Reading is akin to a treasure hunt. There are surprises around every corner. Part of the fun, especially when reading fiction, is anticipating what might be next. Sometimes one guesses right and sometimes one is way off. But that is all right.
One just keeps at it, pulled along, if the narrative flow is deftly constructed, by the love of the chase. Non-fiction offers a different kind ofexperience. One anticipates things differently, since so little depends upon multiple interactions among characters. But there are just as many pearls to be harvested. They just come at one differently.
No matter the genre, wisdom reveals itself with characteristic grace. That was the case while reading George Sturt’s The Wheelwright’s Shop yesterday morning.
I find that what I remember most when reading are snippets of thought. Ask meweeks after reading a novel about some plot detail and most likely all you will get is ablank stare. Teaching is great for detail retention since it requires a thorough and deep knowledge of a particular text that comes as a result of study and repeated readings.
I do not do that kind of reading anymore – and I am glad of it. If a word, or phrase, or thought sticks without my having to work at it then so be it. If not, the invisible winds of memory are allowed free play. Sturt writes eloquently about the wheelwright’s craft.
He writes about his own experiences, as well as those of his father and grandfather. In so many ways it is a love story. In order to be good at any craft the craftsman has to not onlylove the work, he must also love and respect, and come to know deeply, the tools and materials of his craft. One of the disturbing and unfortunate realities of contemporary life is the extent to which craftsmanship is so undervalued. Sure, we appreciate the work of a good furniture maker, carpenter, or auto mechanic. But as a society we pay lip service to craftsmanship and to those who actually make things. Instead we value moneymakers, most of whom would have a hell of a time fixing a toilet, chopping firewood, or shingling a roof.
We did away with perhaps one of the best ways to learn anything, the apprenticeship system, and have replaced it with inane, utterly useless and ultimately inadequate programs with names like ‘systems technology.’
To read a book like Sturt’s is to once again be reminded of the beauty, value, utility, and artistry of the manual crafts. To be an expert craftsman of any kind takes years of tutelage, practice and intelligence.
Ask me to choose between a master carpenter and a day trader and - well, there really is no choice. The reasons are obvious. To master any craft takes commitment and patience.
As Sturt points out, master wheelwrights turn out carriage wheels not because they work quickly, but because they work deftly and masterfully.
In short, they know what they are doing, why they are doing it, and take pride in what they make. I have become a fair carpenter over the years because I have worked at it. But I will never catch up to those who have practiced that beautiful craft as very young men and women. I envy them. In a chapter titled “Carting and Converting” Sturt describes the carters who deliver the timbers to the wheelwright shop.
He says they “… had rustic talk and anecdotes, rustic manners. I never saw them other than quietly wise.” That last sentence is one of those snippets I will never forget. I will never be a wheelwright or a carter, but the notion of being quietly wise I will cherish forever.
Ours is a very raucous, selfcongratulatory, self-righteous, egomaniacal age. There is precious little quietly imparted wisdom to give us pause, to invite even the briefest of respites from the din of disquieting discourse that characterizes contemporary life.
Perhaps things would quiet down a bit and wisdom might just reveal itself a tiny bit if every member of Congress were required to take a shop class with someone across the aisle a few times a week. But then again, they would have to shed those awful duds they sport when standing in front of the cameras for those hastily called press briefings where they all stand there smiling like Cheshire cats!
Think about it. How nice – and even civil – it would be if more of us tried a little harder to be quietly wise.
Columns
Up On Hawthorn Hill: Quiet wisdom
- Columns
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Passing along advice of seeing the humor
The best advice given to me many years ago when I started teaching had nothing to do with my discipline, English. Rather, a former mentor insisted on the necessity of having a sense of humor
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The week that was ...
For a number of years now, we have not been in Cooperstown for the spring season. And we must admit that we had quite forgotten what it is like. But since we decided that travel was not on the docket for this year, we have become reacquainted with the Cooperstown spring. And we must say we rather enjoyed it with the possible exception of occasional uncalled for snow and seemingly frigid temperatures.
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Local Voices From Around the Globe: Mother's visit was a benchmark for this year
Last week, my mother made the 25-hour plane trip out to Thailand to visit her son, me, after nine months of having only choppy Skype sessions and scattered emails to give her an idea of what I look and act like since having left home last August.
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Local Voices From Around the Globe: World traveler calls Euro-Tour experience of a lifetime
While I've had a great time throughout my entire exchange, I can say hands down that the month of April brought me the best memories of my exchange if not some of the best of my entire life. What kind of wonder would bring me to say this? Simple. Euro-Tour.
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Maryland port attacked
Havre de Grace, May 3. "This morning, a little after the break of day, a British armed force, under cover of armed vessels which anchored in front of this town ... landed below a small breast work which had been roughly thrown up, and in which were one 9 and two 4 pounders, manned by 50 militia.
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Memoir reflects on 'roller-coaster life and career'
Apparently, the third time wasn't the charm. The way Reynolds described him, the third husband was worse than the first two combined and that's saying a lot. Eddie Fisher literally walked away from Reynolds and their two infant children to chase a sex goddess. At least he got his just desserts when Elizabeth Taylor tossed him aside for Richard Burton.
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Imagine what might have been ...
A while back we got a telephone call from a reader of this column wanting to know why we had not written a column in support of Otsego Manor continuing to be owned and operated by Otsego County. And even though we have followed the debate over this issue in the newspaper, we readily admitted we did not feel we knew enough about the situation to take a stand.
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Herpes virus brings harness racing to a halt
I've been going to harness horse race tracks my entire life. My family has been in the business for years.
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Time, if not traffic, moves on ...
It is with sadness we note the passing of two people who we have known since moving to Cooperstown in 1982.
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Canadian capital captured
Dear Sir, I have just returned from Fort Niagara, where I saw a Captain of the United States' navy. He is just from little York, the capital of Upper Canada, and gives the following account, which is confirmed in official dispatches from Gen. Dearborn to Gen. Lewis ...
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Local Voices From Around The Globe: Exchange is like a life in a year
All exchange students realize the credibility of this statement. Like all lives no exchange is the same, all are incredible unique exchanges. The metaphor of life, from baby to old age, extends to every part of the exchange.
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Movie depicting legendary Jackie Robinson does not disappoint
Going to the movies is not something I do often. I can count the number of times I have gone on my fingers, unless you include trips to the drive-in. And even so, it took me years before I made it to one of those -- going for the first time two summers ago.
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'Dubious' about weather, Hawkeyes 'suitable' nickname
Unfortunately, it seems to us that this spring has, thus far, been anything but spring like. In fact, we are still more than happy to stay bundled up in our polar fleece.
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'Who's on Worst?' reveals the ugly in baseball
The Baseball Hall of Fame celebrates the greatest players, managers and owners from our national pastime. Any of us who have watched Major League baseball have inevitably seen some of these immortals practicing their craft. But we have also likely witnessed a sample of their opposite brethren, players who shouldn't have been in the Major Leagues. Has there ever been a definitive source that "celebrates" the non-accomplishments of the worst that Major League baseball has to offer?
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Swallow talk and bluebird vigilance
I assume the swallows have returned to Capistrano. They have returned to Hawthorn Hill as well.
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Local Voices From Around the Globe: Life in Hungry has taken a turn for the better
I can truthfully say spring has finally arrived in Hungary. It's almost time to wear shorts and sandals, for summer will be just around the corner. This brings me great happiness and great sadness, my adventure is coming to a close. Really what a time it was, I don't think I can compare it to anything else.
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The importance of speaking up ...
Over the years we have come to understand that, in writing a weekly column, it is not possible to always please everyone. And such was the case with our column that ran at the end of March in which we wrote about our experience as in inpatient following a total hip replacement.
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Public schools created
The Common School Act of 1812 marked the start of New York's public school system. Much of the credit for this was due to the radical Otsego County politician Jedediah Peck (1747-1821). To quote the NY Education Department:
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Book takes readers on path for equal rights
One of the most troubling aspects of our history is race relations. It takes a long time to achieve true equality in a society when the heritage of one ethnic group is slavery and Jim Crow laws. Even today African Americans are more likely to be stereotyped as athletes than doctors, lawyers or entrepreneurs. The path to a "color-blind" nation is still a work in progress.
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Local Voices From Around the Globe: Experiencing India at every new turn
Come, sit down. Hold this and, wait ... ah, there you go. Obeying these commands, I found myself seated on the pavement, wearing a turban and attempting to make sounds out of a recorder-like instrument for the black cobras in the baskets not two feet away from me.
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Passing along advice of seeing the humor
