This just in:
The dilemma of gift giving discussed in the last Zine is a shared phenomenon. It seems that many of us have offered woodworking gifts (made not only of wood, but of our hopes and fears – blood, sweat and tears), only to have the experience go south. One reader wistfully told me, “It gets easier as you get older.” Perhaps he has developed emotional calluses. Another builder asked his niece how she had liked his handmade gift. “I know how much you value honesty,” she said, but ” we didn’t want that ugly stuff.” Ouch!
Anything of value is gained at a cost. Perhaps in our collective cases, humility was gained at the expense of pride. Not how I would have planned it, but I must admit, very effective. You can check out more of your fellow woodworkers’ sad (and funny) stories on our Feedback page.
Rob Johnstone, Woodworker’s Journal
