Men Who Sew

To All:

I learned to sew as a boy, repairing the harness for a mule named
'Bea,' which I later learned was short for Beelzebub after she taught
me I had a lot to learn as a mule skinner. But there was a war on,
gasoline was rationed, Victory Gardens were required and Bea, suitably
shod, brushed and harnessed, was our Cultivating Machine. With me
hanging onto the traces whether she liked it or not. The harness had
not been used for at least ten years but by the time V-J Day rolled
around it had been almost completely replaced, one stitch at a time,
sometimes more than once and mostly by me.

I also learned to sew shut a gunny sack of chicken mash and do so fast
enough so they didn't have to shut down the mill. At the time I
wasn't big enough to lift a full sack of mash but I was a demon with a
sacking needle.

All of us kids knew how to sew in the generic sense, replacing a loose
button or repairing a torn hem. Like most families we had a treadle-
type Singer sewing machine and we learned how to use it, my sis for
making doll clothes and us boys for important stuff such as knapsacks
and pup-tents.

Back then all boys knew how to make nets. We needed them for
basketball hoops and catching minnows and making hammocks and those
string bags our mom's used when they went grocery shopping. In fact,
my dad usethe same knot when rib-stitching a Piper Cub, although tied
flat and done with a needle instead of a shuttle.

So whathell is a message about SEWING doing on a Newsgroup dedicated
to Homebuilt Aircraft? I'm glad you asked :-)

About a week ago (24 March) I posted another installment about Flying
on the Cheap, this one having to do with rib-stitching; specifically,
the difficulty some have in obtaining suitable needles and thread. It
produced the usual yawn of disinterest plus some seriously silly - -
even offensive - - anonymous private messages from the Usual Idiots,
the gist of which was that men don't sew.

I didn't pay any attention to the messages. The anonymity of the
Internet makes it a playground for sociopaths. But I got another one
today, Sunday, April Fool's Days. Same theme but oozing properly
spelt, grammatically correct nastiness, in that my reference to
'sewing' made it clear I was some sort of fag and shouldn't be allowed
around airplanes except mebbe to design their upholstery because REAL
MEN DON'T SEW.

Personally, I think he's got it exactly backwards. Learning to do
things for yourself not only prevents you from becoming a burden to
others, it allows you to go places and do things far beyond the ken of
those who don't.

For example, knowing how to make and mend net came in handy when I
worked as a commercial fisherman and it was aboard a gill-netter
called the 'Ste Barbara' that the Portugu(ese crew took pity on me and
taught me how to knit so I make those little sleeves of raw wool they
all wore on their fingers that served to the protect the cracks in
your hands that would open up from handling those damn nets day after
day.

When I joined the Navy I was issued a 'wife,' which turned out to be a
sewing kit. (And a pocket knife [which I still have.]) I already had
a sorta-sewing kit - - every sailor does - - but the one they issued
had an assortment of the correct thread and buttons for taking care of
my uniforms, whereas mine was just some spare buttons on a safety pin,
a couple of needles stuck in a cork and whatever thread I happened to
have.

I'm not sure why some folks think the ability to sew should be gender-
specific. You really can't get along too well if you don't know how
to SEW, for crysakes! And I'm not just talking harness, sails and
airplanes. Sewing is a fundamental skill. In fact, you can buy a
simple sewing machine for less than forty bucks that will let you copy
your favorite shirt when it wears out. Just pick the seams apart,
starch it stiff as a board and use it as your pattern. The result is
clothes that really fit - - 'tailor-made' - - but without the tailor.
(Simple sewing machines are just 'stitchers;' they won't do button
holes and other fancy stuff. But then, neither did our old Singer.)

Seems to me, you're not much of a man if you have to rely on others
for something as simple as sewing. In fact, the only stuff you truly
own is the things you know - - it is always there, ready for use and
can never be taken from you. For some of us that means a broad
spectrum of useful skills and a wealth of experience-based knowledge.
But for others it appears to be only bitterness toward their fellow
man.

-R.S.Hoover