I reflect on a Christmas when I was five. As I have written, it was a different time, and no doubt most of us Kids would have been swept up in a bin and given to Child Protective Services to care for if we were caught roaming ‘free range’ today as we did then.
We had freedom to go into a patch of trees, to visit Miller’s Pond, catch frogs, we even ventured over the edge of a ravine into Mill canyon, and there we found 8 inch trout, (or smaller) that we attempted to catch. Most kids could ride a bike at four, and under the Christmas tree was a new Bike that year for me. I was plenty excited, but sick with the mumps, many of my friends were.
I remember sitting on the couch in Pajamas, fat cheeks, and holding a glass of SEVEN-UP, I remember so clearly the ICE, and the bubbles and how soothing it was on a soar throat. A kid remembers getting a new SCHWINN bike, especially if he’s feeling too sick to ride it. But on that night, I lay in bed and imagined all the places I’d visit on that bike. And in those days we could!
So many things have changed, and by my measure most kids today have more toys on their fourth birthday than we’ll have all our lives. It’s all so true unless we DIYers count our tools and hobby projects, the things we bought to learn about, the stuff we had to have.
But I refect on the day, and think there’s really only two groups of people on earth.. Those who have all the answers, and those who know there is a greater power than ourselves. And this second group… they know there’s only so much men can know.
It’s a day to thank God, and our wives for all the things we have… our wives… so many of their friends would have left a DIYer for a man content to sit in a chair at the fireside and discuss their day, or go shopping with them and hold all their packages, and of course most important, to bring only unsoiled clothes to the laundry bin.
We are rich beyond the imagination of most men on earth!
George
a very enlightened view of life i would say!
the fact you give your wife credit is something most of us don’t think much about,
i cannot imagine a life where all i did was go to work, come home and put on my smoking jacket, slippers and sit by the fire to discuss each others day and feel anything remotely complete.
while this might make the wife’s life easier, less laundry demands being the least, i cannot imagine how empty one would feel when the time came he did not have that job to go to. i think those sorts of men end up “being” what they do, not doing what they do so that the can “be”.
i feel really sad for the man who has no hobbies, no outside interests, no other passions in life, other than getting up and doing the same job day after day, no matter how rewarding he would have you to believe it to be.
realizing of course not all of us are cut out to be diy’ers, and have jobs that would negate the ability to get your hands greasy and cut up, but even then one would expect them to play golf or go fishing?
this reminds me of a really interesting old man i grew up around, he being a blacksmith starting probably at age 12 or so, stood behind that forge for well over 50 years, 6 days a week. he never had any side interests, no projects, didn’t hunt or fish, didn’t even drink of chase wild women! all those years no one ever remembered him ever being sick, never took a day off work. he made it right at 6 months after being forced to retire! such a sad sight to see him sitting in a rocking chain on his front porch, lost, distant, bored, and sad… i think he just gave up.
i refuse to be that man! as much as i loved you George M. (M=blacksmith) i think i would rather pattern my journey through life after George B ( B= diy’er, free range man) and go out with my mind working on plans for projects that would take another lifetime to address.
so what does that mean for our wives? probably not much because they gave up doing our laundry years ago! with “if you insist on getting this damn dirty, you can do your own laundry” 🙂
and yes we are lucky to have them in our lives.
bob g
We were born at a good time I think..
i think i might have enjoyed being born maybe 6-10 years earlier, i think i was somewhat toward the tail end of the golden years for being a kid growing up in middle america.
it might have been nice to have been old enough to have had enough of a job to buy a new big block 67 chevelle 🙂 or maybe a good used 64 impala 409 dual quad, 4 speed with positrac.
probably would have just gotten myself killed.
George i think your point is a good one, we ought to worry about the little guys that are growing up in a country where they are protected from doing all the neat stuff we could do as kids.
bob g