the highlight of my Turkey-Day

Thanksgiving in the US is a big deal. But not for me in the usual way. I hate football, drinking & eating turkey & the “fixings” – always have. But Thanksgiving, Pilgrims, Plymouth – that’s the scene, whether it really started there or not. I can’t care, as my friend Pat would say. Working at Plimoth means huge crowds on Thanksgiving, maybe 4,000 people Thursday and the same or more on Friday. 20 years of working those days can also make you a bit dazed…

I split, hewed & planed lots of red oak – big movements are easily seen by big crowds…

Folks were nice, but kinda quiet. At least they weren’t breaking out in fist-fights like many shoppers were. So while I was working away, my mind was often on Bill Coperthwaite. I took his book with me to the beach, where I had lunch. Read snippets here & there. His tag line is often quoted, “I want to live in a world where people are intoxicated with the joy of making things.”

Back at the bench, I was speaking to a family/couple – I forget who was who. But one woman watched for a while, turned to her husband & said – “It makes me want to go home & make something!”

I thanked her. She made my day. Bill’s too I bet.

some color injected into the blog, courtesy of Maureen’s knitting

one of many snow buntings, after the peregrine falcon went through

Red tail hawk outside the shop

for more on Bill, see the following:

from Doug Stowe’s blog Wisdom of the Hands http://wisdomofhands.blogspot.com/search?q=Coperthwaite

Another, I don’t know these folks, found them on the web http://circlein.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/dickinsons-reach-sleepover/

 

I’m sure there’s more. Now, go make something…