My Life Without Electrisity

As part of a project for my application for the National Survivalists Group, I was asked what my life would be like without any means of electricity. I realized it would be hard to live, after what today's society is used to, but here is the story of how I would survive for a while without electricity.

Fifteen thousand feet above the ground, crammed into a small Mooney Bravo aircraft with a pilot and six other passengers; it's safe to say I was a little nervous. I don’t mind flying, but this time I was in the co-pilot's seat and my point of view was a little different. I was on my way to a naval air base in Mexico to visit my father; a soldier on the base. I would eventually see him, but not in the way that I expected.

So here I am, high up in the sky when this red light starts beeping. I was asleep for most of the flight and this woke me up. I have had some prior experience in aircrafts, going to several training schools. I knew enough to tell that we were descending at an unsafe rate. I turned to look at the pilot, and found that he was passed out on the controls. I lifted him off of the handled and took control on my side of the aircraft.

The plane was spiraling out of control. Another light started beeping; alerting me that my only engine has failed. The other passengers poked their heads in to see what was wrong, but just screamed when they saw what happened. We were over the forest, with trees as far as the horizon, so I had no place to land. I decided to find a lake or something to try and land in. I called back for the other passengers to buckle up, and eased the plane into a safer descent. Without my engine, I could not go far. I finally found the lake I wanted, and descended towards it. The belly touched the water, then a little more, but then my right wing clipped a tree. The wing was sheered completely off, and the plane was sent skimming across the water, spinning in circles all the while.

The plane finally came to a rest at the other end of the lake. Everything was quiet. I unlatched my seatbelt and went into the back of the plane. To my surprise, nobody was there. I got out of the plane, and went onto the shore. I took off my shirt and jumped into the water. I looked around, but still didn’t see anybody. I continued looking for about an hour, but then realized that I was hungry. I needed to find some way to get food. But more importantly, I needed something clean.

As I looked around for something to use as a weapon, I thought of what we were learning in health class. For a human to survive, he needs food, water, and, oh what was it? That's it! Shelter! Well, I've got the lake, so I don’t need water, the plane can be my shelter, and I'm getting the food as soon as I can get a weapon. Wait a minute; there are probably some dead fish around the plane!! That had to have killed a few! I returned to the plane, only to find the tail rudder poking out of the water. THE PLANE HAD SUNK!! I dove under the water, found the dead fish, but the plane was too far under to salvage. I took another breath and went deep under, opening the door to the plane and getting the emergency kit. All that was useable was a flare gun and a few flares. I took them and went back to the shore to try and find a tree or something to shield me from the rain or whatever might come. It was there that I left the dead fish and went out to find wood for a fire to cook them, but not before getting a drink from the lake. The water looked clean, and anyways the purity of it was the least of my worries.

The forest had plenty of wood, but the problem was that it had rained recently and the branches were wet. They would never burn like that. I had to find something that would burn. I searched for a while, and finally came across a patch of dead shrubs that would probably burn easily. Once I caught those on fire, it would be easier to use the bigger branches. I brought the shrubs back to the lake. It was then that I realized I have no lighter to catch them on fire. Man, now I really appreciate everything at home, I thought to myself. There I sat, hungry and in the cold, trying to think of a way to make fire. I got aggravated, punched the ground, and threw a rock into the woods. It struck another rock and sparks went flying everywhere. I sat there, mesmerized by my discovery. All I could do was sit there and laugh like an idiot. I went over and got the rock back. I tried it a few more times, but it was hard to get the sparks like I did before. Finally, I got the technique down and brought the rocks over to the brush. I sat for an hour, striking the rocks against each other before I finally got a spark to catch. I blew on it, and it burned brighter. I laughed again, and then I realized I was really hungry. I went back to get the fish and put one on the small fire. It took a minute, but the fish cooked.