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I don’t know your age but I’ll guess you are at least ballpark 40 or up. Simply because many people in the younger bracket never learned this stuff. And if you are younger, Good on ya! ;)

Not to invent some fantasy mountain man thing, but being born and raised the Adirondacks, all those things were just normal. As they were pretty much everywhere pre 90s. Hell I’m a dude and I can sew and even crochet a line or two. (and I look FABulous doing it ;)

We knew how to use tools because we built things. We knew how to fix engines because they broke. We didn’t have access to big box stores and 24/7 internet shopping. It didn’t exist. Our school had an auto shop/metal shop/wood shop and a home ec class. They don’t have that today.

I was always a truck/4x4 guy and it rubbed off on my daughter. She has had to help guys she works with today change tires. Some don’t know where to find the jack or how to work it. BTW, she’s in the military. that does not bode well.

What I am getting at is that for us (am I really gonna say this at 48?) ‘older Americans’ we don’t think about this stuff because it is normal to us. Of course we can sew that tear. of course we can jump a tractor. Of course we know where to hook a chain on a stuck vehicle. Of course we can fix a busted pipe. Of course we can replace a window. Of course we can catch dinner at the pond with a hook and a line. Some of us don’t even need that.

We grew up doing most of that if not all of it and know how, even if we never had to. But today, none of that is common knowledge. Many do not know how or want to know how because there is youtube (which could show them how but they dont watch those areas), i phones and video games. Not a priority for them.

And it isn’t because it was intentionally not taught to them. Because a reliant person is a controllable person.

Now you know why they closed the shop classes. It wasn’t a budget issue.