There are very few television shows I can stomach for a duration of time, but thanks to my trusty “cool gadgets for the cool guy” website, Uncrate, I’ve just learned that one of my favorite shows, Man vs. Wild, recently came out on DVD.
I’d love to befriend someone like Bear Grylls one day and go out for a survival course or two with nothing on my back. I’m sure it would be uncomfortable and challenging, but a challenge like that is something I’d love to conquer and say I’ve done. It would make me feel a little more comfortable backpacking alone, knowing I’ve been in a survival situation before and gotten through it.
Now, if only my parents gave me a name like Bear!
Hey Bear, Sounds like something that I would be up for as well. My experience of earlier this summer was edgey. The SAS survival books have some helpful hints.
Adversity is a good thing sometimes as it challenges and tests you to anticipate, react and adapt to an unplanned situation or environment, but should be something you take on more of, as your comfort level increases over previous levels. Having a knowledge of what you can eat, how to make a shelter, find water as well as having a grounding in first aid and CPR are good assets to have.
Chris, I remember you telling me about your “survival day” challenge at the team/leadership building week that you did where they sent you off on your own. (In the Adir’s?) Anyway, that sounded really cool, the whole story about being near a river and building yourself a shelter and all. Too bad you didn’t get to hunt for food!
I wanted to name you Ursine Regulus Lancaster.
Ursine for “bearlike” and Regulus after the great Roman general Marcus Atilius Regulus (with an offhand nod to your old man, since his first name is much like mine).
But your mother thought Ursine was too close to “urine” and thought you’d get teased about that. She didn’t like Regulus much better, and after she offered up too-soft suggestions like Fey and Fedora, we compromised on Jason Paul — which I like the sound of just fine, it suits you well, I think.
I also like that fact that your initials would have been URL — a kind of foreshadowing of your career in computers.
Oh I donno.. Urine P Lancaster isn’t bad either
“Urine P Lancaster”
You see, Debbie had a point!
Just think if your name was bear you would have a peak named after you (4,523.5 m (14,831 ft) high, in the Wrangell Mountains of southern Alaska near the British Columbia border). Folks in Spain would call you “osO”, the French would call you “ours” and the Dutch would call you beer.
The 24 hour “solo” I did as part of an Outward Bound course is what I think you are talking about as I had to subsist on a couple of cookies for the duration and make my own shelter etc. On the 21-day course they have a 48 hour “solo” which is on my must do list. The thing I was getting at in my first entry was my minimal under- the-stars adventure that occurred during last summer.
You can blame the Daddio for your name; we didn’t quite agree. As soon as I read Ursine Regulus Lancaster I thought Freud- U.R. Lancaster. Guess that sums it up my boy. You are Lancaster. You would have killed us as a kid if we called you bear. Probably clawed us to death as we slept.