On May 17 - 19, 2013, a Heritage Life Skills event was held at the Waynesville, NC fairgrounds. This event was sponsored by Carolina Readiness in Waynesville, NC.
You may ask, what is a Life Skills event?
Simply put, it is all of the skills we use to have to survive before convenience took over our lives.
What kind of skills am I referring to?
Slautering and butchering animals to feed your family. This has been replaced by simply going to the grocery store's meat department. If most people saw an animal slattered and butchered, they would probably go hungry. Hunters do not have a problem with this but 99.9% of Americans do not want to think about the meat they buy from a grocery store was a cute little animal. We are one of the few countries that no longer skin and butcher animals for our evening meals.
Gardening skills. Again, this has been replaced by going to the grocery store. We think if we go to a Farmers Market we have accomplished something tremendous. We still do not know where the food comes from or if it is a GMO product. What's GMO? Does the food you eat and you think is so healthy have herbicides and pesticides in the food itself that you cannot wash off? What really causes ADD, ADHD and Cancer?
Map Reading. Today, everyone relies on GSP in their cars and on their smart phones. No one realizes that America is about the only country that uses GPS for personal use. It won't be too long before the military will not even have map reading skills. Our GPS Satellites are antique. Lord help us if they start to fail. Talk about 'Lost in America'.
Tactical Radio. We rely so much on our cell phones for communication we would be lost if one day they no longer worked. If power and communications are lost for whatever reason, this class is about how we keep in touch with what is happening. There is no greater cause for anxiety than to not know what is going on. This class informs people about scanners, ham radios (fixed and portable) and antennas. It also teaches about the level of license you would need based on what you want to accomplish. Your local ham radio club will be more than happy to prepare you for the test to get your license and help with procuring the equipment you want.
Quilt Making. Are you kidding me. How many people outside of the Amish or Mennonites know how to sew.
Solar Power. Everybody simply expects the lights to come on when they flip the switch or the stove to turn on when they turn the knob. What do you do if that doesn't happen? This class is about how to prepare to be 'Off the Grid'.
Water Purification. We all expect to get our fresh (clorinated, floridated, arsenic laced and 300 other chemical additives) clean water when we turn on a faucet. Lucky us. Do you know how to sterilize water if that clean water doesn't come out of your tap? Did you know you can live only about 3 days without clean water.
Canning Food. Do you know how to can food for long term storage? Vegetables? Beef?
Chicken? Pork? Butter? Jelly? Jam?
Dehydrating Food. Do you know how to dehydrate food for long term storage?
Bread Making. Do you know how to make a loaf of bread?
Cast Iron Cookware. Can you bake that loaf of bread over a campfire in a Dutch Oven?
Solar Cooking. Can you build a solar oven to bake that loaf of bread?
Fire Starting. Do you know how to start a fire if you don't have matches or a lighter? If you don't smoke, you probably don't even have a lighter in your car or at home.
Self Defense. Can you take care of yourself if you are assaulted?
Ammunition Reload. If you cannot buy ammunition, do you have the skill or equipment to reload your own ammunition?
Home Defense. Do you know how to protect your home and your family from intruders?
Herbal Tinctures. Do you know how to grow, process, make and administer herbal tinctures? Probably a big not. You probably think there will always be doctors you can run to when you or a family member is sick.
Bath Soap. Do you know how to make your own bath soap, toothpaste, laundry deterent and softener.
Candle Making. Do you know how to make candles.
Wound Care. Do you know how to treat a wound if 911 does not work? It may require more than just handing someone a bandaid.
Sutures. Can you suture a wound if emergency care was not available.
Bow and Arrows. Do you know how to properly use a bow and arrow? Better yet, do you know how to make them?
These and other skills are what Heritage Life Skills are all about. Getting away from our life of convenience and learning how to be self sufficient. If some major event occurred, would you and your family be a survivor or would you become part of the mob trying to take from others to survive? Just how long do you think you and your family could survive?
But, if you are like most people, you suffer from Normalcy Bias. Which is .... it has never happened before so I think the odds of it happening is pretty high. Ask the people from NY and NJ that experienced Hurricane Sandy what they thought before the hurricane. Ask them if they were prepared for such a disaster and if it was difficult to survive. Remember that Sandy occurred in a small isolated area.
What if a disaster occurred for our entire country. Who would save you? Our government would devote all of their time to keeping the local, state and federal governments running and keeping order. Collateral damage for the american populace would be unavoidable and necessary. Everyone cannot be saved. If you do not prepare ahead of time with your skills and food stores, don't expect any of that to happen after the disaster has occurred. You are ultimately responsible for providing for yourself and your family. Your kids, parents and spouse will be looking to you to provide for their well being and safety. With your current level of prepardness, that is probably pretty scary.
A disaster can strike at a moments notice. It is then too late to wish you had stocked up on food supplies or brushed up on your skills to help your family through the crisis. Make the time now to make an action plan and get started.
If you hear of a Heritage Life Skills event taking place near you, make it a point for the whole family to attend. Do research on the internet, buy books, practice your skills and prepare a litttle at a time.
It is much, much better to be prepared and not need it than to need it and not be prepared.
If you think about it, we have only lost these skills is the past 50 years.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Friday, May 10, 2013
Do You Find Life Boring?
Have you gotten to the point where you have done it, seen it or heard it and nothing seems to interest or excite you anymore. Life is just boring. There may be things you may want to do but you just don't have the energy. So, you lose interest.
Do you realize you are setting yourself up to just ..... die. Because there is just nothing left living for. Wow! Is that sad or what. You are a hopeless individual and in just the few short years you have been on this earth you can no longer find anything that interest you.
Wake up. Get off your ass and start getting involved.
Do you realize that regardless of your age you can still build muscle? I'm 67 and I found myself .... deteriorating. I didn't want to admit it but I had no choice when my knees and hips began hurting just carrying groceries in from the car. Now that's being out of shape. I got talked into going to a palates class with my wife. I set up in the back of the class so the girls would't laugh at my pathetic attempts to do what they were doing. You know, I just do what I can do and strive to achieve what the instructor is doing. Of course, she has been doing this for over 20 years since she was 18 years old so I don't expect to achieve success overnight. I started when I was 66 and my muscles and tendons were tighter than a spring. I couldn't even sit on the floor and sit up straight. Now, here's the amazing part. In the short time I have been doing this, my hips do not hurt anymore and it takes more effort for my knees to start feeling the effects of what I am doing. I'm a living testimony that exercise works. I still can't do everything the instructor and some of the girls do but I continue exercising with them. I'm becoming more flexible and at the same time, my core (abs, legs, hips, back and neck) are becoming stronger. By the way, I'm still the only guy in the class and we do this three times each week.
We are also planting a garden. You think gardening is easy. We had a friend plow up an area behind a barn that use to be a cow pasture. It turned out to be a rock garden. My wife and I moved every rock out of the garden (up to 80 - 100 lbs) except for the ones that required a tractor to move. Our goal is to plant field corn to support green beans, strawberries and potatoes. The fact is, this garden keeps us busy. We are always planning on what to plant, how to plant, when to plant and how to maintain our garden. We also plant vegetables in hay bales, such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers ... just for fun. You have never experienced life until you walk out into your garden and pick an asperagus, tomato or green bean and simply eat it raw. Right out of your garden. That you grew. Plan on planting enough so you can can the excess.
If that is not enough for you, we also learned how to make our own wine ..... when we were in our mid 60's. We made apple/cranberry wine and apple wine and now we are making a Cabernet/Sauvignon from a kit. Our next project will be a Chilean Malbec wine kit. The kits average $2.50 per bottle and rank right up there with the $20 - $30 per bottle wine. As soon as fruit season comes in we plan on making our own blackberry, apple, peach and pear wines. We get our bottles from restaurants and friends and then we clean off the labels, sterilize them and get them ready for our wine. It really keeps us active and we love giving people wine that we made.
Have you canned vegetables, pork, beef, chicken or butter? Have you made apple sauce, jelly or jam? You should be canning foods at todays prices for the future. It is simple. Just buy a pressure canner and a hot water bath and they usually come with a recipe book on how to can.
If none of these suit you, then get involved with a church charity. Or a local boys/girls club or a homeless shelter. Volunteer at the Chamber of Commerce or a local museum or a National/State Park. Think of the wisdom and experience you can pass on to others. I know a lady in her 90's that still does massage therapy. She still has dreams of things she wants to accomplish. That ... is what keeps you alive. Thinking that you have done everything, seen everything and heard everything and there is nothing left for you to do is what causes you to die. Have your grandchildren over to camp out in your house or at a local campground ... even in a cabin. Make smores (graham crackers, Hershey bars and marshmallows). Have fun ..... enjoy life. Become un-bored.
That's it. Simply become un-bored. It's never too late. Just get involved. Simply waking up, breathing, eating and going to bed is not enough.
Life is too short not to share your life with others.
Do you realize you are setting yourself up to just ..... die. Because there is just nothing left living for. Wow! Is that sad or what. You are a hopeless individual and in just the few short years you have been on this earth you can no longer find anything that interest you.
Wake up. Get off your ass and start getting involved.
Do you realize that regardless of your age you can still build muscle? I'm 67 and I found myself .... deteriorating. I didn't want to admit it but I had no choice when my knees and hips began hurting just carrying groceries in from the car. Now that's being out of shape. I got talked into going to a palates class with my wife. I set up in the back of the class so the girls would't laugh at my pathetic attempts to do what they were doing. You know, I just do what I can do and strive to achieve what the instructor is doing. Of course, she has been doing this for over 20 years since she was 18 years old so I don't expect to achieve success overnight. I started when I was 66 and my muscles and tendons were tighter than a spring. I couldn't even sit on the floor and sit up straight. Now, here's the amazing part. In the short time I have been doing this, my hips do not hurt anymore and it takes more effort for my knees to start feeling the effects of what I am doing. I'm a living testimony that exercise works. I still can't do everything the instructor and some of the girls do but I continue exercising with them. I'm becoming more flexible and at the same time, my core (abs, legs, hips, back and neck) are becoming stronger. By the way, I'm still the only guy in the class and we do this three times each week.
We are also planting a garden. You think gardening is easy. We had a friend plow up an area behind a barn that use to be a cow pasture. It turned out to be a rock garden. My wife and I moved every rock out of the garden (up to 80 - 100 lbs) except for the ones that required a tractor to move. Our goal is to plant field corn to support green beans, strawberries and potatoes. The fact is, this garden keeps us busy. We are always planning on what to plant, how to plant, when to plant and how to maintain our garden. We also plant vegetables in hay bales, such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers ... just for fun. You have never experienced life until you walk out into your garden and pick an asperagus, tomato or green bean and simply eat it raw. Right out of your garden. That you grew. Plan on planting enough so you can can the excess.
If that is not enough for you, we also learned how to make our own wine ..... when we were in our mid 60's. We made apple/cranberry wine and apple wine and now we are making a Cabernet/Sauvignon from a kit. Our next project will be a Chilean Malbec wine kit. The kits average $2.50 per bottle and rank right up there with the $20 - $30 per bottle wine. As soon as fruit season comes in we plan on making our own blackberry, apple, peach and pear wines. We get our bottles from restaurants and friends and then we clean off the labels, sterilize them and get them ready for our wine. It really keeps us active and we love giving people wine that we made.
Have you canned vegetables, pork, beef, chicken or butter? Have you made apple sauce, jelly or jam? You should be canning foods at todays prices for the future. It is simple. Just buy a pressure canner and a hot water bath and they usually come with a recipe book on how to can.
If none of these suit you, then get involved with a church charity. Or a local boys/girls club or a homeless shelter. Volunteer at the Chamber of Commerce or a local museum or a National/State Park. Think of the wisdom and experience you can pass on to others. I know a lady in her 90's that still does massage therapy. She still has dreams of things she wants to accomplish. That ... is what keeps you alive. Thinking that you have done everything, seen everything and heard everything and there is nothing left for you to do is what causes you to die. Have your grandchildren over to camp out in your house or at a local campground ... even in a cabin. Make smores (graham crackers, Hershey bars and marshmallows). Have fun ..... enjoy life. Become un-bored.
That's it. Simply become un-bored. It's never too late. Just get involved. Simply waking up, breathing, eating and going to bed is not enough.
Life is too short not to share your life with others.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Relieve Your Pain
Everyone has a pain or ache at some time or other. It could be from over using muscles that you haven't used in a while; bumping into something causing a bruise; joint pain from arthritis or again, over use; back or neck pain which many of us have or simply a sinus headache from allergies.
Our first reaction is to reach for some medication we can swallow and hope the pain goes away. The biggest problem with this is the medication is dispersed throughout our entire body just to alleviate a pain in one spot. Have you ever read the WARNINGS on the medications you take. Scary, isn't it. This solution usually just turns off the pain receptors in your brain and does nothing to help correct the problem.
Our second reaction is to try an ice pack or a heating pad. This helps as a temporary solution but as soon as you remove the ice pack or heating pad the pain returns. Plus, this solution may not be possible if you are not at home.
Our third reaction is to buy some over the counter cream you can rub on to try to alleviate the pain. Some products appear to work better temporarily but the pain takes forever to ease off. This is usually because of the high menthol (8% - 10%) which only mask the pain but does nothing to alleviate the pain. Plus, it usually smells to high heaven and you would not be caught dead wearing this out in public.
There's another solution.
Have you ever heard of 'Real Time Pain Relief'? The Best Smelling Rub On Pain Relief on the market. Why is it better? Keep reading.
You cannot buy this in a retail outlet unless they are a vendor with the company. Usually, you can only buy this from a vendor at a festival, on-line or by phone calling direct to the company.
So, why is 'Real Time Pain Relief' better than everything else on the market. The answer is simple .... why mask pain when you can resolve it.
Capsicum - Contains the active ingredient Capsaicin, which is derived from chili peppers; it is used to reduce pain, boost blood flow, promote better circulation, and deplete Substance P. Substance P is a neurotransmitter used to send pain signals to tell your brain "this hurts" to minimize additional injury. Most mainstream pain relievers stop the brain from receiving very important "pain" messages and that's not good. Real Time Pain Relief simply reduces Substance P in your body and helps restore the Natural Pain Threshold.
The best part about this ingredient is that it is of a type that does not irritate the skin.
MethylSulfonylMethane(MSM) - Clinical trials have discovered this ingredient reduces pain, especially for people suffering from arthritis.
Arnica Montana - Reduces inflammation and eases pain associated with sprains, bruising and muscle aches. It has been proven in a double-blind study to be as effective as Ibuprofen without the harmful side effects.
Personal experience - I was working in the garden with a friend driving in stakes with a sledge hammer .... I was holding the stakes. The sledge hammer flew off of the handle and hit me on the inside of my upper arm causing a bruise and quiet a bit of pain. I rubbed on Real Time Pain Relief and the pain went away and the next day the bruise was gone. Fantastic pain relief.
Glucosamine and Chondroitin - Protects your body from cartilage degeneration, promotes cartilage production and improves joint function.
Emu Oil - Emu Oil is the only natural oil that penetrates through all 7 layers of your skin, carrying ingredients into the body to reach muscles and tissues. Additionally, Emu Oil is a powerful oil with anti-inflammatory properties that reduce pain and swelling associated with arthritis.
Aloe Vera - A soothing nature-based ingredient; it is used for a variety of conditions, such as, skin infections and burns.
Menthol - Provides a cool, refreshing sensation as it helps increase blood flow to ease pain.
Each ingredient in Real Time Pain Relief is carefully chosen and precisely formulated to offer maximum pain relief, while promoting healing to help you take your life back from chronic pain and Enjoy Living Again!
Never before have all of these ingredients been included in one product. That is why products you purchase at the store are cheaper because they only contain one or two of these ingredients but do not have the same effect. You must try 'Real Time Pain Relief' to appreciate the benefits you will receive from using it.
www.IgotPainRelief.com
I feel so confident this product will make such a huge difference in your life, I will send you a free sample just to try. Simply write me a short note at IgotPainRelief@gmail.com about the problem you are having along with your address and I will immediately mail you a sample to try. Now here is the great part of my offer. When you see what 'Real Time Pain Relief' does for you, you will receive Free Shipping for all product you order. You can order from my web site, above or by calling 24/7 at 877-787-7180. If your order is at least $10 and you use Promo Code 92601 you will receive some free samples with your order.
What have you got to lose .... except your pain.
Your email will not be sold or given away except to send you information about how to deal with your pain.
Our first reaction is to reach for some medication we can swallow and hope the pain goes away. The biggest problem with this is the medication is dispersed throughout our entire body just to alleviate a pain in one spot. Have you ever read the WARNINGS on the medications you take. Scary, isn't it. This solution usually just turns off the pain receptors in your brain and does nothing to help correct the problem.
Our second reaction is to try an ice pack or a heating pad. This helps as a temporary solution but as soon as you remove the ice pack or heating pad the pain returns. Plus, this solution may not be possible if you are not at home.
Our third reaction is to buy some over the counter cream you can rub on to try to alleviate the pain. Some products appear to work better temporarily but the pain takes forever to ease off. This is usually because of the high menthol (8% - 10%) which only mask the pain but does nothing to alleviate the pain. Plus, it usually smells to high heaven and you would not be caught dead wearing this out in public.
There's another solution.
Have you ever heard of 'Real Time Pain Relief'? The Best Smelling Rub On Pain Relief on the market. Why is it better? Keep reading.
You cannot buy this in a retail outlet unless they are a vendor with the company. Usually, you can only buy this from a vendor at a festival, on-line or by phone calling direct to the company.
So, why is 'Real Time Pain Relief' better than everything else on the market. The answer is simple .... why mask pain when you can resolve it.
Capsicum - Contains the active ingredient Capsaicin, which is derived from chili peppers; it is used to reduce pain, boost blood flow, promote better circulation, and deplete Substance P. Substance P is a neurotransmitter used to send pain signals to tell your brain "this hurts" to minimize additional injury. Most mainstream pain relievers stop the brain from receiving very important "pain" messages and that's not good. Real Time Pain Relief simply reduces Substance P in your body and helps restore the Natural Pain Threshold.
The best part about this ingredient is that it is of a type that does not irritate the skin.
MethylSulfonylMethane(MSM) - Clinical trials have discovered this ingredient reduces pain, especially for people suffering from arthritis.
Arnica Montana - Reduces inflammation and eases pain associated with sprains, bruising and muscle aches. It has been proven in a double-blind study to be as effective as Ibuprofen without the harmful side effects.
Personal experience - I was working in the garden with a friend driving in stakes with a sledge hammer .... I was holding the stakes. The sledge hammer flew off of the handle and hit me on the inside of my upper arm causing a bruise and quiet a bit of pain. I rubbed on Real Time Pain Relief and the pain went away and the next day the bruise was gone. Fantastic pain relief.
Glucosamine and Chondroitin - Protects your body from cartilage degeneration, promotes cartilage production and improves joint function.
Emu Oil - Emu Oil is the only natural oil that penetrates through all 7 layers of your skin, carrying ingredients into the body to reach muscles and tissues. Additionally, Emu Oil is a powerful oil with anti-inflammatory properties that reduce pain and swelling associated with arthritis.
Aloe Vera - A soothing nature-based ingredient; it is used for a variety of conditions, such as, skin infections and burns.
Menthol - Provides a cool, refreshing sensation as it helps increase blood flow to ease pain.
Each ingredient in Real Time Pain Relief is carefully chosen and precisely formulated to offer maximum pain relief, while promoting healing to help you take your life back from chronic pain and Enjoy Living Again!
Never before have all of these ingredients been included in one product. That is why products you purchase at the store are cheaper because they only contain one or two of these ingredients but do not have the same effect. You must try 'Real Time Pain Relief' to appreciate the benefits you will receive from using it.
www.IgotPainRelief.com
I feel so confident this product will make such a huge difference in your life, I will send you a free sample just to try. Simply write me a short note at IgotPainRelief@gmail.com about the problem you are having along with your address and I will immediately mail you a sample to try. Now here is the great part of my offer. When you see what 'Real Time Pain Relief' does for you, you will receive Free Shipping for all product you order. You can order from my web site, above or by calling 24/7 at 877-787-7180. If your order is at least $10 and you use Promo Code 92601 you will receive some free samples with your order.
What have you got to lose .... except your pain.
Your email will not be sold or given away except to send you information about how to deal with your pain.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Wine Making
Have you ever considered making your own wine? It is really quiet simple and you can buy wine kits to make your own Merlot, Zinfandel, Sake or whatever you like from a kit for about $2.50 per bottle. How much does a bottle of wine cost retail? You can also make wine from most anything you can juice, such as, apples, peaches, blackberries, strawberries, store bought juice and even tomatoes. The best thing about making your own wine is it does not have sulfites and other chemicals in it. It taste fresh and the alcohol content is usually a little greater than store bought wine.
My wife and I are just learning and we have about 5 gallons of apple wine percolating. I am writing down the instructions as we go so this blog will be updated as we proceed to each step. I would love to have you follow along but if you get into a rush, there are many sites you can reference for making your own wine.
Since we live in apple country, we decided to try making apple wine as our first wine project. With two bushels of apples, not only do we get about 5 gallons of wine but we also canned 18 pints and 2 quarts of apple sauce. We also could have made apple cider vinegar but we decided that would be another project.
The following is our process for making apple wine and apple sauce.
We use a steam juicer so we wash our apples and slice into quarters removing any bad spots before putting them into the colander on the top of the steam juicer. We then steam as much juice out of the apples as we can and save the skins and seeds that remain in the colander. This process will occur several times until we have juiced all of our apples.
That's it. The fermentation process begins. The room temperature should be around 65 - 70 degrees.
My wife and I are just learning and we have about 5 gallons of apple wine percolating. I am writing down the instructions as we go so this blog will be updated as we proceed to each step. I would love to have you follow along but if you get into a rush, there are many sites you can reference for making your own wine.
Since we live in apple country, we decided to try making apple wine as our first wine project. With two bushels of apples, not only do we get about 5 gallons of wine but we also canned 18 pints and 2 quarts of apple sauce. We also could have made apple cider vinegar but we decided that would be another project.
The following is our process for making apple wine and apple sauce.
We use a steam juicer so we wash our apples and slice into quarters removing any bad spots before putting them into the colander on the top of the steam juicer. We then steam as much juice out of the apples as we can and save the skins and seeds that remain in the colander. This process will occur several times until we have juiced all of our apples.
We then pour our apple juice into a large pot to heat but do not boil. The main reason for heating the apple juice is to dissolve the sugar (lots) we are going to add to it.
Fill the Hydrometer and get a beginning reading. With the apples natural sugar content, the reading will be around 5%.
Add sugar, about a cup at a time, stir until it is dissolved and test again with the Hydrometer
Do not go over 20%
You can expect to add 6 cups or more of sugar to get a 20% reading on your hydrometer.
Note: As fermentation occurs, the yeast feeds on the sugar and what is left is alcohol. So, when you do your hydrometer test later in the fermentation process, you subtract your new hydrometer reading from the 20% and the result is the alcohol content (ie 20% - 10% = 10% alcohol or 20% - 0% = 20% alcohol). You also do not have to start at 20%. You can start at 18%, 15%, 10% or wherever you wish to start. Just remember what % you started at after adding your sugar.
During fermentation, when the hydrometer gets back down to 0%, you have 20% alcohol (40 Proof) or you can stop the fermentation process wherever you desire. I will tell you how to stop the fermentation process later on.
After adding the desired amount of sugar, pour the juice in either a one or five gallon Carboy bottle. Stop at the upper curve of the bottle to allow space for expansion.
Add one Campden Tablet per gallon to stop the natural fruit fermentation.
Note: If you do not do this step, when you add the packet of yeast, juice will be overflowing the bottle.
Add one packet of Lalvin Yeast for 1 – 5 gallons of juice.
Fill the Air Trap with water up to the Max Line and cork the bottle.
For the next two months keep water in the trap to keep outside fragrances from getting into the wine.
Note: The Air Trap is simply like a 'P' trap on your sink or toilet. It allows fluids to go down the drain but the water that remains in the trap keeps the odor from coming back into the house.
Making Applesauce
Take the remains (skin, seeds, etc) and put them in the Squeezo to make applesauce.
Apple sauce will come out of the side of the strainer and the skin and seeds will be deposited out of the end.
Add seasoning, such as cinnamon, to taste.
Use the skin and seed remains of this process (Mother) to make Apple Cider Vinegar or add it to your compost bin.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
America's Desire to be more European
We seem to have this burning desire to be more like Europe. Why? My guess is the people who have that desire have visited Europe but do not know anything about the culture. It all just seems so .... romantic. The old cities, castles, side walk cafe's, coffee houses. My, my, my. It is just all so different and exciting when we visit there.
When did we lose our desire to be exceptional Americans. Anyone who thinks Europeans have it better than us have never spent much time in Europe. I worked for an international company for 25 years and spent a great deal of time working with another international company based in Germany. Let me give you some insight on the European lifestyle.
* They pay 50% and greater of their salary (mandatory) in taxes to support their social programs
* They do not jump jobs to better their salaries and position in life. Basically, if you work at a retail store, restaurant, motel, or corporation, you will most likely retire from there.
* Only the upper middle class and upper class own homes and apartments (A one bedroom apartment will cost over $200,000). Everyone else lives in high rises and usually rent just one room and use a shared bathroom with the rest of the hall. Europe is very class oriented and you remain in your station for life.
* Very few people own campers or boats because gas and licensing is just too expensive.
* Compared to the population, few people own cars. Too expensive to buy or operate. Most people use public transportation (bike, walk, bus, train and cab).
* It cost a minimum of $5,000 for a hunting license and you must have written permission of where you will hunt.
* Most Europeans do not like taking a bath more than once a week. Too expensive. Why do you think the best perfumes come out of France. Just a few years ago the Prime Minister of France was trying to get their citizens to take a bath a minimum of 3 times a week. I doubt he succeeded.
* Restaurants do not rely on you to leave a proper gratuity so they include 20% in the price of the meal.
* Universities set a quota on the number of people that can enter each major every year based on what the government estimates will be needed. When those quotas are met, that is ALL THE PEOPLE allowed into the universities for that year. Not only that but only the cream of the crop is allowed to enter college.
* You are not allowed to work overtime except for very short term reasons. If a companies employees book too much overtime, the government will require the company to hire more people.
* Cities are very compact which makes it easier for transportation, such as, walking, riding bikes and busses. Unlike America where we are spread out all over surburbia and rural areas.
If you think you wouldn't mind the State making all your decisions for you, read this article from Jan 3, 2013.
By Anna Andersen, The Associated Press Jan 03, 2013
REYKJAVIK, Iceland -- Call her the girl with no name.
A 15-year-old is suing the Icelandic state for the right to legally use the name given to her by her mother. The problem? Blaer, which means "light breeze" in Icelandic, is not on a list approved by the government.
Like a handful of other countries, including Germany and Denmark, Iceland has official rules about what a baby can be named. In a country comfortable with a firm state role, most people don't question the Personal Names Register, a list of 1,712 male names and 1,853 female names that fit Icelandic grammar and pronunciation rules and that officials maintain will protect children from embarrassment. Parents can take from the list or apply to a special committee that has the power to say yea or nay.
In Blaer's case, her mother said she learned the name wasn't on the register only after the priest who baptized the child later informed her he had mistakenly allowed it.
"I had no idea that the name wasn't on the list, the famous list of names that you can choose from," said Bjork Eidsdottir, adding she knew a Blaer whose name was accepted in 1973. This time, the panel turned it down on the grounds that the word Blaer takes a masculine article, despite the fact that it was used for a female character in a novel by Iceland's revered Nobel Prize-winning author Halldor Laxness.
Given names are even more significant in tiny Iceland than in many other countries: Everyone is listed in the phone book by their first names. Surnames are based on a parent's given name. Even the president, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, is addressed simply as Olafur.
Blaer is identified as "Stulka" — or "Girl" — on all her official documents, which has led to years of frustration as she has had to explain the whole story at the bank, renewing her passport and dealing with the country's bureaucracy.
Her mother is hoping that will change with her suit, the first time someone has challenged a names committee decision in court.
Though the law has become more relaxed in recent years — with the name Elvis permitted, inspired by the charismatic rock and roll icon whose name fits Icelandic guidelines — choices like Cara, Carolina, Cesil, and Christa have been rejected outright because the letter "c" is not part of Iceland's 32-letter alphabet.
"The law is pretty straightforward so in many cases it's clearly going to be a yes or a no," said Agusta Thorbergsdottir, the head of the committee, a panel of three people appointed by the government to a four-year term.
Other cases are more subjective.
"What one person finds beautiful, another person may find ugly," she acknowledged. She pointed to "Satania" as one unacceptable case because it was deemed too close to "Satan."
'Basic human right'
The board also has veto power over people who want to change their names later in life, rejecting, for instance, middle names like Zeppelin and X.
Eidsdottir says she is prepared to take her case all the way to the country's Supreme Court if a court doesn't overturn the commission decision on Jan. 25.
"So many strange names have been allowed, which makes this even more frustrating because Blaer is a perfectly Icelandic name," Eidsdottir said. "It seems like a basic human right to be able to name your child what you want, especially if it doesn't harm your child in any way."
"And my daughter loves her name," she added.
End of Article
So, if you think you want to be more like the Europeans, you had better look over the above list to see if you are OK living under those conditions. I am sure there are a lot more because the Europeans are very rule oriented. There is a rule for everything and everyone is expected to follow the rules without exception.. Forget individualism because it doesn't exist in Europe. The funniest part of this issue is there are many Europeans who would like to be Americans.
So, for those people wanting to be more like Europeans, they should simply move to Europe. For us Patriots, we'll proudly remain Americans.
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