Oh, I understand the unsteady nature of it. As a former Scout, I spent many days and nights in the field with nothing more than a compass and a Bowie knife. I ate local plants, setup a camp, trapped a raccoon, skinned it and ate it, and made fishing tackle out of a vine and a bottle top. I agree with your ancestor: there’s nothing virtuous about any of it. I would take air conditioning and high speed Internet any day, but those of us who wish to be prepared for the worst need to understand that the worst might come and it will likely be worse than what we expect. I’m ready for that eventuality. I’m trying to get my better half to get it, but it’s a tough sell.
I don’t have any ancestors with stories like yours. Most of my family emigrated here from parts of Europe back in the late 1800s. The most I know is that my Russian family owned a few hundred acres in what is now the Ukraine and half of them were mowed down by Russian troops seizing their lands. My great grandmother told me stories of her father being executed while she and her mother and brother watched. Once she fled with them to Greece, they got on the first boat to America to begin a new life.
I love history. It tells us where we’ve been and warns us where not to go. I wish our politicians took that lesson to heart.
Your story is remarkable. Your great-grandmother must have been a memorable woman. How did her father’s execution affect the family? Was this part of the collectivization of the kulaks? Sometimes it seems like all the misery in the world has been caused by people who believed that it was their right to kill and starve other people, whether because of some belief that they hold, or sheer greed and desire for violence.
I also agree with you about history. Family history is perhaps the most powerful, because it personalizes the struggles and sacrifices that literally led to our own existence.
But I also love learning about other people’s histories, because it shows us that no matter where we are from, there are similarities: parents who struggled and loved their children; children who pursued learning and self-betterment; the beauty of the daily tasks well done.
I also agree that our nation would be a far better place if more of our politicians remembered that.
Thank you for sharing yours with me.
One other thing: I have never eaten raccoon. How was it? Of course, we both probably agree with Cervantes, that hunger is the best sauce!