Life on the Road

Lots of folks say they were born in the wrong decade or in the wrong century; I guess I’m no exception. I can work in computer networks and fiber optics with the best of them, but I love working with wood. I’ve spent the last few years making rustic furniture, among other things. I keep getting the idea that I could have lived a hundred years ago or more. I could work the land and make furniture up in the mountains here in Kentucky.

Yea, we’re here in Kentucky at Land Between The Lakes ($15 per year per adult for a backcountry camping permit, wow). We went to the Homeplace yesterday and had a great time. The Homeplace is a working 1850s farm. Yea, I could do that…

Not long ago we were in an old antebellum home for the Pilgrimage in Columbus, Mississippi. One of the tour guides made an observation about Tiffany and me. She noted that women, including my wife, were interested in the families and home history, while the guys - that would be me - were always looking at the workmanship in the old homes. I kept looking at door knobs and window sills.

Back to the Homeplace…

There were farm animals running around and they had a couple of cabins and I loved the barn/workshop. There was a wonderful old style work bench with manual clamps.

I wish they had been working the day I was there, but the fields needed tending…

They had devised an ingenious way to automatically close doors behind you. A chain was attached to the wall and the door. A heavy weight suspended between the ends pulled the chain down and closed the door.

Then there was the wood lathe. I really, really want the wood lathe. It was a powered by a foot pedal. A leather strap went from the pedal and wrapped around a shaft and connected to a tensioner at the top.

I felt like I was home again. I was ready to put the kids to work in the field and start working in the barn.

It would be great to find a little piece of land, park the RV and start on my own “homeplace.” How about it, anyone else out there looking for the simpler (hard work) life?

Praise God in all things … even when you don’t agree. His plan is greater than ours.