Or, Been There, Done That
Not that long ago I had a conversation with a friend who is older than me that really struck a chord. She had been commenting that one of her grandchildren was spending a lot of time on the Internet to learn how to do something rather than take advantage of the knowledge base that surrounded her. As in parents, grandparents, friends, etc.
As we talked about this situation, it occurred to me that all of us at some time or other took advantage of the ‘new’ methods of information gathering rather than making use of the old tried and true.
The current crop of youngsters (?) uses Pinterest and the Internet or YouTube experts. And I use the word ‘expert’ with a grain of salt. Pick your particular expert with care. Some really haven’t a clue while others are very skilled and good teachers.
The thing is every generation has literally, okay figuratively, reinvented the wheel.
DISCLAIMER: Not everyone has people in their family or circle who have a knowledge of tools and processes. This means that while the idea of going to Great Aunt Hattie to find out how to do something might be good, the reality is that she has no clue.
My parents bought their first home after World War II and spent years renovating it. The following generation bought their first homes and, you guessed it, spent years renovating it. Rinse and repeat.
While the resources for the information on how to do certain projects have changed – as have the tools and materials – the reality is that each group has found a slightly more advanced and modern way to do the various jobs.
As much as we would like to believe that no one has come before us, the reality is that we are just following in the footsteps of those who stumbled along finding their way with the help of the latest experts that were available to them.
The trick is to take the time to learn from those old time experts and see how what they teach can be used today. Providing, of course, it isn’t already in use.
It really doesn’t matter if you are renovating or building a home, delving into gardening, learning to cook or preserve food, embarking on a life long journey in any of many crafts or just sitting back to see how things are done, chances are what you will discover is that we’ve been down that road more than once.
Enjoy the ride – and don’t forget to take notes!
Resources
In no particular order…
- Internet
- YouTube
- Local Library
- Local School
- Local Hardware
- Neighbors
- Family
- Friends
