On Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:21:20 -0600, dpb wrote:

Bill wrote:
dpb: wrote:

I interpreted the letter as reflecting them seeing interest in their
courses and training. It seemed quite natural to me; community college
and other tech school attendance is up nation-wide as it always is during
periods where it is more difficult to find good-paying jobs straight out
of high school or where those who are just out a couple of years are the
ones laid off and now realize they should've had some training. The local
CC academic course enrollment was up by 15%; the associated tech school by
almost 60% this fall.

What you said may be perfectly true, but the letter expressed a point that
may be worth repeating, it said:

"Woodworking exercises a
person's full capacities--hands, heart, and head--in a holistic way that is
both enjoyable and empowering. Instead of buying happiness, you learn to
make it. Instead of acommodating a world built by others, you learn to
construct your own.".
...

Well, I'm a pretty straightahead kinda' guy--I do woodworking to
basically make stuff I either want or need w/o worrying too much about
the "why's"... I suppose that's reflected in being engineer and
farmer, not "artiste"...

No farmer here, engineer from an engineering family (father was an EE
prof, three of us are EEs and the weird one a veterinarian .

Not that I don't like pretty stuff, but don't go out of way to place
"interpretations" into it--iff'en I think it looks good, that's good
enough.

Yep. Our Amish built cherry dining and bedrooms were beautiful so I
bought 'em. ;-)

I'm one of those who had a difficult time trying to write much
more in American Lit about Moby and Ahab other than it was "a whale of a
fish story".

I guess if there's some "deeper meaning" for somebody and any/all of
their students, power to 'em...

"So the fish took the bait. Next story." Sounds familiar to me. ;-)