The Garage

You read about people going a little nuts sometimes. You read about lonely men hanging out in bars, or walking aimlessly down main street. Men getting in their cars and driving - nowhere. Sitting for hours on the front porch or watching TV. Do you know why?

These men don't have a garage. Oh, the horrors.

A garage can be the life blood of a man. A place where his wife can't tell him where to hang his stuff. A place where a paint spill on the floor is no big deal. A place where every tool could have it's place, if we could only find where that place was. The garage can be a home within a home. A place where music from a paint-splattered radio sings out Hank Williams or James Taylor. A place where a guy can just stand and think. Draw plans. Dream. Wonder. Smoke a pipe. Change the world. And most importantly, figure out by writing on the bench how long it would take to save up $50,000.

I realize that for many men these days, getting dirty hands isn't as appealing or necessary as it used to be. We can hire people to get their hands dirty for us.

But think back when you were a kid. Back when dad had a welder or a lathe. A skill-saw and a full set of dies. Every kind of paint thinner known to mankind. Every size and shape of screwdriver. Every size and shape of coffee can to put neat things in. This was back when wives actually believed their husbands knew how to fix stuff, and wouldn't hesitate to ask them to fix the washer or fix a leak, or build a picnic table or fire pit. We had that can-do attitude - really!

But alas, many men can't-do, because they don't have a garage. Or else the garage is so packed with stuff, that a guy couldn't make anything in there if his life depended on it. A tragedy of wasted space. Wasted on stuff rather than projects. Wasted on convenience rather than building up a boys confidence. Wasted on too many sets of skis, rather than teaching a little girl the difference between 20 weight motor oil, and automatic transmission fluid. Important stuff. Life-changing stuff.

It's also a place for kids to just hang out with dad; learn some new words while dad is working under the car; learn that it's important for the kids to put tools back, but dad doesn't have to.

Like everything, there are excesses. There are guys who have a great big garage and tons of room, but everything has to be exactly in place, no paint spills, no grease; these guys even clean their tools after they use them! Yikes! It's the I-have-a-garage-and-you-don't-and-I-know-where-my-tools-are-and-they're-clean smugness that is just so annoying.

Here's the ultimate irony. I have a 2 car garage. In 1/4 or the garage I built a room for my oldest son. Another 1/4 holds my office. Another 1/4 holds a bench for my wife's wrapping paper and stuff she needs. And the last 1/4 - well, there are so many boxes and thingies in there, it just kills the whole thing. But someday. Someday when the kids are all married and gone, I WILL have my garage back. I'll get my hands dirty. I'll build things. At least I'll start building things; I may never get them done but starting is better than nothing. I'll feel like a whole man. Neighbors will bring me toasters and ovens and trikes to fix. My grandkids will be the ones to learn new words while I'm working under my car, especially if I'm working on a car after it has rained; those little drips when you least expect them are enough to bring out those words in any of us.

If there's a man in your life who seems restless, listless, out of sorts. Could be he needs to spend some quality time in the bathroom with something good to read. But more likely he needs to spend more time in the garage if he has one. If he doesn't have one, take him out for a burger and tell him you understand. He might even build you something!