Old Furniture vs. New TV’s
I like to say that a true Minnesotan is someone who heads north (typically, to their cabin) when they get a long holiday weekend or a few days off in January (“Head North, Young Man??”).
So, what’s my definition of a “handyman’s handyman?”
Someone (it could be a woman) who insists — occasionally to a fault — on fixing something that’s broken rather than throwing in the towel and buying new.*
How Rational?
Partly that attitude is due to personality: great handymen simply like the challenge of figuring out how things work — then fixing them when they break.
Call it, natural curiousity plus a strong streak of persistence.
But, there’s a rational component, too: I wouldn’t say it about old TV’s or computers (or windows or toilets!), but sometimes antique furniture, millwork, gas appliances, etc. have a craftsmanship and materials quality that you really can’t replace.
Lots of people feel the same way about vintage cars, motorcycles, violins & piano’s, etc.
*Great handymen are also not greedy by nature.
So, at least when they’re on the clock (working for a client), noodling with something broken really is about solving the puzzle — not running up a bill.
