Make Something

(Please click on the title for a reading aloud by the author.)

Cornelia was a very wise and thoughtful Episcopalian Nun. We had some good talks. She said, “The most important thing to do in life is be creative.”

Nonetheless, I almost went to Target recently to buy a bookshelf. Then I thought, “Gordon… wait a minute. You have the materials and you have the tools, and you used to build furniture for a living for Pete’s sake. Build a bookshelf!” So I did.

The redwood is in it’s fourth form. It was: 1) a tree; 2) an outdoor deck railing; 3) a desk top; and now 4) the bookshelf. It is straight tight grain stock. Of all these iterations it was undoubtedly most beautiful as a tree. So, years ago when I saw the boards headed for the dumpster on a construction site – we were extending the deck – if for no other reason than to honor the tree, I had them in the back of my pickup truck pretty quick. Building the bookshelf took the better part of a day. At first it felt like a pain. I don’t have a shop anymore and I’m rusty with the tools. However as it came together, I started feeling good about it. It was satisfying to do and the results are lovely and have more meaning to me than anything Target has to offer. I look at it and feel connected to life.

Last weekend R. and I went to Costco. This was my first visit and while admittedly it was the end of a busy day and I was pretty well whooped, the place overwhelmed me. My eyes were googley pinwheels by the time we got out of there. Costco is a big, and I do mean big warehouse store and has all kinds of stuff in great towering stacks. Most items are sold in big quantity. It’s at least a gallon of olive oil or twenty four rolls of toilet paper at a time. The selection of processed, just throw it in the microwave food is almost endless.

There is a cost savings over other stores, but looking at fellow shoppers at Costco, most appeared tired, disengaged and not particularly happy. Maybe it was just the end of a busy day for everyone, but the experience left me feeling sad. No matter what a person might need for getting on in daily life, it was there and all one had to do is consume. In that capacity, plugged in to the end of an industrial production line practically no thought, creativity or effort is required of us. In the Costco formula it seems not much of anything is left to feel good about.

Fortunately there is still the alternative to make something.

Gordon Bunker