Lately, I’ve been trying to learn more about electronics lately, getting genuinely excited about soldering and such. With the state of the economy, it seems like the best thing I can do is just sit still and try not to spend much money. When I was a kid, perhaps my fondest memories were of little project kits like electric motors and magnet kits that my oldest brother David bought for me for Christmas. Before traveling this summer I bought this kit and am now finally getting around to working on it.
The freakiest thing is that I’ve been soldering while listening to Merle Haggard (a Bakersfield phenomenon) and really enjoying it this time around. It reminds me of those times at the kitchen table way too many years ago, only this time I’m not bitching a blue streak about the crappy country music my dad used to listen to. I never wanted to be like my dad then, as far as I can remember, so why am I interested in embracing him now?
My dad had nothing to do with my interest in electronics, of course— he was not interested in them at all beyond being able to keep the music going in the house an the old style console stereo. But thinking about just what I would like to remember the most, I think the most about his attempts to make things. He wasn’t particularly good at making (though he was really excellent at fixing. There’s a significant distinction here, explored amply in Shop Class as Soul Craft (the book, not this teaser article). I always wanted to make, and my dad often ended up fixing my attempts. He wouldn’t go anywhere near electronics though— if it couldn’t be fixed with a belt sander or a welding torch he left it alone.
Like most kids, I didn’t like my dad (or my home town) most of the time. It took a long time to get over that.
