I guess I was, and so were quite a few of my friends. But I never thought much about 'us' until I read a book a local furniture designer and builder(maker is his preferred title) wrote. He chronicled how he, and a portion of our generation, took this somewhat different course than our parents. Some of us decided we wanted to make things, with our hands. Furniture, boats, houses, or other mediums, clay, glass, metal, you name it. It was a movement.

The author, then a carpenter by trade, recalls how making a cradle for a friend, his first real furniture project, set him on a path that would begin a long personal transformation. That could be so in his unique craft with a skill level that takes decades of practice and master.

I don't go that far , and I certainly am not of that skill level working with wood( I've seen his work), but wood is a common denominator for many of us, even a few of us here on the CSBB. And some of us(myself, you, Paul come to mind), wove wood into making a living early in life.

Do you remember your first 'cradle'? I do. It was a table of my design and build, and it didn't sell. Clue #1 for me, in a long, long path, of turning wood into dollars.

BTW, the author never really figured out how to turn his furniture into dollars(I found that frustrating to read,...). While he became an amazing craftsmen, making money is a skill too!

So, the 'end' of the story is, he started a furniture building school here in Rockport. That was better, but the 'real' end of the story is, he decided to turn the school into a non-profit.

That is what finally, worked best for him.