The  Journey  of  a  Clueless  Carpenter

At 58, I have mastered many things: the art of the dad joke, the perfect lawn mow pattern, and the uncanny ability to fall asleep during any movie longer than 90 minutes. But hobbies? Real ones? Those had eluded me—until I met my match in a table saw and a YouTube rabbit hole titled “Beginner Woodworking Projects That Definitely Won’t Ruin Your Marriage.” What started as a noble quest to build a rustic coffee table quickly spiraled into a lumberyard massacre..

But I am undeterred. With every splintered plank and misaligned joint, I am discovering something deeper: that sometimes the joy isn’t in the finished product—it’s in the smell of sawdust, the thrill of power tools, and the quiet satisfaction of turning expensive hardwood into artisanal firewood.

​Stay tuned as I continue my journey from clueless carpenter to... well, slightly less clueless carpenter.