"Bill" wrote in message
...
John Grossbohlin wrote:

He's slowly been building a new
shop... "to house your tool collection" I asked? ;~)

John


I have read and found to have some basis that people tend to get what they
need out of their activities, not necessarily what others or even
themselves think they need. I hope that your friend was kind enough to
laugh with you. Tool collecting seems like an honorable hobby to me. I
appreciate the way it is intertwined with, and brings about a heightened
respect for history and culture. Of course, in this case it sounds like
your friend has a collection of more modern tools. Still I have never met
a tool collector I didn't enjoy talking with.

Yeah... we both laughed about it. It's not that he isn't interested in
making other things it's more of a time and money thing that goes with
having a house, wife, job, and other responsibilities. His tools are late
model and like new....

I understand your point.... I recall meeting a retired guy at a waterfall
while out bicycling one time. The site had been used for target shooting for
many decades and rumor had it that it was used for same back to the civil
war and before. Anyhow, he had a new Ruger 10/22 and a Ruger .22 semi auto
pistol. He fired one magazine from each, i.e., 10 shots from each, wiped
them down and put them in their cases. To me that seemed odd.... Years
later, having sons, I buy .22s by the case (5,000) and it's not usual to go
through a 1,000 at a range session. ;~) Anyhow, I asked him if he was done
so I could walk around the falls a bit. The discussion continued and he went
on to explain that he had had a life long photography hobby but between the
demands of friends and family for his photography skills it was no longer
pleasurable. He sold all of his photography equipment and bought a couple
..22s as that was something that could be his alone to enjoy. That encounter
was memorable and I try to remember the lesson learned.

That said, sometimes people just need encouragement or guidance to help them
reach a higher level that they themselves desire. For example, recently a
woman I mentored for years was moved to a different department under an
organizational realignment. Let's just say that my training, education and
experience are at a much higher level than that of the department where she
landed. After about two weeks of seeing how things worked in her new
department she came back to me and said "I've never felt so smart in my
whole life!" and "I understand now how far I've come." While working with me
she hadn't quite gained the self confidence that she should have had and it
took exposure to her new assignment for her to understand how far she'd
come. She will become a star there in short order... no doubt about it. This
mentoring experience turned out to be a very good experience for me too
though it was challenging for both of us at times.

John