Jobs I’l never have to do (there are many)
After watching a documentary on PBS this afternoon, I’m trying to accept that my life will never include restoring a steam locomotive. And I’m saddened. There was a set of skills required to keep the big iron running that is lost on the current generations. The simple act of aligning the drive wheels…
Oh, who am I kidding? Every period in time has had cool techology, and when something better comes along, the “tried and true” will disappear. Although I appreciate the ability of my grandfather to nail a shoe or four onto a stubborn horse, I can bet that he didn’t want to clean out the droppings at the end of the day, any more than I would. And a trip to town (as the saying goes) just didn’t happen. I asked my father: he didn’t get to see the wonders of sidewalks and big windows until he was ready to leave home. I didn’t get to ride on an airplane. To each their own.
The train restoration (from the documentary) was interesting. I’d love to help out, for a weekend. Extend that into building hundreds of the massive machines and I’m glad to retain my day job. Yes, I’d like to wait for the train to come in, occasionally… and yes, I’m now ready to wait for the bus, close to home and with much less overhead.
After checking out my little “computer controlled receiver” this afternoon, methinks I’ve got some transistor replacement ahead. The poor thing was deaf as a doorknob. The forums mention this condition, so others have beaten out a path. Now I just have to find the envelope containing those parts I ordered, last year.
