Had a couple ol’ boys come my way a few months ago and ask me if I could build them a cabinet for their camping trailer.  ‘Sure’ I thought, ‘but let me see what it looks like first.’ So I go over and take a look at this very old, somewhat dilapidated trailer they had bought.  Would describe it as, “One mans trash is another mans treasure.” No matter, they were confident they would be able to transform it into a first class hunting/camping trailer.

The concept they were after was to build a small, lightweight fully functional camper that can be taken deeper into the backcountry.  They had also purchased a tent that mounts on the top and folds out. My part was to build a cabinet that sits in the back and pulls out into a cooktop for a make-shift kitchen. So I said, “Get it together and I’ll build you a cabinet.”

Within a month or so they had done their part and rolled it over to my house.  For me, this was one of those projects that takes my mind off work and refreshes the brain. Like a lot of people, when it comes to work, when the phone is ringing it’s usually because there are problems. Roll with the punches eh? But it can get tiresome. So how can I get a re-charge? For me it’s usually working with my hands. And since I had agreed to be paid in beer, I felt like I could take my time.

Fast-forward to last week.  Got a few hours here and there and knocked it out.  Afterward had the boys over to celebrate, recap our journey and pat eachother on the back.  Men being men.  Kind of like it might have been in the old days, before guys played video games and obsessed over tattoos. Just sayin.

Not trying to be snarky or anything. But to me, it feels like there is more and more a disconnect in society. People are becoming increasingly isolated and less reliant on one another (Selfies? Really??) This project was fun because we collaborated our skills and built something pretty cool. It wasn’t just one guy and there was very limited ego involved. But it took welding, machine work and woodworking to complete. Not many guys versed in all those skills. Takes a village eh?

Along those lines, my mind wonders, “What else can people do to shake themselves up?” Bike riding is really big here in Cave Creek. And recently I saw an article discussing much of this subject by former Phoenix councilman Bill Gates. Gates was instrumental in jump-starting the re-vitalization in North Phx. He hits on a lot of this topic as far as getting out with people and being more ‘communal.’ It doesn’t have to be a building project, just anything that gets people doing things together. And while I am not seeing a ton of usage of the bike lanes on 32nd street, I am hearing of groups of people in North Phx getting together on the weekends and riding. Good for them. Keep shaking it up! (Here is a link to that article) http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2017/04/17/bike-work-day/100495664/