I loved your article!
My dad is a retired gas utility worker, who had the job to help support the farming he also did. He is of a generation of farmers that of utter necessity had to know how to do ANYTHING on the farm, from helping a sow farrow (if you don’t know, Google that!)to replacing the rear axle on a Case 930 with help from a teenager. After retiring from 39 years of “tinkering” for the utility, he had more time to “tinker” with his first love, antique International tractors. He is the first person all the neighbors call on when the “experts” at the local Case repair shop can’t figure out a tractor, and he has an unofficial job as the “tinkerer” for a neighbor that has lots of farm machinery, and absolutely no patience or knowledge of repairing any of it. I inherited his “tinker” gene-I was one of a few women copier repair people in Indiana, and still love to fix things. Provided that I can find parts!! I from necessity had to figure out how to fix our Toro mower (’nuff said about that hunk of junk), and I insisted on the Dewalt compound miter saw (hubby prefers the old saw-in-a-box). Which I love using.
During my high school years, girls ONLY took Home Ec., and boys ONLY took shop. I was bored most of the time in Home Ec., because my mother had already shown me how to “tinker” with cooking (I still only make cakes from scratch) and sewing (but Oscar de la Renta needn’t worry!), and with growing my own vegetables, and canning them. At that time, gardening was considered something you didn’t discuss in genteel public. Oh, and I have always hung clothes on a clothesline that is supported by posts that my dad welded.
So far, my kids don’t show any interest in “tinkering” with anything other than the computer games they play….sigh
