Zombie Apocalypse? What About the Lost Skills?

Today I finally decided to catch up on my budget spreadsheets. I've been horrible for the past couple of months about keeping it up to date, but because I'm on a fixed income I have to watch every penny and it stresses me out more to not remember exactly what has gone in or out, or how much I will have to survive to the end of the month. So, I cracked the mental whip and balanced it all out. That's after spending all afternoon trying to figure out where £50 went (I forgot to enter a bill that had been paid....oops).

This got me thinking about some of the recent things on the 'end of the world'. From tv series such as 'The Walking Dead' to the current news headlines of the guy who predicted the apocalypse, it's something that you get the range of people...from those who don't give a flying flip to those that are already hiding in their fallout shelters.

I personally don't think that it will be zombies or anything like that. No, I feel like it will be from people taking each other out and destroying the technology, utilities, and supply chains to try to punish each other. Those caught in the crossfire will have to relearn how to survive. A lot of the traditional skills have been lost to all but a very few people. Unless people group off with at least one person who knows how to live off the land, there would be a lot of people starving because they wouldn't be able to feed themselves.  Freezing because they don't know how to build a fire. I think that it has been forgotten how to even rely on other people, to share skills.

I actually think that I'd be happier with a simpler world. Ok, so lack of fancy communications systems would be a bit heartbreaking. I admit to my mobile being borderline surgically attached to my hand (especially the new one), and Skype, Facebook, and Twitter allow me to keep in contact with my family in Indiana and Missouri. But life would go back to being simpler. Eat, sleep, protect, and provide for you and your family. But it's not monetary providing. It's identifying your food sources and knowing how to obtain and prepare them safely. There are adults in this world that I doubt would survive without the local takeaway.  It's knowing how to sew clothing and necessities.  I don't do anything fancy, but I can hand sew and I know how to use my sewing machine without electricity (my first sewing machine when I moved to the UK was an 1868 hand-cranked Singer).

I'd like to think that my friends that live nearby would join up with us, so we could share skills, take care, and protect each other.  They are my non-blood family, and I rely so much on them even now.

Ok. so nothing like another of my random posts.  I probably shouldn't have fretted so much over my spreadsheets, knowing that it would have worked it's way out. I seriously am not frivolous with spending...not even close to it, because I can't be. There are things that I want, but that gets put aside for what we need. I've now fully admonished myself for not keeping up on my spreadsheet, because I stress less when I've got it up to date and easily accessed.

Mel