National Tradesmen Day

September 21, National Tradesmen Day.......my father was a plumber and a coal miner, my younger brother and his son are plumbers, I am proud of them all. I think our national obsession with college degrees has cost us.  There was a time in in this country when being skilled, when being a tradesmen, was honorable.  When working with your hands was just as important as being a doctor or a lawyer.

A college education is not for everyone.  Working in a rehab center I hear people often say they became doctors, lawyers, etc because their families wanted them too, and they have lived unhappy lives because of it.  Being a good plumber, a good carpenter, a good builder of cars, a good welder,
those are jobs and careers that are most important to the foundation of this country.  Being educated is important, reading, writing, math, basic foundations of math and science, we all need those.....and as much as we need people with college degrees, we need those with skills.

It seems that earning a living by the sweat of your brow is just a job, but farmers, builders, electricians, all those that have life skills, we need them.  I think we need to encourage young people to truly look at what they love to do, if they are good with their hands, if they love to build, to solve problems,
(and if you don't think a leaky faucet is a problem, wait until you have one) then let them become tradesmen and be proud of their skills.  We had a new roof put on our house last year, the crew of men who cut and placed that tin was amazing.  Each knew their job so well, it was like watching a well choreographed dance as they replaced our roof.

Our carpenter, Ray is seventy and honestly, I worry about what we will do when he is no longer able to work.  He is incredible, and no matter what project I ask of him, he can do it.  I know of no one who will be able to take his place.  We have been looking for a stone mason for weeks, we have now decided to get a video and see what we can do.  We actually found one in our area, but he has a two month waiting list.  My brother, has a two week waiting list, unless it is truly an emergency.

So today, I want to say thanks to all the Tradesmen, those who have the skills that so few of us do.
Thanks to the ones who can roof, who can build, who can plumb, who can keep our electricity on,
who do all those thankless jobs......thank you, you are the ones who are the true foundation of this country.