Pride in ownership applies to many other things in life.
Show me 2 high school kids
Kid A ) -- drives a modest priced new car or secondhand pre-owned car, but that kid worked summers hauling hay, flipping burgers, worked retail (basically whatever the heck kids do for money) -- maybe he got a small bump from mom and dad to get the process going, but basically the kid is paying his own way for the car and insurance.
----- That will be a kid who takes care of his ride , obsessively sweating the details and keeping it mechanically and cosmetically nice
Kid B ) Never had much ambition for after school jobs, but by the time 16 rolls around, the parents are tired of driving him/her around everywhere anyway, ---- so Dad and Mom briefly talk about it, decide Dad needs a new worktruck anyway -- so they give the newly legal driver the keys Dad's 4 year old Silverado (or whatever) --
--- sure, the kid likes the idea of having a new truck, but now Kid B has no skin in the game and thus doesn't appreciate it as much as Kid A appreciates his ride, -- so the aforementioned Silverado goes weeks between washings , regularly gets behind on fluid changes, and the left floorboard is full of fast food wrappers
I think the same thing happens with landowners vs. renters too
When I was a more active hunter, usually I would chip in with some guys' from my brother's company on a deer lease in Western Oklahoma. I wonder how some of you guys feel about deer leases.
For me, it is almost a must, as I don't have the capital to invest in 500 acres of otherwise worthless land in the middle of nowhere (although its a retirement dream
![Razz :P](./images/smilies/icon_razz.gif)
)
So in effect, we are renters too, but I feel that I am helping the farmer out by thinning the herd (have found cattle feed in the stomachs of many many deer ) - and as long as we properly tend to our campfires, don't shoot cows, and help facilitate good deer herd management , -- we are not doing any harm to the land
--- however, I do see some squirrelliness occasionally when one of the company men brings a guest (someone with no skin in the game, basically) -- this will be the guy with a Swarovski scoped Weatherby in the boutique magnum caliber of your choice, with a 55k F250 w/out a scratch on it, -- and at some point during a weekend, we'll hear him unload a full magazine of thunder-boomers (not that many, really , for a Mag - maybe 3-4 shots) - then he'll report back over the 2 way that he couldn't connect on 2 does hanging around under a feeder 100 yards from a stand, its funny. Then that evening, the gentleman will help himself to everybody else's beer because he didn't bring any, among other social faux pas' ( note- I like F-250's, and Weatherby rifles --- but you guys' know the type of dude im talking about )
-- Makes me wonder if the same guy would be such a weirdo if he had actually thrown in some bucks on the lease too