Headed down That Third World Road!

I love the Third World, or "The Third" I call it. I'm very comfortable there, stepping into that simple estranged ebb and flow, thankfully I was put together that way.

"The Third" is a naive, quirky, eccentric, very simple minded, master of survival, forever evolving, not always forward, the Third is perpetual. I'm undeniably proud of my sporadic relationship and connection to it and through many observations and experiences there I offer these few thoughts for you to ponder
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First, simple is good if you want to survive in the third world. Actually if you can't get down to, and live with, the crude basics, "the purest simpleness" go somewhere else! You don't get a lot of advantages there like here, here in the First that is. No, there in the Third, its all sifted out and down. Down to the "Nit Grit", I call it, or to what you get when you have habitually shrugged off, left behind and run from, any semblance of mainstay progress. Some of us call this a vacation, I assume you know what I mean, but probably not.

Let me help a bit, think about the complicated engines so to speak of First World Civilizations. Those steady, stable, running rumbling things like, commerce, schedules, uninterrupted coms, utilities, mail and such. Those things what give you electricity, refrigeration, A/C, etc. etc. and the wherewith to pay for it all. And uh, the other little niceties, like a MacDonald's, Starbucks, whatever etc., down on the corner. Let me at this point say that in certain third world countries there are McDonald's etc and groceries etc. these are on the peripheral so to speak of the interior but be satisfied that in the true Third, there is nada. No Whole Foods or any "Chain Groceries" where you can get fresh anything, but what you can get you can rest assured is probably very organic and home grown. Wash it good!

You take good care of your vehicle, no service stations in the Bush down or over in the Third. You do your own maintenance, always! It's a law you live by. Let me explain, lets just say there is only one way to do it right. The average third world inhabitant has mastered thousands of ways to do it wrong. More than that, they can do it wrong so that it will hold just long enough, I say just long enough to assure that you will be in the middle of no where when it blows up, falls off, overheats, or shears off, or? Well, you get the picture.

Now depending on what the hell your doing there, there are proven techniques that allow for a better life style when living the way of the Third. One is to befriend the owner of the most popular local watering hole, especially one that serves food. You know all the local buzz from there. Also, if you are located near the ocean, a river or lake, find a successful local fisherman to befriend, "this is where the extra medication I refer to later", comes in handy. Medicine is a great bartering tool. I have traded Meds for just about everything from lifts, to food, to fuel, to getting out of a jam with the local Transcitos or Policia.

That's it in a nut shell, you survive by going back to living simple, bartering your way along in this place where survival is minute by minute almost, depending upon how savvy you are. I do not want to mislead at this point. Your not going to up and die at any moment but, If you want to go along without contracting one of the many debilitating parasites, malaria, cholera, etc. or simply dodge an angry Black Momba, or other diverse, kill you for moving wild animal, and less we forget, my favorite, the certain highly motivated, crazy, machete wielding man or woman who are just simply having a bad day, then you should learn to become a serious, very on your toes, aware, forward thinking, master of blending in and looking like an old hand at living this third world thing.

Living in the Third is as good as it gets if you are put together that way. For me, when in the Third I travel with essentials. I have a good knife, bomb proof Light and batteries to spare. Proper tools, 2 spares (tires on rims), spare tubes, high lift jacks, hand pump for flats, lots of tube patches, mosquito net, several means of communication, Sat-phone, Sat-up link for email, local cell phone, GPS, HF Radio, handheld with correct frequencies, water purifier, a few plastic five gallon jugs with lids, fire making apparatus, proper clothing and last but not least, my Med-Kit.

You should know what you could come down with in any particular Longitude or Latitude. Always, always, carry more than enough medicines. If you are in a place, where getting out because of emergency could take more than a few hours, I suggest carrying some potent pain killers, some that if necessary will almost put you out of your misery on their own, just in the event you encounter a problem that is sure to kill you, painfully, slowly, without hope of quick extraction. There are services that you can subscribe to that will fly you to a hospital of your choice anywhere in the world. I recommend Med Jet Services, but remember, you have got to get to an airport first before they can pick you up. I also carry lots of aspirin, when in the third world, aspirin can cure anything, it seems to be a mental thing sometimes but, If its a pill it's bound to be miraculous. If the pill comes from the U.S. it will absolutely cure anything. You save your hard to get Meds for yourself or the real need you might encounter. You can trade aspirin for anything, it's a cheap way to make friends or get out of possible hard places.

Now on the lighter side. Moving in the Third is like being a kid again, or feeling like it. You get to experience that freedom like when you were a kid and didn't have life's baggage hanging off your back. This is only possible however if you turn off your Sat Devices, Radios and Cells and only call out. I like only calling out! We need more of that here in the First, but it will never happen.

These days I long for the simple life of the Third and find myself rooting for the stock market to crash, for Americans to stand up to and force every politician to come clean or get out, I mean get out, as in "Get Out of The Country"! I have just been watching Mr. Obama and all his antics up on the stage. I didn't vote for the boy but I took him as my President to support. But, try as I might I can't support him. He's just too UNCONSTITUTIONAL! Let me just say at this point that as far as the two parties in our country go, and I do mean PARRRR-TEES, there's no real difference politically. The only true difference that lies in being conservative or liberal can only be defined as what you believe, your principals and morals! Our government has become a Phenomenal Farce, no principals and no moral obligation to anything. Its like so much Hollywood, nothing is real, nothing is for sure, nothing is trust-able in other words no principals and no morals.

No Third World Government could have pulled off a better scenario, I know what I'm talking about, I've lived and worked in the Best, or the Worst, depending on your viewpoint. So far as the preceding "thoughts to ponder" go, they were just words to enlighten you so to speak, maybe get you on the right keel as we cruise forward in our new body of water toward a shore that, if things hold true, we are just, "a slight screw up away" from birthing the Next Third World. I can here the BBC reporter now, The U.S. "Headed Down That Third World Road". Whatever, I got my garden broke up, do you? Can you work on your own vehicle? Can you evaluate, operate or medicate acute physical problems on yourself, friends or family?

Back to that garden, let's hope that Mr. Grand Leader doesn't get his way and continue his unabashed installments towards new changes/restrictions involving our Constitutional Amendments especially our Second Amendment! Let's hope we wise up, or better yet our Congress wises up and opposes our own President from taking our guns away. What do guns have to do with raising a garden you say? Well, what are you going to do when all those starving first world left-wingers come looking for your Turnip Greens? AP