Turning Points

Most days are just like most other days. You go about your business, enjoy your safe routine, see what is making the news today, answer a few phone calls and dream about tomorrow. But, every so often something significant happens and things are not the same afterwards.

I’ve had many of those moments so I would like to share a very few with you today.

October 1968, I’m terrified, but I work up the courage to ask this gorgeous brunette out on a date, my birthday was that weekend. To my amazement she accepted and four months later we were married. That was 47 years ago.As a department manager at Home Depot in 1998 we were charged with “Teaching some kind of class on Saturday”. I taught 3 people to make a small bookcase out of pine boards. Today that class has nearly 200 people and calls itself the Gwinnett Woodworkers Association. It meets over 80 times each year.One cold December Saturday in 2001 a fellow named Nick Cook gave a two hour turning demonstration in dark residential basement to about 60 people. That day I learned that lathe tools are meant to cut wood cleanly and relatively effortlessly. I had been presenting my old Craftsman HSS tools flat and level in a scraping posture and got beat nearly to death in the process. I never knew they could easily slice wood like a hand plane!In 2005 Sweet Janice asked for a large turned serving bowl for Thanksgiving which was in a few days. I told her that I could have one for next year due to the lengthy time needed for drying green wood. She was incredulous that it would take so long. I told her that if it doesn’t dry for 6 months the bowl would warp, go oval and look funny. She asked what would happen to my dried bowl when she put steaming hot broccoli in it. I said it would warp and go oval and look funny. She asked why we should wait. I discovered that sanding green wood is practically no different than sanding dry wood and that it really doesn’t clog up the sandpaper like I thought it would. Now I turn all green wood bowls from start to finish in one session, oil them up and put them in service immediately. They all go oval, warp and look funny and everyone seems to love them even more!

I see folks every week who have made the decision to take up woodturning as a hobby. They are at a turning point and I can only imagine what joys lay ahead for them. I see families who are outfitting themselves with equipment for Mom, Dad, or for teenagers eager to make shavings. I am as excited as I have ever been to be involved in the process because wherever you go, there you are.

Here is my inspiration for this message:

Proverbs 16:33 NIV – The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.

Ecclesiastes 9:11 NIV – I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.

Travel Log:

Fresh back from a great time in Houston, Tx. this week we are off to St. Paul, Minnesota at the Minnesota State Fair, Warner Coliseum. We have not been there in a few years so expectations are high. In light of current events, I should mention that Minnesota is the only state won by Marco Rubio in his bid to become our next president. That should make for some interesting conversations over the next few days. Milwaukee is the week after so we hope you will come see us if you can.

Website Update:

Sweet Janice and I can’t thank you enough for your continued support and purchases via the web site. I have temporarily suspended some items we manufacture in–house because it is impossible to meet your expectations for shipment and delivery with our current travel schedule. The last show of this season is in Kansas City, Mo April 8–10th. We will re–list everything after that. Keep the emails and prayers coming.