I grew up on a cattle ranch in the 1950's.
Back then, I was not so interested in nature and practical pursuits so
much as I am today. What I liked most back then were the Beat
Generation (or what I imagined it to be) hot rods, and Donna Kay
McAlister (not necessarily in that order).
So when I hear stories today about how "ah
growed up on a farm, and mah daddy taught us all to work hard and
blah, blah, blah...", I reflect that one can grow up on a farm and not
really learn all that much about hard work etc. and I offer myself as
living proof.
However, when the '70's came along and the
back-to-the-land movement was luring young people my age into our
rural area, I came to realize that even though I hadn't even been
paying attention, just growing up on the farm had taught me quite a
number of things that city kids didn't seem to have a clue about.
In fact, quite a few of these folks seemed
completely unaware of how to even exist beyond pavement.
I realized that many of them were innocent
of things I had learned, despite myself, as a bored,
eye-rolling teenager.
In fact, compared even with someone as
hopeless-appearing as myself, they seemed like complete sissy-boys,
even the girls.
If you have just recognized yourself as a
complete sissy-boy (or girl) this page is for you. If you're not
sure, keep reading.
The complete sissy-boy makes his first
mistake before he ever leaves the metro area. That is, he
doesn't trade his car for something more appropriate to the back roads
while he still has a job.
Do not make this mistake. You will
need a pick-up truck from the first day you arrive on your land in the
country. The good news is that you don't need the kind of truck
you see towering over you at stop lights, the kind with sumptuous
paint jobs, enormous tires and rumbling exhausts.
Those aren't really trucks, they're young
mens' misinterpretation of what turns young girls on.
What you need is more of a tool than a toy,
or a lure.
However, the sissy-boy's next bone-headed
move is to buy a truck-wanna-be, perhaps because these wimpy
half-steps seem less intimidating than a full-gendered real truck.
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Above: The Ford Ranchero: an
early example of the truck-wanna-be. Below: the Chevrolet
SSR faux truck a more recent example.
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Again, you need a truck, not a car, and the
fact is that a truck must begin its life as a truck - other wise, it's
a car - and always will be.
The homesteader or small-holder needs a
vehicle with the following characteristics:
High Ground Clearance
Ground clearance doesn't matter much when
you're on pavement all the time, but when you sink far enough into the
mud, when one or both bumpers come to ground crossing a ravine, or
when you drive across a rocky field, it's good to have the whole body
of the vehicle setting fairly high off the ground. Partly, this
is achieved in the original design of the vehicle. Real trucks
have a design in which the body sits high relative to the wheels, and
which isn't too long with too much overhang.
