As a married man, I rarely get to control the television remote.
My wife and I don’t watch a lot of television together, but when we do, the remote is usually in her hand.
Larisa’s idea of downtime is watching Hallmark movies or something similarly sappy. I refer to all of it as man repellent.
My idea of stress relief involves time in the shop. I am an avid woodworker and spend as much time as I can get away with making sawdust, also referred to as man glitter.
Much of that passion comes from watching Norm Abram years ago each Saturday morning on PBS’ “The New Yankee Workshop.”
While most would point to his time on “This Old House,” it was the woodworking show that I connected with.
Watching Abram had as much to do with tool envy as it did with the projects he produced. As a result, the modest assortment of woodworking tools I owned at the time quickly multiplied. What used to occupy the corner of our garage is now housed in a separate building. My hobby has become a full-blown obsession.
My wife classifies my hobby as tool collecting. I can’t argue with that analysis. In my defense, the woodworking hobby produces enough money to pay for the tool collecting hobby.
I don’t advocate for a hobby to produce revenue, but it sure is nice to purchase the next “gotta-have-it” without any remorse.
Regardless of what you call it, I give a lot of credit to her for allowing me the freedom to pursue this time consuming, space hogging hobby that my old friend Norm introduced me to.
Abram announced his retirement in May of this year. A television farewell, “The House That Norm Built,” aired Monday. This fanboy had been waiting on it to air for months. Ten minutes into the program, Larisa got up and retreated to our bedroom. She apparently didn’t share my geekish enthusiasm for a retiring 73-year-old television woodworker.
To her it was woman repellent.
Although I never met Abram, I feel as though I knew him well. An unassuming celebrity, he patiently and methodically taught millions of aspiring woodworkers to work with their hands and build something that could be handed down for generations.
Also, that tool envy thing was real.
Circling back to the remote issue; since I rarely get possession of it, I made the most of it and watched a documentary about baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan. I’m sure my wife is sorry to have missed that one too.
For my fellow woodworkers, I’d like to leave you with a few truisms.
• You really can’t have enough clamps.
• If your spouse wants you to build a project, it’s perfectly acceptable to “need a new tool” to complete the job.
• Measure twice, cut once.
Finally, this quote from my old friend Norm Abram who faithfully recited it every Saturday morning: “Be sure to read, understand and follow all the safety rules that come with your power tools. Knowing how to use your power tools PROPERLY will greatly reduce the risk of personal injury. And remember this, there is no more important safety rule than to wear THESE… safety glasses.”
Thanks for the memories Norm.
dougb@news-banner.com
