Talents

Over the weekend, my dad was telling me about his latest car repair project. It’s a doozy!

He has been trying to decide between two options for the repair and over the weekend he had made a decision about which way to go.

The repair basically involves taking much of the engine and dashboard apart. He was telling me Saturday night that he was down to the point of removing the bolt that would allow him to move the steering wheel out of the way.

I have NO idea how you’d go about doing something like that. He jokingly asked if we’d like to see the inside of his garage where much of the vehicle is scattered about the room – in pieces! And the thing is…at the end of the day, he’ll make those intricate repairs and he’ll do them as well (if not better) than any shop in town and without the high costs that would be associated with that.

It’s not the first such auto repair that he has made nor will it be the last.

The man has talents I could only dream of having.

Most folks remember the first large television their family has purchased. I’m sure you can remember your’s. Most of the stories involve going to the local department store or electronics store, picking out the biggest and brightest set and then bringing it home to watch the Super Bowl, the NCAA Final Four or some other major ‘made for tv’ event.

My memory of our purchase of the family’s first large television set was walking in and finding an assortment of tubes, resistors and capacitors scattered across the living room hardwood. In the middle of it all was a schematic drawing.

My dad built our first television from a Heathkit set! And you know what? That set lasted for years and years – much longer, I suspect, than its store-bought counterparts.

Again, just as I can’t imagine how you’d take apart a car and put it back together, I also can’t imagine how you’d assemble a television from a kit.

I could interview someone about the process, however, and write an entertaining and informative piece. The bottom line, I think, is that EVERYONE has a talent (or multiple talents). The key is to find that talent – and your passion that fuels it – and be great at it. The beauty of this world is that the talents are as vibrant and diverse as the people they belong to!

My dad can do all those things I mentioned earlier and more. He’s an accomplished painter, he’s built furniture from scratch and, as if that isn’t enough, he’s great with the grandkids!

My mom is talented in a much different way. She is the friendliest neighbor on the block. Her memory is so amazing that we call her ‘the Smithsonian!’ And she’s got quite a facility for health-related issues, having worked many years in various physician offices.

I have two very talented parents – talented in much different ways – and they have passed their genes on to our generation where we’ve made much of our own abilities. Now, we’re watching the next generation develop their own unique talents.

Much as our ancestors, that I wrote about last week, cultivated their skills so have we. It’s one of the fun and enriching parts of living life to the fullest.
garage

JG

Originally posted 4/9/2012