For half a century, Andy Rooney has been an outspoken and opinionated journalist. For most of that time, his stories were written on his beloved manual typewriter. It is only in the past few years that he\u2019s relented and switched to a laptop computer. His ancient typewriter is enshrined in his office where it remains a symbol of a long and creative career.<\/p>\n
Andy Rooney is not alone. Watch someone masterful at work and you\u2019ll notice that there\u2019s almost a reverence given to the tools of their trade. On the days when Eric Clapton performs, he chooses not to see or touch his principle guitar. He says that as he prepares to go onstage, he walks to get his guitar and it\u2019s like going to meet a lover.<\/p>\n
Paul Hawken was touring British gardens when he learned about the personal relationship some folks have with their tools. He writes, \u201cAs I watched the gardeners work I studied their tools. I hefted a spade, the tool of choice. It seemed unusually heavy and it was sharp as an ax. The gardener saw me looking and came over. That was not merely a spade, that was his<\/em> spade. I asked him if it wasn\u2019t heavy and tiring to use. With a smile he invited me to give it a try. I toiled away as he grew increasingly amused. In his Lancashire accent he said, \u2018Let your tool do the work. That\u2019s what it\u2019s made for.\u2019 He showed me how use the weight of the spade, how to make the tool an extension of my arms, how to move my body.\u201d<\/p>\n Hawken was so impressed with the lesson he\u2019d learned that when he returned to the United States he tried to interest some companies in importing English garden tools. No one was interested. Eventually Hawken realized that this idea belonged to him and the successful mail order business Smith and Hawken was born bringing the tools Hawken loved to a new market.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0Our relationship with tools is important\u2014and maybe even a bit mystical. \u201cI\u2019m always looking forward to opening the ovens in the morning,\u201d says glass artist Dale Chihuly. \u201cGlassblowing is a spontaneous medium that suits me. I\u2019ve been at it for forty years and am as infatuated as when I blew my first bubble in 1965. We use the same tools they used 2000 years ago. I know if I go down to the glass shop, I\u2019m going to make something that\u2019s never been made before. That in itself is an inspiration. I used to think it was the glass that was so mysterious, but then I realized it was the air that went into it that was miraculous.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0How close or far are you from working with tools that inspire affection? Is there a tool that inspires affection that is gathering dust? Is there a new tool that you\u2019ve been thinking about learning to use?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For half a century, Andy Rooney has been an outspoken and opinionated journalist. For most of that time, his stories were written on his beloved manual typewriter. It is only in the past few years that he\u2019s relented and switched to a laptop computer. His ancient typewriter is enshrined in his office where it remains…<\/p>\n