Issue 138

The Way of All Flesh (and Woodworkers)

This coming Sunday, December 11th, is my 50th birthday. Which is of no great importance in the big scheme of things, but growing older has affected my woodworking, primarily as it relates to the fact that my body is no longer 25 years old (as my brain seems to think it is). This fact often catches me unaware: grabbing a full-sized 3/4″ thick sheet of melamine and trying to lift it onto a cart, for example. My face turns red; I hold my breath; my eyes bug out, and I utter a host of unusual noises. (It didn’t used to be that way.) Or cutting to a marked line using the band saw. Just getting my head tilted to an angle where my bifocals allow me to see the line would be enough to make a chiropractor smile … because they’d know they would be seeing me for an adjustment soon (just like after I moved that melamine around).

But I know, because we keep track of these things, that the average age of this eZine’s readership is a couple of years older than I am – so I am not telling you anything that you don’t already know. With that in mind, I could use some advice. Why don’t you tell me what else I am in for – aging-wise. What other insult of infirmity will be nipping at my heels if I am lucky enough to continue aging? I suppose there might also be benefits. If I am already deaf as a post (which my wife already claims to be true), no more bulky hearing protection would be required. Let me know what you think. I’ll read your e-mail after my nap.

Sincerely,

– Rob Johnstone, editor: Woodworker’s Journal