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Tip o' the Day

The retired forest ranger told of his experiences taking a group of boys out to work as volunteers on trail projects. "There's nothing wrong with today's kids," the man said. "They're just as good as kids ever were. Our problem is we've emplaced a system that won't let them work."

He's right. It's easy to recall how naysayers of my youth claimed kids of that day weren't worth the powder to blow 'em to hell. Isn't it ironic those same kids who were so reviled in my youth are (now that they are grandparents) so critical of kids today?

Like the retired ranger, I believe in today's kids. I believe most of them want to work; want to do a good job; want to be respected (and praised) for their performance. Their problem--what my contemporaries believe mirrors laziness and an unwillingness to work--is the same problem of youth of any age: they hav trouble seeing work that needs to be done.

I hired young guides back in the days when I led guests to adventure in some of the ruggedest lands in all the northern Rockies. Without exception, those guides came to my outftt with a willingness to work and a driving desire to please. What they lacked was experience. How could they they possibly understand the importance of adjusting an off-kilter pack before it rubbed a sore on the horse's back without first soring a horse? How could they know to mantie everything possible the night before pulling out for hunting camp without experiencing the time gain on the following morning?

They couldn't unless they were told. Then they still had to be shown how to accomplish it. But Lord did they know how to work! They worked from daylight to dark, day in and day out. They worked for little money and few material rewards. They worked for the sheer joy of "being" part of adventure, "because" of a zest for the outdoors, and "for" a love of wildlife.

The second half of the old ranger's critique constitutes a definite problem: that we've emplaced a system keeping kids from doing the kinds of quality work they'd like to achieve. Three "ell" words preventing them are laws, liability, and litigation.

I once read a truth I believe to be especially appropriate for this thesis. I don't know its source and my delivery may lack polish, but here it is: "Generation after generation, the very young do the impossible because no one bothered to tell them it is impossible."

That's my final word on the youth of today, except for this: There are three requirements for top performance for all people: 1) work at something you want to do. 2) be praised occasionally for a job well done; 3) receive a living wage.

If you are an employer and wish to receive top performance from your workers, pays special attention to 2) and 3).

SAGE ADVICE FOR THE BEGINNING OUTDOORS PERSON

You already ave more outdoors savvy than you think. You know dandelions grow swiftly after a rain and leaves turn color with frost. You've learned to pu your pants on one leg at a time, and that you can north and south by the directions honkers are flying ( if you can remember whether it's spring or fall). Someone should tell you, however, that none of the so-called outdoors experts you admire had even half as much knowledge when they first ventured into the unknown.

So making fires are hard? Then think of the satisfaction gleaned from gathering wood, shaving dry slivers, kindling the match, and torching your own warming/cooking/protective fire. Not only will there be a sense of growth in outdoors skills, but with it will come a commensurate feeling of absolute independence.

Which brings us to another point: never, never, never complain. Nobody likes a whiner and things aren't going to get better anyway.

Instead, contemplate. Take note of sunbeams filtering through a birch canopy, dew on a spiderweb, the erratic flight of a butterfly. Don't just "see" lichens on a rock; study them. Lie on your back and contemplate scudding clouds: there's one with a clown's face, another looks like the bow of an ocean liner, yet another appears as an overflowing mug.

Never doubt for one moment that God exists It's hard, I know, especially at the beginning stage of your outdoors development to see and understand how God has a hand in floods, wildfires, avalanches. But trust me, contemplating nature long enough and you can come to but one conclusion.

While we're talking about comtemplation, you must also dream. In fact, you must always dream. Daydreams are real life time capsules, capable of transporting you back to join Lewis & Clark, or help Nelson Story drive Texas Longhorns over the Bozeman Trail while Sioux warriors and the United States Cavalry tried to stop him. Only those with the narrowest, most bigoted minds will tell you not to dream. Dreams are patterns on quilts, paint on canvas, print on pages, music in air. Creativity is nothing more than dreams, first captured, then offered for the pleasure of others.

Always believe in the good intentions of those responsible for managing your outdoor things and outdoor places, but don't blindly trust them to always do right. The reason for this is because, as you advance in outdoors skills and knowledge, you'll discover all too few management folks have spent time contemplating sunbeams, spiderwebs, or butterflies. Without such direct tuning to God and His wonders, they can become infatuated with their own omnipotence, trusting themselves to decide management applications that can "improve" on nature. When this happens, you must show them the error of their ways.

Sharpen your knives and keep your matches dry.

Keep the wind in your face and carry a raincoat in your daypack or saddlebags.

Squint some and smile a lot--it's put character into the wrinkles in your face as you age.

Fall love with a good woman, working dog, and solid horse. Not necessarily in that order.

Remember that all God's chillun are more active at dawn and dusk. This is all well and good, of course, as these are the two best parts of a day. Unfortunately most of your contemporaries will choose to sleep late in the morning and retire early for cocktails come evening. As a result, oudoors skills will elude them.

And finally this end note: always climb the next hill to see what is beyond. Not only dare to do, but dare to go. Dare to see and listen and taste and feel and smell. And above all, dare to share your outdoors experiences of a lifetime with others not so fortunate.

Roland Cheek wrote a syndicated outdoors column (Wild Trails and Tall Tales) for 21 years. The column was carried in 17 daily and weekly newspapers in two states. In addition, he scripted and broadcast a daily radio show (Trails to Outdoor Adventure) that aired on 75 stations from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific Ocean. He's also written upwards of 200 magazine articles and 12 fiction and nonfiction books. For more on Roland, visit:

www.rolandcheek.com

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