Ad in a local rag..............

[JDWilts]

February 13, 1822.

On that date, the Lieutenant Governor of the state of Missouri, William Ashley, placed an ad in the Missouri Gazette and Public Advertiser soliciting the services of "enterprising young men" to go with him into the wilderness on a quest of great adventure and profit. Among the 62 "greenhorns" Ashley hired were such unknowns as Jed Smith, Jim Bridger, Tom Fitzpatrick, Hugh Glass, the Sublette brothers, Edward Rose, and James Clyman. Average men who became great adventurers and explorers, even legends.

How come I never see ads like this in the Wiltshire Herald & Gazette?
JD

 

[ChrisKavanaugh]

My nephew is bemoaning the lack of employment in his area. I told him to research various seasonal jobs with the park service and other agencies. He can get hired with living quarters, a stipend for transportation home and a fair wage. Among the locations are Alaska, Yellowstone, the Northwest rainforests and dozens of other areas I can only dream of visiting. Now he's complaining the jobs include washing dishes and bussing tables, policing campgrounds and like tasks. I pointed out he has been competing with illegal aliens for these same jobs and now he can do the same, only step out at night to the Northern Lights and wolf howls instead of sick artificial city lights and gang gunfire.

 

[Tantalus]

i think most of wiltshire may have been explored by now JD

have you considered moving house?

Tant

 

[JDWilts]

I think I'm 4000 years too late for Wiltshire. But wow what a moment in history. From that one ad so many great names from the history of the European exploration of the American Wilderness.

 

[Tony]

I think that when we're young (many of us) don’t take the opportunities that are available to explore and see the world, to get involved in some real adventure. I look back at the time when I was looking into working on the Pipes in Alaska, or when I was offered work in Australia and New Zealand and I always thought there would be time to go and do it.....Now, Wife, Mortgage, 3 kids and all that goes with it brings the realisation that there's limited chance of finding that time to go and adventure...

Those of you that have it, go and get stuck in, I suppose out of everyone I know Stuart makes the most of getting out there and experiencing what the world has to offer, I expect there's many more though.

That advert........inspires dreams

 

[Gail]

Yes Tony, hit the nail on the head there - having tried settling down to civilised 9-5 desk duties = regular income + mortgage, I realise I simply cannot allow myself to stagnate. With no particular responsibilites and midlife crisis looming - I'm off to travel Canada and take part in research projects imminently. No need to worry about money when I come back - I can live off the land !

 

[Tony]

Excellent stuff Gail, go for it, remember to keep us informed of your adventures though

I lived in Canada for a couple of years, it's a fantastic place.

 

[EdS]

I'm depressed now I've read this one.

When I finnished Uni thought I'd earn a little cash and then travel. Well I got to go to Rotherham yesterday. mind you it was to watch a harvester cutting willow coppice.

 

[Stuart]

when asked what I fear most my answer has been the same since I was about 15.

I fear being an old man sitting in my big comfy chair and suddenly being struck by the realisation that I could have done so much more, and despairing that I didn’t when I was young and able.

the thought of this terrifies me but no matter how much I do and see the fear remains, for there is always more to see and do.

you can never do it all, but you can try your damnedest.

life is short, and I am sure that the older of our members will agree it goes by in the blink of an eye.

live every day like there will be no tomorrow its not the years in your life, its the life in your years.

when I am old I hope I can bore my grandchildren with endless tales of adventure which will all run into each other because I cant remember which story belongs to which trip.

 

[hootchi]

when asked what I fear most my answer has been the same since I was about 15.

I fear being an old man sitting in my big comfy chair and suddenly being struck by the realisation that I could have done so much more, and despairing that I didn’t when I was young and able.

the thought of this terrifies me but no matter how much I do and see the fear remains, for there is always more to see and do.

you can never do it all, but you can try your damnedest.

life is short, and I am sure that the older of our members will agree it goes by in the blink of an eye.

live every day like there will be no tomorrow its not the years in your life, its the life in your years.

when I am old I hope I can bore my grandchildren with endless tales of adventure which will all run into each other because I cant remember which story belongs to which trip.

Brilliant stuart. That is the way, i wish I was as carefree to do it. You've got me thinking.

 

[gurthang]

when asked what I fear most my answer has been the same since I was about 15.

I fear being an old man sitting in my big comfy chair and suddenly being struck by the realisation that I could have done so much more, and despairing that I didn’t when I was young and able.

the thought of this terrifies me but no matter how much I do and see the fear remains, for there is always more to see and do.

you can never do it all, but you can try your damnedest.

life is short, and I am sure that the older of our members will agree it goes by in the blink of an eye.

live every day like there will be no tomorrow its not the years in your life, its the life in your years.

when I am old I hope I can bore my grandchildren with endless tales of adventure which will all run into each other because I cant remember which story belongs to which trip.

Here Here,

I've given up waiting to be invited on an adventure and cant wait to save enough money to go somewhere I can properly lose myself in the wilderness.

 

[arctic hobo]

If you folks want to go exploring, Greenland has very few maps... especially the white bit
Stuart I totally agree, sounds like we share a mindset

 

[Dougster]

I've just taken a job in Wiltshire over one in NZ, it was financially a no option one. But the way I see it, there are vast tracks of this country that millions have seen but me, I can take a map, and find things it could never tell me, or I could leave it at home, rip my trousers and enjoy pint at the end of it instead.

Last Friday I spent the night in some woods 30 mins from home, not far from a road. I could hear the boy racers in the distance and the deer nearby. It was great. Another time I was walking along, quietly looking around and came within 20ft of a deer before it saw me. It was something that had me smiling for hours.

Take every adventure, near, far, big or small; they will all make your day once, at least. I enjoy each moment outside, even that rain down my neck today. I'll take the big adventures when the kids are a bit bigger, and they can come with me, we'll tell the stories together.

 

[moko]

Myself and my family are hoping to emigrate to Canada. The paper work is in and we 'with fingers crossed' are looking forward to our big adventure. The down-side is, if you dont have a job offer its a three year wait for the paperwork to get processed!......Its not like the old days JD.

 

[swamp donkey]

I am with Richeadon on this one. Its always possible to get the most out of where you are now.. Chasing someone elses experience or version of a dream hardly ever works, coupled with the fact that the grass is so often not greener on the other side.

I have been a very luck chap in that I have done and continue to do many of the things that people on this site aspire to, both for funny and for wages.

17 years ago shortly after the birth of our second child , I was on a very well paid overseas contract , when I found in my bag ,a poem from my wife entitled "and some stayed behind". At first I rather ignored it as sentermental drivel. But one evening, I was sat there whatching the lovely local people, I was working with having fun with their kids. To put it bluntly a large brick dropped on my head waking me up to the fact that this was exactly what I was not doing ! the meaning of my wifes poem became clear, marraige is a partnership and your children are a priverlige.
After the contract finished I returned home as you do. We then turned our life around, figured out away that we could job share, so that we could both participate in the upbringing of the kids. It meant a lot less money but more contentment for us both , With absolutly no lack of adventure , different adventure granted but stories for us all to share. Like taking a mortgage break and using the money to spend11 weeks touring around France and Southern England in a rickaty old Van when the kids where 12 and 14. I have been to and seen things I would not have thought of. or Hiring off season cottages in the middle of nowhere and sleeping in the garden or on the beach etc etc.
To put another perpective on it ,my father was a long distance work away father most of my youth and I sometimes feel a little resentful when he tells my kids stories of his adventures, that he never had time to tell me!! I have learnt more about my father in the last 4 years than I did in the previous 43.

I dont really know if this means any thing but it worked for us, do not wait for it, just get on and do it now, were ever you are .Dont be scared you are missing out on whats over there , because by going there, you are missing out, on what you have left.

 

[nobby]

February 13, 1822.

On that date, the Lieutenant Governor of the state of Missouri, William Ashley, placed an ad in the Missouri Gazette and Public Advertiser soliciting the services of "enterprising young men" to go with him into the wilderness on a quest of great adventure and profit.
How come I never see ads like this in the Wiltshire Herald & Gazette?
JD

Try looking in the local education authority, probation or social services ads. They'll be lying about the profit but it is an adventure :0)

 

[moko]

I'm not sure what you mean by 'chasing someone elses experience' but I reckon seeking inspiration from what others have acheived and the adventures they have experienced is no small thing.I ts an extreme example, but I wonder what Ranulph Fiennes would be up to now if it were not for Scott. I have always found the expression 'the grass is always greener' a little confusing and often used unwisely. It is one of those statements that is proclaimed by those who are affraid to experience any form of life outside of their own very limited comfort zone.

 

[nickg]

I've just taken a job in Wiltshire over one in NZ, it was financially a no option one. But the way I see it, there are vast tracks of this country that millions have seen but me, I can take a map, and find things it could never tell me, or I could leave it at home, rip my trousers and enjoy pint at the end of it instead.

Last Friday I spent the night in some woods 30 mins from home, not far from a road. I could hear the boy racers in the distance and the deer nearby. It was great. Another time I was walking along, quietly looking around and came within 20ft of a deer before it saw me. It was something that had me smiling for hours.

Take every adventure, near, far, big or small; they will all make your day once, at least. I enjoy each moment outside, even that rain down my neck today. I'll take the big adventures when the kids are a bit bigger, and they can come with me, we'll tell the stories together.

Mate i am so with you on this. Yeah the wild ends of the earth call. Last year i took my 11 year old daughter to the Wilderness Gathering. She saw real buffalo, Ostriches, cooked breakfast over a campfire went on wild food forages and had a great time. Yesterday I went to the Kent meet cooked chicken, trout, bannock, stew and enjoyed some great company not a mile from the A2.

The point is, its what you do that really counts, not where! IMHO (and who you do it with). I visited some tough places in my army time, and saw the conditions that people live in in those places. You have to have a big comfy chair to sit in before you can even start to understand what you may choose to give up.

Oh and one more thing. It isn't a young mans perogative to go off and live life. My dad started when he was 71 after my mum died. Doing it bloody well too. The lesson I learned is - dont look back, look forward ;-)