufficient it may be worth the read.

    My brother calls me Grizzlyette Adams and a crazy hermit on the mountain like it’s a bad thing. He still has not forgiven me for moving hundreds and hundreds of miles away from family in south Louisiana to go on a wild-goose chase, as he called it. Women just don’t do this kind of thing, he said. At the time, my poor mother about had a stroke.

    Some years ago, what I thought would be just a three-week camping trip to begin clearing my land to build a home in a classified wilderness area, turned into a three-year-long event. As hard as it was (ok, it was sometimes downright sucky), the experience turned into an education that I would not trade for all the gold in the world.

    I found out what I was made of.

    For reasons beyond my control, ALL of my well-researched and rock-solid plans for building a nice cabin in the woods turned to pure gumbo-mud. Pretty much overnight. It was going to be a long while before I would have the financial resources to build anything on the BOL I bought… It was either pack it in and go home or tough it out.

    I cried for a day (ok, a few days), got over myself and set about the business of some hard camping out in the boondocks in the land of snow and ice (which was something totally foreign for this ol' Cajun girl). I was a long way from home and did not know anyone in the area (yet).

    I was broke...no, I was broker than broke. At the time I could not afford to get a regular supply of propane for my one-burner camp stove or drive a bunch of miles to buy ice for my ice-chest (those were reserved for “special” times). No electric, no phone (cell phones will not work in these mountains), alone in what is classified as a wilderness area on the forestry map…

    My family and friends thought I was pure-D-crazy for not calling it quits and coming back home. Or, maybe I just might be part alligator? Once I sink my teeth into something, I rarely let go. Either that or I am just plain crazy. Maybe that's it. They say that the definition of insanity is when you're nuts and it bothers you. Crazy is when you're nuts and you like it. Well, at least I am not insane.

    I had enough money to keep me in lamp oil, so I could read my Bible and (many!) other books at night to take my mind off of my fears and troubles. I decided to spend my $$ on lamp oil instead of propane for the camp stove, which was so small, it was almost worthless anyway. I reasoned that I could always cook over a campfire, which I did. Mais cher! Smoke-flavored gumbo and jambalaya in a dutch oven over a hickory fire is awesome! Never mind the commercially bottled liquid smoke...the real stuff is truly wondermous.

    One year later, I tangled with a rabid skunk. That was serious crap. It put everything else into perspective... because on the day before IT happened, I was sliding down into a blue funk about my failed cabin-building plans and feeling sorry for myself. (Oh boy, then I really had something to whine about…and learned all about perspective.)

    Fast forward three years...I finally achieved my goals of clearing the land for my future home. And once my constipated money situation improved, one tiny baby-step at a time, I started to build my cabin. I paid a builder to build the frame and roof it, and along the way, I met some nice friends who helped speed things along considerably. (It took over ten hard years to get that cabin built.) Once the outside walls were stood, and the windows and doors were in, I moved in along with a lot of construction stuff, a wood stove, AND electricity! Yay! I was delighted to pack my oil lamps away. (Dragged them out later for a month during a nasty prolonged ice storm; we were just like old friends again.)

    Still, there ain't no easy button, f'sure. Especially if you suspect that you may be a real live Crap Magnet. Let me explain that part:

    Along the way, in spite of all my extreme care and caution, another rabid skunk made its way into my life. I had to go thru the rabies treatment a second time (five years after the first).

    Later, I got bitten by a timber rattlesnake...almost lost my leg and my mind (I managed to avoid amputation but it took six painful months for the swelling to go down and before I was able to walk again without crutches). I don't mind telling you, I am nervous as a sunburned bobcat every time I see a curvy looking stick on the ground.

    Long-term outdoor living is not for sissies.

    On top of it all, this old swamp girl found out what camping in freezing cold weather was all about. There were many mornings during the roughest spells of winter when I woke up with ice on my eyebrows and parts of my long hair (what the heck? frozen breath or what?), and my water glass on the make-shift “table” 3 feet away from where I slept was frozen solid with ice. I was running low on lamp oil, and propane was unaffordable. (I thought about bringing in some coals in my cast iron pots, but because I was worried about carbon monoxide, I just slept with the pre-heated pots under the blankets.) It was so cold, that sometimes the plastic 7-gallon water containers that I hauled water in and kept outside, froze solid as well. I never saw such fast freezing in my life. No matter what I did, I never felt truly warm.

    Sometimes I cried myself to sleep. My little piece of paradise was trying to kill me. Then I was like, Shut up, stupid monkey mind! Just shut up and quit feeling sorry for yourself! Nobody asked you do do this. (Which was a damned good thing because if someone forced me to do this, I probably would have choked them.)

    But, looking at the big picture, 'taint all bad! Winter isn’t forever. In camp during the summer, I got to meet the most gorgeous fireflies. I saw some real honest-to-goodness foxfire and glow worms too. It was like pure magic! My crude camp shower had the latest in surround-sound; no music CD could match genuine nature sounds of birds, crickets, and frogs. Mountain breezes and natural pure mountain “air freshener” came with the deal, too! No electric or batteries required! I enjoyed a lot of truly unforgettable delights. Nature gave me lots of consolation prizes that made it all worthwhile. I will still remember them all, even after I am 98 years old and rocking on a porch somewhere.

    Also, I learned how to keep my food cool without refrigeration, without the benefit of a nice cool creek. I discovered that repurposing an abandoned armadillo hole can save HOURS of digging in hard rocky soil for a primitive sewer system. (I never dreamed that I would be so happy to see armadillos this far north.) I emptied my lil' chamber pot into not one, but TWO abandoned armadillo tunnels for the entire three years of camping. When I didn't have money to buy lime for odor and fly control, I discovered that wood ashes from the campfire worked just as well.

    The education I got in the school of hard knocks was priceless. As Mark Twain (my hero!) once said: A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.

    Financial deprivation and other constraints taught me how to do a lot of things in unconventional ways. If I had the money or the means to do things “normally,” I might have never pursued alternatives on my own.

    Now I can honestly say I have a well-rounded education. Growing up in New Orleans, I learned more than I wanted to know about urban survival. I also learned more than I cared to know--in spite of my earnest best efforts to evacuate--getting trapped and riding out stuff like Katrina, and plenty of other messes. I spent many years in my beloved swamps, in deepest, darkest Louisiana, which taught me a lot, including how to eat anything that doesn’t eat me first, lol. And because I refused to chicken-out, I can add long-term rough-camping and so much more to the mix.

    There is no substitute for experience. In the hard times coming to this world, I won’t be frantically looking for this book or that book to learn the things I will need to know to survive. And as a bonus, I may be able to help others who may need my knowledge of herbal healing, foraging, hunting, fishing, flintknapping, primitive living skills and so on.

    So, if life deals a bad hand? There is hope if you really believe this:

    Sorrow looks back…
    Worry looks around...
    Faith looks up...


    By the way, I am not a spring chicken, just a little old crazy woman now, barely over five feet tall, 62 years young...and too stupid to believe anyone who tells me, "it can't be done."

    Sheesh, this is one ridiculously long post! I am almost too embarrassed to hit the send button...but what the heck, here goes…
     
  2. Keith H.

    Keith H. Moderator Staff Member
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    7
    Woe!!! Grizzlyette, what an introduction! Sounds as though you have had plenty of experience. Welcome to this forum Grizzlyette, good to have you onboard.
    Keith.
     
  3. GrizzlyetteAdams

    GrizzlyetteAdams Crap Creek Survivor
      390/460

    Blog Posts:
    3
    Thank you for the welcome, Keith! I am tickled to have found this place.

    Ha. As soon as I lose my newbie status, I will put the phrase Crap Creek Survivor beneath my avatar, lol. (When will I be able to do that?)
     
    TMT Tactical and Keith H. like this.
  4. Keith H.

    Keith H. Moderator Staff Member
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    7
    I am not sure, but I will see what I can do.
    Keith.
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  5. GrizzlyetteAdams

    GrizzlyetteAdams Crap Creek Survivor
      390/460

    Blog Posts:
    3
    Please, no need to go to any special lengths for me... I was just curious when I will be eligible to dress up my status. :)
     
    TMT Tactical and Keith H. like this.
  6. Keith H.

    Keith H. Moderator Staff Member
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    7
    No problem, I will let you know when I know.
    Keith.
     
  7. Alaskajohn

    Alaskajohn Master Survivalist
      415/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Welcome Grizzlyette! Great to see you made the jump!
     
  8. TMT Tactical

    TMT Tactical The Great Lizard ! Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    @GrizzlyetteAdams
    Warm Welcome from the Arizona valley folks. USA

    Welcome to one of the best forums going. Thanks for making the jump. I am looking forward to your posts. I am sure you will contribute a ton of worthwhile info, you always have in the past.
     
    GrizzlyetteAdams likes this.
  9. GrizzlyetteAdams

    GrizzlyetteAdams Crap Creek Survivor
      390/460

    Blog Posts:
    3
    Thank you for the kudos, and especially for showing me the way to here!
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  10. TMT Tactical

    TMT Tactical The Great Lizard ! Staff Member
      510/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    You are more than welcome. It was a self serving gesture, I wanted more of your info and am too lazy to do the work myself.
     
    GrizzlyetteAdams likes this.
  11. GrizzlyetteAdams

    GrizzlyetteAdams Crap Creek Survivor
      390/460

    Blog Posts:
    3
    You brat, lol.

    I feel like I am the one benefitting the most, though.
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  12. Morgan101

    Morgan101 Legendary Survivalist
      515/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Great to have you here Griz, and thanks to TMT for recommending the site.

    Griz: You have to have the greatest into post on the planet. I truly am so impressed. I always look forward to reading your posts.
     
  13. Sourdough

    Sourdough "eleutheromaniac"
      515/575

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Welcome Lady.
     
  14. Sonofliberty

    Sonofliberty Master Survivalist
      407/460

    Blog Posts:
    0
    Hey GA. I got your PM and here I am. I already see some other familiar names.
     
  15. TexDanm

    TexDanm Shadow Dancer
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    2
    Welcome, It is good to see that there will be someone else here that likes to write long in depth posts. LOL. Me and Chris are both pretty long winded at times. I like a good thick book so bring it on and enjoy.

    One thing that I have noted in my past is that the time periods when things seemed the worst financially all offered up things that in retrospect made the struggle worthwhile and a good thing. Hard times forces you to either learn to be happy with what you have or breaks you. If you don't break you never have to fear hard times again because you KNOW that you can live through it and even enjoy life.
     
    Last edited: Jan 31, 2019
  16. GrizzlyetteAdams

    GrizzlyetteAdams Crap Creek Survivor
      390/460

    Blog Posts:
    3
    Thank you for the welcome TexDanm.

    Speaking of books, I'll see your "30,000 books" and raise ya an additional 10,000 or so. NOT. KIDDING.

    I think it is a most delightful disorder.


    .
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  17. TexDanm

    TexDanm Shadow Dancer
      525/575

    Blog Posts:
    2
    I LOVE my books!
     
  18. GrizzlyetteAdams

    GrizzlyetteAdams Crap Creek Survivor
      390/460

    Blog Posts:
    3
    I love my books more...

    LOL. You met yer match, bruh...
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
  19. GrizzlyetteAdams

    GrizzlyetteAdams Crap Creek Survivor
      390/460

    Blog Posts:
    3
    THIS 100%, especially if one is flexible. Flexible people can bend, but they don't break.



    .
     
    TMT Tactical likes this.
Loading...
Similar Threads Forum Date
Big Brother News, Current Events, and Politics Dec 23, 2021
Band Of Brothers Opening Documentary Movies Jun 8, 2019
My brother is endangering the rest of the family The Hangout Jul 8, 2016
Nyc Mayor Calls For Some Industry Nationalization News, Current Events, and Politics Mar 16, 2020
Panic Buying, 911 Calls... News, Current Events, and Politics Mar 13, 2020

Share This Page