"Curly"

[Hardenbergh]

There are certain people that are more gifted than the average person. Why is it that these people are able to do many things during their lifetime, some of which are not even vaguely connected to each other? I don't really know if it is so much "gifted" as the desire to experience everything that life has to offer. I know of such a person but he passed away on February 25, 2001. He was in the Navy six years, he could operate any kind of machinery in the woods, he was an excellent carpenter. He made me a jewelry box and a bookcase. He also made a hope chest and a doll house for his daughter that had real cedar shingles and handcarved furniture. He designed the water pump stations at Baxter State Park in Millinocket and designed the lean-to's at the Mattawamkeag Wilderness Park. He worked at Great Northern Paper, he worked at a tannery, he worked at Forster Manufacturing (they make clothespins and other small wood products). He went to hairdressing school simply because he discovered that he had a flair for styling hair. He got enormous tips but he eventually got out of the business for personal reasons. He also worked as a CNA because he loved people and had a deep compassion for people. He was a stock car driver for his uncle for a time. He was an avid fisherman and knew all the best places to fish. He worked fo a drywall contractor for awhile. He worked for a painting contractor for awhile. He went to school to learn surveying but he never followed up on this because he was interested in too many other things. He was an excellent card and cribbage player. He worked in Bristol and Meriden, CT for International Silver and a ball bearing plant. His favorite job was maintaining the 300-mile long, famed Golden Road in Millinocket. He had to keep it graded. He loved this job. He could eat all his meals in the logging camps. They had the best cooks in the world (French cooks from Canada). He said he used to eat like a king. He used to say that he was a jack-of-all trades and master of none. He also used to know how to cook a "mean" steak. He was an excellent cook. He said that he learned to cook from his mother and grandmother. These are just some of the things that I remember. I've forgotten many of them. He also loved me and I feel very lucky to have known someone who knew how to enjoy life.

[Kopji]

There is a Greek word 'arete' (http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/GLOSSARY/ARETE.HTM) which describes a human quality of being able to function in society well. It originated as a word denoting a kind of courage. People like Curly remind me of the word, described in my dusty old copy of 'Nicomachean Ethics'.

There was a local astronomer that I and my daughter visited with in his home a few years ago. His granddaughter went to the same school as my daughter and they hosted an activity in their home. During the short stay I was impressed by he and his wife's childlike sense of wonder and awe at all things scientific. Spending time with such people never seems long enough.

I would say that people like your friend Curly have a kind of simple clarity about life not being studied or meditated on, but just lived as a daily adventure. I'm not sure where I would go with a critical discussion of that, but thanks for sharing your memory of him.

[Hardenbergh]

I appreciate your reply and your thoughts. I think your explanation has a lot of truth in it. I don't know if everyone finds my post as interesting as I do. Perhaps it will encourage other people to talk about people that have meant a lot to them either personally or indirectly.