Indigenous Ability

  I use the photo as a jumping off point. That is the 55-year-old me enjoying a lazy Monday afternoon searching the river limestone for semi-submerged caves to explore. The image spawned a few, “ What are you doing to look like that, Old Man?” inquiries.   First —Thank you. Everybody digs praise. Second —Allow me to list a few things I am not doing. ·         No Olympic lifts. ·         No kettlebells. ·         No powerlifts. ·         No roadwork. ·         No heavy weight. ·         No “rep” higher than 8 on anything. ·         No diets [I am a daily donut connoisseur, among other sweet things the Good Lord put on the planet.] ·         No supplements [unless you count fish-oil for an Old Man’s knee-bones.] ·         No needles. ·         In short, none of the usual business we associate with “Bro-ness.” Third -What I am doing is following Old School ways. Using a variety of old practices and exploits to allow the body to adjust to the facts of physi

  We begin our journey with an observation from Pulitzer Prize winning Harvard microbiologist, Dr. Rene Dubos. “ The history of man…is a long saga of difficulties overcome, of emergencies that had to be met in order to avoid destruction. Dangers, real or imaginary, and fear of the unknown used to be part of everyday life, but the unexpected also contributed an atmosphere of adventure and expectancy—the type of exhilaration that helps man to free himself from bondage to matter and reach for the stars. Accumulation of earthly goods does not make up for this exhilaration, without which the zest for life is readily lost. The indifferent and the outwardly satisfied are less likely to retain happiness and mental sanity than are those who sacrifice well-being and comfort for the sake of ideals or illusions .”— Mirage of Health Hardships overcome, dangers faced, fears conquered, or at least, tempted. Again and again the scientific literature redounds with this being the formula for a happy

  Round the Corner in Black Box Weaponry…the surprising nexus between Viking Skeggøx [bearded battle axes], long-handled Native American Tomahawks, and the Canoe Oars of Voyageurs. ·         My savvy Warriors know that more than a few Viking expeditions made landfall in the Americas pre-most anyone else you can think of. ·         They encountered fierce folk they called, Skræling [“ wearers of dried skin ”] and had more than a few less than friendly encounters. [It should be noted that the Americas were the one region the fierce Norsemen decided to abandon colonization despite abundance of resources.] ·    The Skræling were of Northern proto-United states and Canadian tribes. ·         The later-arriving fiercely intrepid Frenchmen who became the far-venturing Voyageurs learned from, intermarried with and became cultural descendants of the Skræling. ·         There is a marked commonality [plus a few fascinating differences] in the method of wielding the Viking Skeggøx, the