Heroes and Hand Tools

Since we down sized last summer there has definitely been some adjustment in my carving and wood working; used to be able to use the garage, basement or the "man cave" to make as much mess as I wanted.  I have a wonderful wife that tolerates the planes and knives but does not tolerate power tools-just think how much dust can be generated!  So other than going some place with a band saw to rough cut out the decoys, leaves, or blocks for Santas, everything is done using the tools you see in the pictures.  When I read about the history of early decoy carvers and how they did their work with axes, draw knives and the like, I almost feel honored to be working with hand tools only.  The work goes slow but one does draw a sense of patience needed to complete the work plus going slower allows an appreciation of the wood and the finished product.  So just as the hare and the turtle race, the prize goes to the slow!  I worked with a carver in Maryville, Missouri, who took me out to meet a priest at a local seminary who talked about taking big cuts instead of so many small ones as the project would be completed quicker but more importantly the carver should be willing to take risks to make the project more detailed.  Maybe a message about life there?
So anyway here are some pictures of a 1/2 size loon decoy that I am working on and the tools. Sorry had to slip a picture of Sam here-he plays on an AAU team out of Wolfeboro, NH: they went 3-1 in their first tournament last weekend.  They went 35-4 last year.

Sam walking the walk at AAU Basketball

Pretty rough looking Loon

Still need to build a bench to sit on and carve

As for the heroes part, I recently posted to another blog commenting on college sports and the coaches who drive them.  The discussion was about Tressel football coach of Ohio State and was he right in not communicating with the University about violations that he knew had occurred with his players.  I mentioned John Wooden, his success and how his father played such an important part in his life and coaching philosophy.  Pat and I sat in the lobby of a hotel in Topeka, Kansas, trying to decide where to eat when Wooden came over and sat down; he proceeded to ask questions about us, our family, why I taught (not why I coached) and directed the conversation at us.  Several weeks later I received a copy of the poem "Why I Teach" and a copy of his pyramid for success.  As I read many of his books and heard him speak I knew that his methods were how coaching should be done.  Vince Lombardi, coach of Green Bay, took over a team in total disarray, set some high standards and pushed a team that had never won to become winners.  His big piece was loyalty and hard work to the program.  So these guys are people who helped me form my philosophy of teaching and coaching-Later Dr. Rick McGuire, former MU track coach helped  me know that I had been on the right direction all the time.

Anyway as I posted to the blog about Wooden, the responses from two individuals was as hard as I have ever heard.  Both charged that he was one of the most dishonest coaches ever to work in the profession, he paid players under the table, had favorites that got special treatment with the final statement being something about "there is no way he could have been that successful without cheating"!

The Internet is a wonderful piece of technology but....how much disservice is done by rumors, falsehoods, and people (like me) who post much of which if their (my) opinion.  The sad thing is that many people take anything said as fact and can't wait to spread the news.  So just how hard is it to have a hero and to keep a hero when their every moment is open for review, beyond the playing field.  I haven't asked the grand kids who their heroes are but think that who ever they say, I am going to work hard to help them preserve the admiration of that person. And then just hope that the "hero" doesn't do anything to screw it up.  As far as John Wooden goes, I went back and looked for evidence that he was not all he was revered for and could find nothing factual that he was not a fair and respectful man.  I guess the final test for him was, when he was on his death bed, how many of his former players came to see him-Kareem Jabaar (spelled right?) returned from speaking engagements in Europe to speak with him.  No greater evidence is needed as far as I am concerned.

It is closer to spring here, blue skies and some of the flowering trees are beginning to flower-of course they will be short lived as we still get some frost.  Remember when you get ready to build (or plant something this spring) to measure twice and cut once.
Peace
Pappa R