This week an electrician has been rewiring our garage as we are turning it into a bit of a rec room. Watching him do his thing has been an eye opener, like watching Gretzky take the puck behind the other team’s net, just prior to setting up another goal.
The electrician accomplished in one day what would have taken me 10 and, in fact, I couldn’t do half the things he did as they are beyond my comprehension. He had much more powerful tools than I have and tricks I’ve never seen. He stood back a few times, muttered to himself as he did his calculations, then moved in to do what he’d planned in his mind.
This experience made me so glad I didn’t tackle this job myself. And I am working alongside a lifelong carpenter who also does his job seemingly without effort. I blame the big building supplies stores for starting the do-it-yourself revolution and thereby ruining a lot of people’s nights and weekends.
My parents’ generation was not into DIY. Yes, as farmers, they built sheds and fixed tractors but they left household jobs to the pros. We used to hire a husband and wife wallpapering/painting team to improve the appearance of the interior and a carpenter to remodel some things.
Yes, there is some satisfaction in some DIY projects, but it’s best to know when to admit defeat and spend a bit of money.
A noted Canadian journalist once wrote that people should stick to what they do best. To illustrate this point, he related this story. One day his wife asked him to climb up on the dining room table and clean the chandelier. Instead, he hired a neighbour boy to do it while he sat at one end of the table and wrote a story on his typewriter. (Yes, this was a while ago.) He paid the boy $18 for his work and he sold his story to Time Magazine for $300.
Case closed.
©2012 Jim Hagarty
