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Bruce Bowerly (Written by Jesse Bond) |
| Bruce is a professor at a small college in Colorado. He teaches biology
courses, but his favorite course is his outdoor survival course. He has a
rather grim outlook on society and secretly hopes that there is a disaster
in some city so that people will begin to understand the value of survival
skills. At his home, he has survival gear packed into metal trashcans
(shielded from electromagnetic pulses) and has an abandoned mine shaft
prepared for whatever "accident" may happen in the future. He is a popular
teacher, but gets himself into a lot of trouble at his school for
"inappropriate teachings" (ex. Teaching students to make bombs, forcing
his students to kill chickens and eat them and teaching them how to filet
humans in survival situations). He holds a deep grudge against
"chicken-shit lawyers" since he has been sued on several occasions.
Bruce's parents are deceased and he has one sister. His sister is in constant competition with him about who has just had the coolest adventure and both are world travelers. He has two daughters who stay with his ex-wife in Maine. His wife cheated on him with her gym instructor which sent him into a rage. He ended up smashing the knee of the gym instructor, leaving him crippled, and then moved to Colorado. He works as a tour-guide for rich people whenever he gets the chance. He often takes flies with a rich family to the Galapagos and shows them the sites. He loves traveling to Mexico because of the value of the American dollar there and he is fascinated by the ancient ruins and active volcanoes. Whenever he has any free time from work, he goes backpacking to anyplace he can afford. Every summer he refuses to teach summer courses and sets off to some new destination. He has been to the North Pole, Alaska, Europe, Asia, South America, the Middle East and Africa. He was part of the winning team in the Discover Challenge (a grueling race across some of the most desolate places in the world), beating a team of Navy Seals, a Japanese racing team, etc. He is the author of the book, "City Dweller's Guide to Urban Survival" and invented the technique of placing plastic sacks over leaves to obtain drinking water. He has had himself immunized against several things which most people do not get such as anthrax and bubonic plague. Bruce is a bit of a quirky fellow. He always carries a water bottle around with him ("just in case"). He also carries a yo-yo around with him whenever he is traveling just in case he needs to do some street-performance to make some quick cash. There is always extraneous amounts of identification carried by him, as he is always prepared for the worst and expects to one day be the victim of bad police or theft. He has even sealed a $100 bill into his belt (which is made of extremely strong climbing webbing). Whenever he spots animal scat he investigates it to see if it is a new type for his collection/exhibit at college. Despite his failed marriage, he believes he is a lady's man. However, he often makes comments that a feminist would find abhorrent. Watching news is important to him because he is always looking for indications of conflict which he believes will eventually lead to the widespread destruction he yearns for. Bruce often stops in to bookstores to buy the latest doomsday novel and also has copies of several medical books that deal with biological, nuclear and chemical warfare attacks. His morbid sense of humor gets him in trouble sometimes (like when he was making jokes about eating cadavers and tried to get his students try a bite). He is a bit paranoid of having people he doesn't know walk behind him. Keeping his beard trimmed nicely is quite important to him for some reason and he thinks that most people are lazy dogs. He aspires to become eternally young and has some strange belief that the fountain of youth truly exists somewhere in Mexico. He is famous for being able to make tea out of almost any plant that actually tastes good. Bruce is very calm under pressure, but he knows how to channel fear into adrenaline. A small can of pepper-mace is always in his pocket (he uses this to attack any dog that even growls at him). Whenever he is backpacking in foreign countries that he is driving to, he carries a .45 caliber handgun concealed in a biology book (pages have been cut in the shape of the gun and then the gun is placed inside). He owns a well-kept 1985 Jeep. Bruce carries a "CIA letter opener" (plastic knife that isn't detectable by airport security) when flying abroad. Bruce is currently in Mexico trying to get away from everything. He has recently gotten himself into trouble at school again and is a bit depressed that the school is no longer going to allow him to take students on wilderness expeditions. Mexico is a bit of a paradise for him. He thinks the people are more honest and friendly than lazy Americans. He enjoys the different pace of life in Mexico and is busy trying to escape the hassles he's facing back home. He is thinking about going to some remote areas in Mexico after he spends some time in Mexico City. He's heard about a group of natives who he would like to go visit in order to see if he could learn anything from them or they from him. Equipment: Frame backpack: Matches, Folding saw, Mess kit, Wire, Salt, Harmonica, Garbage bags, Compass, Pencil and paper, Personal Hygiene products, Alarm clock, "Disposable" raincoat, Mercury motion detector, Antibiotics, Aspirin, American flag, Canadian flag pinned on backpack, Insect repellant, First Aid/Survival kit, Sleeping bag, Ground cover pad, Clothing (windbreaker pants, nylon clothing, etc.), "Rattail" comb (can be used as a stabbing weapon), Candles, Baby Powder and Deodorant, "Bear" mace (large canister of pepper-spray), Map of Mexico, Protractor, .45 gun in Biology book, Survival knife, Bells (wrapped in cloth), 50' nylon rope, Mirror, Dried foods, Coleman portable stove, Flashlight, Flares, Tent Carried at all times: Prepared fake wallet (expired credit cards, old id, lots of one dollar bills), Real wallet: $350 cash ($100 of it in one dollar bills), Important phone numbers (banks, embassy, etc.), Copies of important documents (passport, license, etc.), Camera (Olympus-Stylus), Baseball cap, Belt: Climbing webbing with $100 inside, CIA letter opener, Small can of mace, Hiking boots, Sunglasses, Flare-pen (3 flares contained in a pen) In Jeep: Flashlight, CB radio, Snow chains, Scoop shovel, Tow strap, Jumper cables, Blankets, Heat source, Zippo lighter, Food, Bow saw, Can of Sand, Warm clothes, First Aid kit Skills: Packing, Riding, Photography, Body Sense, Scuba, Running, Skiing, Swimming, Bow, Crossbow, Fast Draw- Knife/Mace, Guns, Karate, Knife, Spear, Spear Throwing, Distilling (famous kool-aid wine), Leatherworking, Netmaking, Stone Knapping, Woodworking, Meditation, Pressure Points, First Aid, Surgery, Pharmacy, Climbing, Fishing, Flint Sparking, Hiking, Hunting, Naturalist, Navigation, Open-Dress Diving, Orienteering, Survival(Wilderness), Survival (Urban), Tracking, Biology, Botany, Chemistry, Ecology, Area Knowledge, Teaching, Camoflauge, Escape, Scrounging, Stealth |