Mentor
The other day, I was again convinced by experience of the need for tradition. I tried to kill, pluck, and gut my own chicken according to the guidance of internet articles. Here and here were the serviceable Internet articles--which worked after a fashion. The latter site has fascinating photographs about gardening, off-grid energy, making money with a life like that, animals, etc. No offense to the websites--I am eating the chicken after all.The chicken tastes delicious, but the experience was three hours of confusing horror. I'd do it again, but I need a mentor. I should have looked for the guidance of someone who knew what he was doing, someone standing behind me saying, "Now do this, no, not like that, like this!"