I've been on this forum for a few months now and just wanted to take the time to thank all of you who take the time to respond to the various issues and questions posted here. <br><br>I am not an expert. I am not a member of SAR. I am not one who is generally in a high-risk environment often where these skills will be required frequently. I am an occasional weekend warrior with the Boy Scouts who travels to fairly well populated camps and parks.<br><br>But I am the exact type of person who is likely to find themselves in trouble without some basic knowledge should I find myself in a survival situation. Ignorance will kill.<br><br>So thank you for your patience in answering newbie questions. Most likely I will never be required to apply them in practice, but at least I'll have the knowledge and confidence that I could. And, more importantly, I have learned things here that may help me avoid survival situations.<br><br><br><br><br>Willie Vannerson<br>McHenry, IL

I'd like to echo Mr. Vannerson's thanks. Like him, I'm just a "weekend warrior". I first got interested in survival when I read an item on the local news here in Alberta, approximately 3 years back, about a farmer in Northern Alberta who froze to death in his own barn, sitting next to a wood stove that was full of fuel, after locking himself out of his house. As the police reconstructed it, he had apparently taken off his parka and tossed it into the house through a partially open window in the rear, probably in the mistaken belief that it was hampering his attempts to climb in. A book of matches was found in the pocket of the parka. Had he simply had the presence of mind to drop it on the ground, instead of throwing it through the window (He was afraid it would get dirty?) he would likely have spent the night in relative comfort.<br><br>As a small plane pilot and a non-smoker, I realized that I never carry matches and would probably have no way of starting a fire if I were to lose an engine - at least, none that I then had the knowledge to make use of.<br><br>(When the local Recreational Aircraft Association was asking for suggestions for topics at their monthly meetings, I suggested that a talk on Wilderness Survival would be of general interest; the co-ordinator's response was "Great, I'll put you down for June" and thus an "instant expert" was created ;-)<br><br>Mr. Vannerson makes an interesting point: the paradox is that, the more you know about this stuff, the less likely you'll be to need it. That's as it should be, though. :-)<br><br>

I’d like to second what Mr. Vannerson said, and add a thought. <br><br>In general, I believe in value for value received (TANSTAAFL, to all you Heinleiners lurking out there- you know who you are). I also believe that if you don’t support what you like, it’ll go away- at least in a free market. <br><br>This site and this forum have been invaluable in many ways, and no one has asked for a penny in return. So, I’m going to the bottom of that first page, where there’s an Amazon link, and I’m going to send a few bucks their way right now, while I’m thinking of it.<br><br>Survival-oriented folks tend to be individualists, and I wouldn’t presume to suggest any course of action to those reading- but, I might presume to suggest that you consider it, if you haven’t.<br><br><br>