A.J. Clark

Imagine if the things that you use everyday stop working. Simple things. If you are a computer programmer and your computer stopped functioning.  Or you are a truck driver and you don’t have the keys to the truck… you’re an artist without a brush or paint. There are things you rely on, or are used to having around, that you take for granted.  These things are important - you need them on a daily basis. On a personal level, if your phone stops working, everything is thrown off until you get it running again. Your keys to your house no longer unlock  your front door. You get the picture.

These things are every day carry items. Personal life or business, they play a major role in your day-to-day life.  Most people have a plan or back up for some of these things . A phone charger, a back-up hard drive, a spare key hidden in your car or wallet. Why not take the simple steps to prepare for something that might alter your life. Or the life of a loved one.

Carrying simple things that will aid  many situations are worthwhile. The simplest and easiest thing you can start with is a pocket knife.  (A good reference for knife selection and use is Everyone’s Knife Bible by Don Paul.) A cutting edge is the oldest tool, used by the earliest humans. It can cut the tag off a shirt that is annoying you, get something out from under your fingernail or make an aggressor think twice about attacking you.  It doesn’t help if its sitting at home on the nightstand. And it certainly can’t help if you never bought it. Every day carry means just that. You have it on you, or very close to you at all times, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.  In this day and age, most people wouldn’t leave their house without their phone. Heaven forbid you miss a tweet or facebook status update from a “friend.” What happens if  you get hit by a drunk driver on the way to work, your car flips over and catches on fire and you are stuck in your seatbelt. Your knife isn’t going to do you any good if its at home on your nightstand.

So get a knife. And learn how to use it.  Every day carry items will differ for everyone but there are a few items that are across the board, useful and can mean the difference between life and death. Just having a knife, or even a gun, isn’t enough. I own a guitar, I suck at playing it.  Despite what I told myself in highschool,  I am not a rock star.  Seek out training.  You don’t have to go overboard, or invest a lot of time and money, find basic courses or seminars  or workshops in whittling, cutting, first aid, and essential skills. This goes for everything you choose to carry everyday.

The Boy Scout motto is “Be Prepared” - they are the poster children for preparedness - there is a reason they have over 130 merit badges and learn hundreds of practical skills. Boy Scouts live in a state or readiness in mind and body to do their duty.  Discipline yourself  by thinking ahead of time about any situation that might occur so you might know the right thing to do at the right moment, and be willing and physically able to do it.

So, a pocket knife, a pistol, spare mags, matches, flashlight and a spork tool; these are just a few of the things in my everyday carry kit. Yours will differ and that is ok but the point is you need to have one, you need to know how to use the items in it, and you need to carry it. Every. Day.