Working with your hands

As a native Detroiter, I grew up surrounded by the auto industry.  There was a work hierarchy that was apparent -- management and labor.  And the two seldom spoke to each other.  They even lived in separate areas.  This was too bad.  Management needs labor and vice versa.  Labor needs to be aware of the finer things in life -- the cultural opportunities that a liberal awareness of man's higher nature can offer.  Management needs to be aware that manual labor is rewarding, honest, and spiritually satisfying.

My grandfather was labor.  He worked for Ford as a tool maker.  He was embarrassed by this so he never taught any of his four children how to work with their hands.  My dad didn't even feel comfortable with a screwdriver.  As a result my mechanical teachers were my peers.  We worked on bikes and, later, cars.  We customized them, tuned them up and repaired them.  


Like all American parents, my dad wanted me to have a career in the white collar world.  I tried to do this so I would please him.  But it never really took.  I loved working outside and I loved working with my hands.  It was always satisfying to mentally see something you wanted to make and then doggedly pursuing it and overcoming all the challenges in the process.  This is hard to explain to someone who doesn't work with their hands.  To those who do, they will understand what I'm saying.


Our nation needs young people who are encouraged to work with their hands.  Not everyone can or wants to be an investment banker (especially after 2008) or a computer whiz.  Some of us are in love with manual labor.  And we have good track records.  The Wright brothers were bicycle mechanics.  Edison was an inventor.  Even Bill Gates quit Harvard to tinker with software.

Here's an armoire I made.  I loved the challenge of being my own architect and carpenter.