When DIY goes bad

When I was a kid, I loved magazines like National Geographic, Popular Mechanics, Boys Life, and a few others. I loved the images from around the world and stories about how to build your own go-kart or start a fire with nothing but sticks and some string.

Now the devil was in the details. Have you ever started a fire with nothing but a few twigs and some yarn? Let’s just say, it’s harder than it looks. It can be done, but it takes time, and I wasn’t the beacon of patience that I am today. [Written with a straight face.]

The Do-It-Yourself Projects in the magazines always seemed harder than the writers made them sound. They promised James Bond’s Aston Martin or a Ford Shelby Mustang, but delivered a Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble pile of bricks.

Despite the difficulty of the challenge and the distance between fantasy and reality, it was still fun to dream. I found that I couldn’t pull off the tougher assignments, but I could write make-believe stories about the projects and in some ways that was even better.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.

No, I couldn’t build my own wooden toolbox or mechanical robot, but I could write a story about how I used some old lawn mower parts and spark plugs that I found in my dad’s workshop to build a robot. In turn, my newfound friend, the robot, helped me build a large tool shed that us Hardy Boy-like detectives used to nab a troublesome burglar, who had been causing problems for local residents. In my little story, my robot and I even got a commendation from the mayor.

Oh, yes, could I ever dream!

With my active imagination and Popular Mechanics in mind, I write today about how one such magazine story about ultralight planes and a conversation I had years ago with my dad taught me about the kind of learner I wanted to be. Check out my story, Curious about Ultralight Planes and Other Things, on The Heart of the Matter.

What gets your creative juices flowing? What kind of learner are you?

Related Story:

Curious about Ultralight Planes and Other Things

on The Heart of the Matter

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35 thoughts on “When DIY goes bad”

  1. You made me do a literal LOL. Aspiring for a Shelby Mustang and getting a pile of rocks instead, Flintstone-style. Yah…that would be me. I’d like to say I could follow directions well when I’m in learner mode but that would be a colossal fib. I’m the trial-and-error girl…emphasis on the error…but I keep on, keeping on. Eventually I get there. Call me Wilma. 😎

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  3. I love the challenge of DIY projects…except when they relate to electricity. Even with all those years of watching my dad doing electrical jobs I have no confidence the power is EVER really off 😉

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  5. We have a friend who as a young boy built a sailboat and other amazing DIY projects. Now he owns a construction company that builds buildings on college campuses. He told us he started his career as a young boy wanting to build things with some of the same magazines you mentioned. Your story reminded me of him, but he took the apprentice, non-college route.

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  6. Those childhood DIY projects were the best, even when they didn’t work out quite as planned. The most fun I ever had was in a hotel room with my brother, a babysitter, and a brand new science kit… when my parents returned, it was also the most trouble I’ve ever been in! 🤪

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  7. I think using the imagination to write about how one could make a robot from a lawn mower and spark plugs is some powerful stuff! And I’m still giggling about the beacon of patience line. Just goes to show the power of writing!

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  8. Words in themselves are powerful tools to build powerful stories. So you might not necessarily win the fire making challenge on Survivor, but you might still persuade the jury with your words to make you the winner! 😊 And apologies if you don’t get the reference.

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  10. Oh no Brian, not the “Hardy Boy-like detectives.” 🤣 My friend, oh the stories you tell so passionately. If you ponder long enough, honey, you can’t help but find something, no matter how DIY going bad it goes that will inspire you and your creative juices! You are too comical my friend. But your memories are so much needed now for young developing and imaginative minds! 👨🏻‍🔧🔨🔧🤖🤓

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