its not till we are older that we appreciate the past

[watab kid]

im not going to dwell here on the past , i'm only thinking the things we were taught by our elders that seemed so dumb or simple at the time have proven to be some of the most valuable later in life , some things like sharpening a knife have proved to be things we never thought to share yet not everyone was taught it , i was amazed in my younger years that some were not taught to swim , it was second nature to me , my folks taught me early here in minnesota on vacation it was a needed skill , 

 

i was taught to shoot early , i a;lso was allowed to hunt early - by my father and my grandfather , if not for that early training i might not be here today , 

[Stump Water]

If there was something to be done it was expected I would help.  Electrical, plumbing, automotive, construction, gardening... you name it.   My main "instructors" were my father, grand father and two uncles.  I spent a lot of time on my grand fathers & uncle's farms... putting up hay, building fence, maintaining/repairing equipment and animal husbandry. 

 

Would I rather been running around playing with my friends and cousins?  Most of the time, yes.

 

One uncle taught me how to shoot and hunt.

 

We recently bought an induction cooktop to replace the gas.  Salesman asked me when I wanted to schedule the install.  Told him I would do it.  He was incredulous, "You have to run 220 to that cooktop!  You can't do that!"  Yes, I can.

 

A few weeks ago a co-worker's water heater went out.  He called a plumber.  SMH.  Replacing a water heater is the simplest plumbing job there is.   The WH was in the crawl space.  He reported that the new water heater would not fit so they were going to move it inside the house.  I told him to tell the plumber to get a low-boy WH.  He said that's what they had, but there was no room up top to make the connections.  I said, "Tell the duma$$ plumber to get one with the connections on the side."  Too late.  They had already gone ahead with the relocate.  What should have been the cost of a new WH and some fittings ended up costing him right at $3000.

 

I know people that don't know how to use a circular saw.

 

All that said, I'm a boomer and my generation ruined the country.

 

 

[DeaconKC]

We could never have children, but we had 6 nieces and nephews grow up 1.2 mile from us. So we are much closer with them than most Aunts and Uncles. One of them told me a few years ago that I was their "cool Uncle", as I was there to tech them how to work on cars, shoot, etc. "Cool Uncle" I like that.

[Wild Eagle]

Cool Uncle sounds like a great new alias.

 

Just before I retired I was spending a lot of time updating work instructions to include things that we had always assumed that everyone just knew.  People don't seem to fix things anymore, just throw it away and get a new one, or call someone to fix it for them.

 

[irish ike, SASS #43615]

Both of my parents were kids that came through the Depression. So as Dad would say, 'if something broke we fixed it. We had no money so if we couldn't fix it we had to figure a way too work around it'.

Dad taught me how to fix things and gave me life's learned wisdom. Cars, gardening, carpentry, plumbing, electrical and animal care.  One of his life lessons was, 'learn what the guy above you does and do it better. You'll get his job and move up'. I did that and went from an entry level draftsman to Chairman of the Board for a $100 million a year Architectural firm.

Mom taught me sew/repair, cook, iron, and never ever lie about anything.

Throw in camping and fishing.

I've tried to do the same for my 3 daughters.

 

[Pat Riot]

20 hours ago, Stump Water said:

All that said, I'm a boomer and my generation ruined the country.

I get really tired of hearing this horse-crap. The “Boomers” didn’t ruin anything. Commie influencers in Universities and Schools have younger people from the 50’s on saying this as well as news agencies filled with the reporters promoting this drivel in their indoctrination. 
This goal of labeling for blame is nothing more than identity politics and bull sh**!

 

 

 

Regarding this thread:

Keeping a sharp eye on the past is a good way to completely miss your future. 
I am tired of looking backward.