Chapter 5: Take care of your horse and your rifle.
“A place for everything, and everything in its place.” Benjamin Franklin.
What a great and simple quote! I remember my mom saying this to us as children when we were picking up, or when we had inevitably lost something and were frustrated at not being able to find it when we, “knew we put it away!” At that point in time, I recall it was a frustrating quote to hear. I have, however, said it to my own children on a seemingly constant basis. “A place for everything and everything in its place.” If we just had a place for everything and put our belongings where they belonged when we were done with them, we’d never be searching for the item. A phrase that is uttered almost as constantly in our house is, “it’s always the last place you look!” Oh, how I wish we put things away correctly all the time so that it was always in the first place you looked.
I’d love to say that I am as organized and neat as my husband, but that would be a lie. I remember when we dated and he’d come over to my house for the evening. He would take his shoes off and tuck the laces into the open top of the shoes. My shoes, in contrast, were kicked off and hopefully laying near each other, but definitely not with the laces tucked away. He hardly ever has to replace laces, I, on the other hand, have to replace them much more often. His dresser is neat with each shirt folded into a perfect little square. He always knows where to find the shirt he is looking for without having to dig through the drawer. Mine, on the other hand…
Where did he develop this love of organization and neatness? When he was ten years old, his family lost their house to a fire, right after Christmas. He, his mom, his older sister, and his baby sister were able to get out of the house mere seconds before the house was engulfed in flames. His mom was able to put a new home together based off of the generosity of others and her own hard work. Maybe losing everything and regaining things of others instilled in him the desire to take care of what he has because he knows in an instant it can all be taken away. Perhaps his love of keeping his belongings neat and organized comes from his German heritage. We lived in a little town in Missouri when we were first married. Many people there still spoke German. When we were welcomed to the town the townspeople told us, “keep your yard mowed and your house looking nice.” That town was proud of what they had and they showed it by respectfully taking care of their belongings. Wherever my husband learned the love of respecting his gear and belongings from, I appreciate it. When he gets dressed in the morning without frustration, prepares for an expedition and easily finds and pack all of his gear, or even when he sits down to pay bills without having to go all across the house to find his supplies, it’s something to be appreciated, or maybe a little jealous of.
When a person takes care of their belongings, it shows pride in what they have and respect for themselves and others. If I don’t take care of my shoelaces and they break and trip me as I’m walking, I may accidentally trip my children. By not respecting something as simple as my laces, I have unintentionally injured and disrespected someone besides myself. Case in point, when our kindergartner decided it was fun to tie his laces underneath of his shoes and walk on it all day at school, it caused the lace to break on the ride home and a piece of it to catch in his bike chain. This caused him to wreck into his dad, who then wrecked his bike onto the sidewalk next to a very busy road. One simple act of not taking care of his tools (his laces) caused a domino effect of accidents.
The accessibility of supplies and goods in the modern world may lessen respect for our belongings. It’s easy to just run to the store and buy a new pair of shoelaces. Mountain men didn’t have it quite so easy. They had to “make do or do without” until they could get to a town with a store or find a person to trade with. The respect for their tools, guns, and animals was out of necessity. It became an important and life-saving habit though. Mountain men were resourceful. They used what they had or made an alternative substitute. You can believe they took care of what they had and maintained it well. Cleaning your rifle around the fire may have helped to pass the time in the evening, but it also guaranteed the gun would fire when needed.
We won’t all be as organized or neat as my husband; trust me, I’ve tried! We can, however, all treat our belongings with care. Even if I’m not getting my shirts perfectly folded and sorted in my drawer, I can make sure they’re not piled up on the floor and being stepped on. Out of respect for others, I can make sure that my dishes are picked up and put away at the end of an evening. Simple tasks like putting away our gear, or making sure it’s cleaned correctly, will ensure that it lasts for many years. If we could all be more like the mountain man of the past, respectful of our gear, resourceful with our needs, and determined to take care of what we’ve been entrusted, we could all be ready for the call of the wild at a moment’s notice.
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