Crappy world economy = rebirth of grass roots mentality

Be prepared, HAMB'rs, for a new appreciation of the basics from a larger demographic of folks. Sure, most of us on the HAMB already have this built into our being, but in times of crisis, the important things come shining through. General "civilian" types may take notice of arts and crafts, making things by hand, enjoying each other, etc....

Hang tough people, the ride will probably get bumpier before it smooths out, but we can do it.

This is from another post and illustrates my point perfectly....
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=356233

 

I don get it!

Gary

 

Talked with a friend today with a Lawnmower sales & repare shop. He is booked with work for a month. People are once again cutting their own lawns, times must be tougher than I thought. I've been cutting the family lawn since I was 10.

 

I haven't felt the pinch. I've lived within my means all of my life. I agree with Jeem. I have ***ociated with the same group of guys for several years. We go to each others place and work on Rods, watch old Super 8 movies on a sheet hung by the wall and play "Jarts" (Lawn Darts if you will) with modified pushrods. It's been like this for a long time.

 

Things like gardening and raising your own critters to eat are growing in popularity again. And I don't mean just in my rural area, I am hearing national radio ads about growing your own "survival" garden.

It is nice to see the buy and throw away mentality being replaced by repairing and doing things hands on. Listening to America on the Road right now, a radio show about new cars. The hosts even went so far as to say auto s****age bills hurt the average person who repairs their ownn car as well as the auto enthusiests like us!

 

That's what I'm talking about!

 

"survival" garden ??? omg and im sure it'll be on teh news and someone will come up with a kit to get you started..lol

 

I'm getting some bee hives. And will reap the benefits of the bee's hard work.

 

Ive been broke or one paycheck away from being broke my whole life.cant afford to pay anyone to do my dirty work for me and I wouldnt either.work on and take care of your own stuff,its more fun that way.

 

Thats what I heard, a kit you buy.

 

I knew Americans were better in a depression than during a boom.

 

Jeem,
Great post!
"Regionalism" will revive and people will start exchanging ideas and "doing things" again.
I bet you even like Grant Wood,huh! (He's one of my faves...)




"Bloom where you are."

 

I haven't felt the pinch, either. I have always lived like a hobo, no matter how good of a job I happened to have at the time. I swear, if I ever played the lottery and won, I'd most likely still shop at the Salvation Army for my clothes! I live in a weird little pocket of farmland, and most everyone around here is self-sufficient, or makes do with a lot of bartering. Just recently, I did some work on a neighbor's tractor in exchange for organic veggies and a stack of amazing porterhouse steaks. Go barter system!!!

 

Dang, I wish I would have thought of that! Gotta love that entrepreneurial spirit; selling something to people that they could get cheaper for themselves

The more things change, the more they stay the same...

 

HOLY MOLY, THAT Grant Wood! Hahahahahaa

Duhhh.........

 

I hate to pee on your parade, and I bet you're right in your own neighborhood there.

But I live on the coast in California, and I can tell you the people here are not taking it well and want to blame somebody else. They look down even on us who wash and wax our own cars, as though we're robbing some illegal of his job, same with doing your own gardening.

They don't know how to do anything except push paper around, and half of them work for the state or county or city. They are not going to want to see your rod after they got their Lexus repo'd. They're going to see your shiney car, not their SUV, as con****uous, wasteful, polluting consumption, and they'll be plenty judgemental about it.

 

I'm with you, I get it. Like I said, I think it's going to get worse for most before getting better. I'm saying, for those souls with any glimmer of hope, there will be a new appreciation of the simpler things. The HOT ROD way. That's all.

 

I suppose we'll all be Sock ****ers in a way. We WILL do it ourselves.

 

my wife was a stay at home mom until 10 years ago so if I wanted to race I had to earn extra money and build my own stuff and that's how my business got started. I had a kid ask me how I know so much Ha!Ha!Ha! (wish I knew more and better) I told him It was for doing and learning from others, that is why I'm on here is to learn how other people do things. Thank you.

 

I'm heading in the back to my roots direction, building things to tinker with, doing house work and upkeep and spending time with my wife and going hunting and fishing. I'm recently a**** the unemployed and live in rural Kansas, just last week went to an interview for 4 open positions for which 41 applied and 11 were interviewed. I think we kind of need this, its gonna be a wakeup call for everyone including the wealthy. My grandmother remembers the last depression and says that is the direction we are heading. Heck, im trying to talk my wife into buying a place with a little bit of land so we can garden and have farm animals again. You guys would be amazed how much this would save on your monthly grocery bill.

 

Places like southern California and here in New Jersey where I am there are a LOT of people that are gonna feel the bite more than most Hambers will. The leased BMW and no money down Mcmansion crowd are the ones who really had they're guts tore out their ***es. I think a lot of folks by me were livin’ in a dream world for a long time that wasn’t really based in reality. I watched for several years as modest, perfectly good homes were being torn down to build big center hall colonials and the buyers were lined up outside. When you’re livin’ large and doin’ it on credit, sooner or later it’s gonna be time to pay the piper and it appears that time is now. I’ve always had a garden, cut my own lawn and repaired my own house and cars and I make a pretty decent wage. I really couldn’t understand how so many people who were paying somebody else to do everything for them could afford to do it. I guess I got my answer, they couldn’t. Back to basics ain’t so bad, I’m just thankful I’ve got a pretty good job and never lived too far above my means

 

It's a scary time for sure... My wife and I tried the garden last year(first time) we had so much rain, that we couldn't get a tomato or a squash plant to live...If it's coming to that...It will be dog it dog at our house, 1 tomato and 2 squash don't go far... Going to try again this year for a better garden....I just hate to see the requirements the government is going to put on a home garden....It will have designated width and height and 3/4 of the harvest will have to be given to the ones that don't want to build a garden... Just my two cents worth!

 

I started the garden thing last year, i use raised beds. I use some brackets I found at a place online and then use the cheap composite decking from the hardware store. Last year I had 4 and adding 10 more for this season. We are going to can and freeze anything and everything we can. Be bought 1/2 a cow from our concrete guy (farms as well) and one he takes down the old chicken coupe in the yard (concrete foundation) I will be working on my 1 acre pasture. I plan to raise my own beef and lamb. I will also have a small chicken yard with a turkey or two. Thinking of getting a pig as well.

I too an electrical cl*** so I can do all my electrical work rather than paying others to do it. I am going to build me a old flatbed dually to replace my '04 that I will sell or trade in on a new car for my wife. I don't have a water or septic bill living in the country and I do not have cable or dish.

When and if I get back to work I plan to install a turbine to produce my own electricity.

There will be a lot more of this type of stuff going on all over as it gets worse. Luckily my wife is a nurse and has some job security where right now I do not have any. Sad thing is the worse it gets there will be more and more things showing up in the cl***ifieds but there will be less and less people able to buy any of it.

 

I am not sure how the gov't can regulate a home garden with as many people as there are. The gov't does not have enough people to keep track of everyone.

 

Just joking...but never say never!

 

and in some cases it might be real difficult for them to prove ...not to mention crossing property lines when the desperation issue grows could be a bit dangerous..

If the current leadership thinks they will be able to pull this **** off, I think they will be serioulsly mistaken


back on toppic..Hot Rods..
I am going to be making some of my own parts, and visiting the swap meets more this year in an effort to get my project together..,, and more elbow grease

 

Sorry for the derailment, just thought it was par for the course!! I agree, more swap meet parts for me as well and learning new trades I would have paid to have done in the past!

 

Very well said.

Just wait. There will be many people demanding more laws to spread their misery around to everyone, just as they have been doing, but the cry for it will get even louder, and voters will willingly sign away even more of their freedoms.

 

My job has just kinda petered out. Dont bother me much because we dont have ant debt and my family knows how to live poor. We have always raised , grown or hunted for a portion of our food. Just will have to do it on a larger scale. My boss called me today im taking the truck to ill. to get a load of feed from a etahonal plant.I think he will have enough work for me to make as much as if i started drawing unemployment benifits. I just dont think the economy will rebound anytime soon. Those with know how will do ok. OldWolf

 

The gr*** roots movement never has left my wife and I. We're old hippies that went "back to the land" about 30 years ago. Varied from that idea a bit over the years but have always had a garden and raise most of our own vegetables, worked on my own cars, tractors, etc. We raise 20 day old broiler chicks in 7 weeks and put them in the freezer. I've raised steers, pigs, turkeys, etc. and will continue to. Gardening isn't hard, but learn from one year to the next what works for you. I plan to raise extra this year on our 10 acres and have a pick-your-own operation, our local community will support. Hot rodders in general are a do it yourself kind of people, I think, and we will end up making it in tough times better than those who have to pay to have anything done. Everybody hang in there and we'll get through this. If you have any gardening questions, pm me, It's a little OT, but I'm willing to answer questions if I can.
Red