Seems to me, there are two ways to do things.
For a good chunk of my 20s (oh lord, is that how we're talking now?) there was a push and a pull between these two ideas. One: That a man should learn to do the things he needs to do in everyday life to make his time on the planet easier and more self-sufficient. Two: That a man can simply acquire enough friends/money/power to have other people figure that stuff out for him so he can concentrate on more important things.
I literally have sat on the teeter-totter for a decade on this one, and I doubt I'll ever decide. The point, Jack, is that now, it really doesn't matter. There's no engineer to throw the switch at the rail-yard anymore. Just go and do, because everything is Knowledge.
I'll give you an example: For years I have been teaching myself to maintain and operate all of the computers in my life. (side note: I definitely did NOT "teach" this to myself... I studied under a great mind known the world over as Mr. Slideyneez) I sharpen this skill because, to me, I can't stand the idea of a piece of technology falling into disrepair in my life and having to take it to a mouthbreather at Best Buy. I can't stand that interaction - as far as it relates to technology - wherein I have to say "Yes, indeed, I do not know what is wrong, and you need to fix it for me". Is it pride? Oh no, absolutely not. I say that because when my car starts to Bubble and Whine, I immediately call my mechanic and start talking like a baby. "Don't know what's wrong, pwease help!" So I'm not DIY all the way. In fact, I would say it shakes out that about 75% of the time, I prefer to just plain not know how things work. "Hey Drew, gutters are clogged. We're going to need to go get a---" DON'T CARE. I ain't got no quarrel with them ice dams.
So, it's selective, but almost without pattern. I think as we age, we grow more used to some things. But with others, if you don't flex those memories, the time passes and you lose them forever. When I was 12 years old, my school (because it's Wisconsin) had a free course for Gun Safety. This is the certification that all children under 18 would need in order to go deer hunting. It was a free class, a few nights a week for a month. I don't need to tell you Gold readers that nearly 90% of my friends signed up for this class. I can't exactly remember why I didn't sign up for the class (I'm sure I was busy with Sim City at the time), but everyone I knew was in it, and I wasn't, and that was OK. I can't say I was ever excited about the possibility of hunting. It never had that much appeal, I guess. Anyway, that same class was offered the next year, but by then I was 13, and the only kids that would be in the class would be a year younger than me. NO DICE. Plus, the world was starting to open up and I was seeing more options for life beyond just what everyone else seemed to be doing. And then within a few years, I was driving and Making It Happen, and that just set the entire thing on the back burner. Flash forward 20 years.... the point is, it's not happening. I will never be a hunter. I will never take a gun and go hunting for deer. Ever. I would have absolutely no hope of shooting a deer... I'd likely misfire and scare one off long before I even saw him.
So, what's the point? Well, I never learned to hunt, and those days are gone, but I absolutely LOVE to fish. That was one of those skills that stayed with me. I nurtured it, flexed it, and now I do it dozens of times each year. So, you see, I'm not adverse to the outdoors. I'm not a nerdlington (although I did just push up my glasses before I began typing on this website). I do SOME things myself, but not all.
And so this weekend, as we bring it all back to where it started, it's not that big of a concern if I use Famous Dave's Bloody Mary Mix while I watch Charles Woodson make people feel The Hurt. Because I'm going to slice up some tomatoes from the garden that I raised with my own two hands this summer.
I'm not my Grandpa. But I'm not altogether incapable of acting like a man.
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