Not everything at harbor freight is junk or a waste of money. Different tool quality for different jobs.
I never learned the DIY aspect of things from my father. I could not even pump the brakes right when he was bleeding the lines on his 1956 Chevy. I was only five years of age, but I learned enough never to be around when dad started fixing something. He could fix anything. Often I would try to do something, get stuck and walk away. A day later I would see that dad had finished it.
Many kids now do not know how to do things because dear old dad did not have the patience to teach their stupid son how to hold a hammer.
I learned to do basic stuff while living in the jungles of Borneo. There was no one around to ask for help so I did what I could until I could get into town and talk to someone who knew more than I did about it. Now, by the time I search the internet, search Lowes/Home Depot, buy the wrong thing three times and take it back, buy another one because the part broke, go back to Lowes for the essential tools that no one mentioned and I never heard of, I find that it is cheaper, faster, and simpler to hire it done. Makes the wife happier, too.
My uncle built his own house with his own hands, between court appearances to represent abused spouses, bankrupt businessmen, and settling estates. My wife, impressed that an attorney could swing a hammer, asked where he learned to do construction. He stated that back on the farm everyone knew how to do it because "it was just in the blood." My wife replied, "[Bapak2ja] did't get it." It was not in my blood because I did not grow up on the farm watching the men use their hands on a daily basis.
Dad couldn't teach me to DIY; but he taught me to work hard, be respectful, pay my bills, keep my word, stay sober, keep my marriage vows, and to teach my kids to live the same way. He modeled the core values that made this country a city on a hill that everyone in the Borneo jungles had heard about and wanted to emulate. There was no greater honor in those days than to be an American, and no greater guarantee than to be labeled "Made in the USA."
Do any of you DIYers teach your kids how to swing a hammer? Did you teach them the core values? A wise man once said the essence of life is "to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Dad didn't teach me much about DIY, but he did teach me a few things. I still miss him. Looking forward to seeing him again, too. Maybe he can teach how to work gold to repair the streets.That will be a great DIY lesson!
