Woodworking World View

Cullen's favorite store is Home Depot. No kidding. Walmart trips have been ill-advised, Barnes & Noble outings short-lived.

But take Cullen to Home Depot and he is enthralled. He might get a little upset if you linger too long in the electrical outlet aisle, presumably because he'd like to see more of the store; otherwise, he's wide-eyed and eager to take it all in.

I would prefer that Cullen take an interest in books about home repair, not home repair itself. Then we could hang out the bookstore for hours on end. But until then, it behooves me to take a bit of an interest in something other than books and ideas.

Enter woodworking.

Last week I started my Monday evening woodworking course. And I thought, those of you who have never taken a woodworking course might enjoy learning a bit about the world of woodworking.

Well, here's lesson one: Safety.

We were told the first night that safety is paramount. And a major part of safety is concentration. Do what you're doing, don't let yourself be distracted. Calling someone's name while they're using the table saw is frowned upon. Fingers and blades are encouraged to be kept separate.

This was very interesting to me. Safety. Concentration. Very, very interesting. It occurred to me that I rarely keep my mind on one (and only one) thing. I am usually multitasking. When I mow the lawn, I listen to music on my iPod; when I work, I have numerous matters cluttering up my mind like a congested intersection. Even that metaphor was mixed.

Woodworking - a whole new way of looking at the world!

NOTE: The pictures here are of Cullen (not me). And he's using plastic (not wood).