Friday, January 15, 2010

The Place Just Right ... What's That?

Why "The Place Just Right"? My favorite favorite song/hymn/dance is "Simple Gifts". (Well, isn't it everyone's? I mean, really.)

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right.

Aren't we all seeking that place "just right"? I think I have that white-collar delusion / romantic ideal of the blue-collar arts. I'm itching to read Shopclass as Soulcraft and maybe find a kindred spirit. I would love to bend and bow in delight. I hope the honest labor of understanding a big piece of mysterious machinery and controlling it -- well, I hope I find soul satisfaction in that. I ain't ashamed to say it.

Why sign off with Copland? Shaker elder Joseph Bracket rocked, but WOW, Aaron Copland took it to another plain.

I have to admit, so far, I'm finding far more complexity than simplicity:

brake adjustment on S-cam brakes.
air compressor governor cut-out pressure test.
don't confuse "trailer hand valve" with "tractor protection valve".
proper braking: a myriad of factors confused by myriad hazards.
pounds, psi, feet, inches -- #s, #s, #s to memorize. to understand.
brake drums, shoe lining, air suspension, main spring.
glad hands -- no, they're not the Glee cast in white gloves

Still, I've LOVED days one and two. (Remind me of this a few weeks or months from now. Deal?)

You be your delight, and I'll be mine.

And Sweet Babboo is still amused.

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