The people who disdain tracking & similar skills literally don’t know what they’re missing.
So glad you went out on a limb here and learned & I can’t wait to learn more from you. Also, I 100% agree -- the Importance of being Ernest is that a lot of the time, it’s really great dealing with a earnest person. (Especially when life/safety/the environment is on the line.)
I meant people who disdain trying to live without damaging the Earth, and who are spiritual. Tracking is hard to disdain when it works, but it's easy to scoff at until you learn it.
Thanks for sharing this. I read Tom Brown Jr.'s "The Tracker" when I was living a miserable existence in a hovel in one of America's many neglected urban centers (doesn't matter which--they're "all ugly in the same way.") It became a touchstone of my life, & following its advice, I became pretty good at spotting hidden animals, though not on the level of those instructors, but more than that, I finally got steered away from the mano-a-mano man-against-nature motif of "survival" culture vs. "traditional skills" culture. And as you point out, this attitude then extends to many corners of your life. He's done wonderful things for people.
And also, THIS: "How many articles have you read about someone who joins an excursion with people who have principles that clash with the voracious consumption of everyday life, and then returns home to sneer about it to a national magazine?"
Answer: far too many, including a particular best-seller about the Appalachian Trail written by someone who couldn't do it & presented that as a point of moral and mental superiority. Ugh. Sneering is not a good look, or a good way to live. A week or two away from it is always refreshing. Sincerity is cool, you know? I'm mostly done with anti-heroes for the same reason--been there, done that. It's a cop-out.
You don't need to be a Scout. you are more aware than you were before you read the book, and that's great, isn't it? I don't claim to be a tracker. But I did find some beaver prints by the creek, and I was so excited. I never would have spotted them a week or two ago.
And Bill Bryson is a douchebag. I found that book so disappointing, and then I read "At Home" and it's somehow worse.
What I've said for a long time is that the nihilism (and blue-collar fatalism, whatever you want to call it) of noir/etc only serves the ruling class. It made me no friends.
I'm here to bag on Bryson as well, and that book in particular. I don't think I even finished it; when he was going on and on about being frightened of black bears and then ridiculing moose I'd had enough. Moose will flat out fuck you up and are far more dangerous than a freakin' black bear. It reminds me of the noir/etc. writer who (I think) has since gone on to a measure of commercial success who, years ago, wrote "bull" and "steer" interchangeably in a short story and I vowed to never read him again. 😂
I learned how dangerous moose are in grade school from a children's book. Now I'm laughing, imagining that the writer used the phrase "grab the steer by the balls."
The people who disdain tracking & similar skills literally don’t know what they’re missing.
So glad you went out on a limb here and learned & I can’t wait to learn more from you. Also, I 100% agree -- the Importance of being Ernest is that a lot of the time, it’s really great dealing with a earnest person. (Especially when life/safety/the environment is on the line.)
I meant people who disdain trying to live without damaging the Earth, and who are spiritual. Tracking is hard to disdain when it works, but it's easy to scoff at until you learn it.
Thanks for sharing this. I read Tom Brown Jr.'s "The Tracker" when I was living a miserable existence in a hovel in one of America's many neglected urban centers (doesn't matter which--they're "all ugly in the same way.") It became a touchstone of my life, & following its advice, I became pretty good at spotting hidden animals, though not on the level of those instructors, but more than that, I finally got steered away from the mano-a-mano man-against-nature motif of "survival" culture vs. "traditional skills" culture. And as you point out, this attitude then extends to many corners of your life. He's done wonderful things for people.
And also, THIS: "How many articles have you read about someone who joins an excursion with people who have principles that clash with the voracious consumption of everyday life, and then returns home to sneer about it to a national magazine?"
Answer: far too many, including a particular best-seller about the Appalachian Trail written by someone who couldn't do it & presented that as a point of moral and mental superiority. Ugh. Sneering is not a good look, or a good way to live. A week or two away from it is always refreshing. Sincerity is cool, you know? I'm mostly done with anti-heroes for the same reason--been there, done that. It's a cop-out.
Peace.
You don't need to be a Scout. you are more aware than you were before you read the book, and that's great, isn't it? I don't claim to be a tracker. But I did find some beaver prints by the creek, and I was so excited. I never would have spotted them a week or two ago.
And Bill Bryson is a douchebag. I found that book so disappointing, and then I read "At Home" and it's somehow worse.
What I've said for a long time is that the nihilism (and blue-collar fatalism, whatever you want to call it) of noir/etc only serves the ruling class. It made me no friends.
"And Bill Bryson is a..."
LOL. I try (struggle, it's truly a struggle) to be somewhat diplomatic online, but yeah, he is.
I try. Yoda would not be impressed. :)
I'm here to bag on Bryson as well, and that book in particular. I don't think I even finished it; when he was going on and on about being frightened of black bears and then ridiculing moose I'd had enough. Moose will flat out fuck you up and are far more dangerous than a freakin' black bear. It reminds me of the noir/etc. writer who (I think) has since gone on to a measure of commercial success who, years ago, wrote "bull" and "steer" interchangeably in a short story and I vowed to never read him again. 😂
I learned how dangerous moose are in grade school from a children's book. Now I'm laughing, imagining that the writer used the phrase "grab the steer by the balls."
Thanks so much for sharing, Thomas. I love the threads we’re both pulling on…excited to read more about Tracker School!
Thank you, there will be more soon! I'm catching up with my travels.