The self-reliant abo-dude

Cody Lundin first came to our attention some time back in the early 90s. Probably at the Sharlot Hall Territorial Days celebration. There was this dude sitting crossed legged by some rather crude-looking camping gear. He was dressed in skins as I recall and barefoot. He had a brochure that talked about Aboriginal Living Skills or some such. We saw him a few more times around town. Always barefoot. (I've nothing against bare feet -- my mother had a hard time keeping shoes on my feet when I was a kid. But I've seen Cody Lundin barefooted at times when I'm struggling to keep my feet warm.)

His courses caught on. At one point, my friend Georgene spent a very rugged nine days in the bush as a student in one of Lundin's back country survival classes. She was very impressed.

Wednesday night, I finally got a chance to hear him tell his story to members of the Professional Writers of Prescott.

A self-reliant childhood as an Army brat. Then drugs. Jail. Rehab. Epiphany in the red rock country where he connected with the outdoors.

In fact, that's his explanation for the bare feet -- a direct connection with the earth. Today, he enjoys nationwide recognition for his survival skills, his no-nonsense approach to teaching those skills to others, plus two outspoken books on the subject of survival -- in the outback and in case civilization breaks down.

Unlike some in the survival training biz, Cody walks the walk. He lives off the grid an hour and a half drive in the high desert northwest of town, in an carefully designed earth home. Road kill? Rats? Insects? Food, when that's all there is. He enjoys shocking the complacent, as you can imagine.

And he brooked little nonsense when it came time to publish his books -- obviously, one who is larger than life can deal with publishers and editors differently than most of us!

Here are his two books (a third may be on its way). And do take some time to visit Cody's web pages. Fascinating reading and video watching.
.
Linkage: At last, a new blog I've been waiting for is online. LindaG, of The One Acre Wood, has premiered Prescott Past which will feature, along with reminiscences, selections from her husband's wonderful collection of old postcards. I think you'll also find Susie of Arabia interesting; she's an American woman who moved with her husband and son to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. And, if you have plenty of time on your hands, spend some of it at Zero Out of Five, where the schtick is selected answers to exam questions, some quite amazing. Oh yes, I nearly forgot the Chinese rap video the dotter featured today.