My dad was a Marine and fought in WW II, and was definitely old school when it came to things men and women do. When I got my left ear pierced in 1978 he blew a gasket-only women wear jewelry. I mentioned yesterday that using my wife's sewing machine I reupholstered my '85 Weekender, actually it was just the rear fold out bed and jump seat behind the driver. If my dad had seen me using a sewing machine, he would have said something like "why aren't you wearing a skirt?". It's things like this that, well, sadly, don't make me sorry he is gone. My wife and I have one child, a daughter, and if my dad had been alive when she was born he would have said "Better luck next time, maybe you'll have a boy" He could be at times (most of the time) the biggest jerk I ever met! Jeff

I am one of seven siblings. My parents were both professional cooks at times. At other times, my father was an aircraft mechanic. though I did not get the mechanical gene set of my father, both my parents insisted that all the kids, sex not considered, must be able to run a house including cooking, cleaning, basic maintenance, yard work, and keeping a car going. From an early age we all had to do the same chores. We learned basic stitchery, how to clean a bathroom, how to cook, and so on. When my daughter started to want to drive, before I let her behind the wheel, I taught her the fundamentals of maintenance, and watched while she checked all the basics and changed the oil. What does one's sex have to do with the fundamentals of keeping things working, whether a vehicle or a jacket?

mcneely
David McNeely