JW45

While I love the ability to get on the computer and find what I'm looking for quickly, there is still something that just is more relaxing and enjoyable about a cup of coffee and the printed magazine and spending time just enjoying the education you pass on in each issue. I've been doing a lot of woodworking lately...retiring from my day job and supplementing retirement with something I enjoy. But I have learned that you can print out an article and sit down with the coffee and still not have to ruin your eyes on a computer screen....and can research every issue quickly. I found I could spend an entire afternoon looking for something because I kept getting distracted by other articles that had nothing to do with what I was looking for but sure seemed interesting at the time. I broke down and ordered the whole collection so will pass on to someone else the 2011 disk if by chance I draw the black bean, but wanted to say thank you for the hours of enjoyable time spent learning to be better at something I enjoy and which I may even try making a little money at now. I think everyone at one time or another dreams of making a living doing woodworking, but unfortunately we have become a country that thrives on cheap overseas goods rather than solid American made work that will stand up to the test of time. Maybe we'll wake up before it's too late and if we do it will be partly because your magazine encourages each of us to learn and return to a tradition of doing it right...not cheap. Thanks for a wonderful magazine and for all of those of you willing to share with the rest of us a craft that will continue to grow in a world where some skills are disappearing.....with a great deal of the credit going to those who encourage, advise and assist their fellow woodworkers....there may be a little fun such as the dovetail challenge, but it is just that...good natured fun while raising the bar for someone learning who will some day be able to pass on what he has learned. And we even get some incredible furniture, boxes, picture frames, carvings, and other items that show that talent in this country is still every where you look and the joy of helping others still exists at Christmas and for some the whole year round. Thank you all for adding your "two cents worth" for folks like me to pickup and work with to try to become a better woodworker and a better person as a result.

Each of us leaves this world in only one way. There are a very, very few, however, who leave behind a part of themselves that will remain as long as the world remains. There will always be Sam Maloof through his work, his books, his stories, how he inspired others who will go on to inspire still others. The world of woodworkers has lost a huge part of itself, yet there remains a vast source of knowledge and inspiration within what was lost because of the unique man that was Sam Maloof who shared his love of his trade with so many, past, present, and future and left behind a rich heritage that challenges each of us to do our best and then learn to do better. Thank you for all you shared with me and taught me and those like me. You will be missed.