Rasmussen Commune

 

Kayli Bell - Jul 29, 2012
Brett and I were on a drive the other day (going to see a van, it was quite junky) and we had a pretty good conversation about the Rasmussen Commune.  

The main problem was that we couldn't decide if this would be occurring in some post-apocalyptic world where we would have all the same technologies/equipment/etc. of the modern age (like in I Am Legend) or if it would in a post-apocalyptic world where all the modern technologies and everything have been obliterated and we're back to primitive/survival type existence.   It makes a difference, because I was questioning just how important engineers would be, and Brett said that engineers are incredibly important.   But then he said unless we're talking very primitive, in which case, no one is important, we only need farmers.   But I said that nurses and doctors would certainly still be important, but he said, "Not really.   If they didn't have their medicine and equipment, they wouldn't be that much use.   What we'd really need is a medicine man of the forest, to collect medicinal plants etc. and know how to use those."   (So how do you feel about that, Derek and Megan?   I for one would still feel good having them both there if I were to have a baby even if Megan wasn't able to give me an epidural.)

But anyway, if we still had all modern technologies, we've got quite a good selection of qualifications- doctor, anesthesiologist, teachers, engineers of different varieties, even a pilot along with an air traffic controller.   (Pilots again brought up the point that they're useless if there are no airplanes, but I said it's okay because Jethro is planning on being an airplane designer, so I'm sure he and the rest of the engineers could make it happen.)   We didn't really feel that things like business or social work skills would be quite as useful in this situation, but who knows.

We decided Dad has to be the President who tells us all what our jobs are and does all the planning and arbitrates and decides who contributes what and makes it all fair, and Mom is his partner and makes it practical, and is also the overseer and makes sure everyone does their work well (we figure she would be just as effective with the skilled engineer-ish type work as with the more menial.   "Your graphs, equations and schematics should be neater!").  

We decided Ethan is useless, so Brett said he has to be on manual labor, and since Sterling and Wyatt aren't finished with med school or Aud school, they're useless as well and have to be manual laborers.   Except then we took Wyatt off of that list and decided he could be the commune entertainer/keep-up-the-spirits/inventor guy.   Then we also realized that maybe Ethan does have one use, because he is the only unmarried, and thus he can bring in some other skill that we don't already have by marriage.   But then we couldn't decide what that should be.   Maybe a botanist, since that could be kindof the medicine-man type thing previously mentioned, as well as helping with farming, perhaps?   I said optometrist since we all have bad eyes.  

We also decided to recruit Blake since he has major tracking and hunting and fishing skills, which could definitely be useful.

But the best thing of the whole time was when I said, "What would Amy do?" and Brett said, "Make sure we all have a present on our birthday."   AWE.SOME.

Also, Brett talked with Jethro about whether it would be better for him to become a physicist, so he could invent a new energy source using nuclear fusion, or aeronautical engineer, or other.

I was trying to tell the kids my job would be the commune photographer, but I don't think they really got behind that idea.

Andrea Young - Jul 29, 2012 
Well, if we had all our same technologies Timothy would be exceptionally useful but it not--I guess it is manual labor for him too.

Megan Barney - Jul 31, 2012
I agree I would be useless with out my equipment but I have watched a lot of episodes of Dr Quinn Medicine women so maybe I could incorporate her techniques and become the medicine women of the commune.

Lorie Rasmussen - Aug 1, 2012
 That is an awesome brain-storming /......... energizer thinking!!!   We need all the manual labor we can get - especially if there isn't our technology because it would take all day to find and prepare food and clean-up and chop firewood etc. etc.   I do want Amy around because we all need a present now and then!!!!

Amy Nielson - Aug 5, 2012 
I think I would make the boring/forest food taste good....or maybe just look better therefore tricking our brain into thinking it tastes better???? :)

Wyatt and Lindsay Ann - Aug 7, 2012

You all make me laugh!!!! No one would be manual laborers!! I would train the animals of the forest to heed to my every word. They would all serve as our laborers. I would train monkeys to do all of our work and we would all sit and get fat eating wild grapes and homemade cheese from Megan and Jared's goats that are now roaming the wild!