In Nick Offerman’s book, Paddle Your Own Canoe, he talks about the importance of getting away from screens (TV, video games, Smart phones). He relates that you need a leisure activity that is actually creating something.

I was reflecting on that when I looked over at my fan blowing in me.  it is a vintage fan with metal blades.  I got it because I always loved our box fan growing up.  Mostly because I think I was born nostalgic, but I liked that it was the fan we always had.

And I remember when it began to need to be started like an old prop plane.  And eventually it did stop working.  Now I tried to coax it back to life.  Probably through scrapping the oil dust off of it with a butter knife and applying more oil.

Today, as a kid, I could actually google how to fix a fan.  In fact I paused and did so. However, would I if i was a kid today?  I doubt it.  There is too much to watch on NetFlix and too cool of video games. Today most likely I would not have grown up on a farm and would not have learned the value of fixing something.

Review-

Nick Offerman’s Paddle Your Own Canoe is pretty much what you’d expect from Nick/ Ron Swanson. Yet that does not mean don’t read it.  In fact, I highly recommend it It is funny and well-written.  He gives you exactly what you want from a biography- details of his life and his journey. It is also part self-help book.