Re: Obsolete Skills
I think the "jack of all trades" type of people are dwindling entirely.
For instance, when I was growing up, my dad used to change his own oil, repair his own truck (most any type of repair), he built a tractor barn and a storage shed, lay bricks, landscaped his yard, repaired his own plumbing, tiled his shower, built his own deck, added stonework to his house, installed electrical wiring, repaired his own lawnmower, built a hydraulic/gas engine combo wood-splitter, etc. etc.
I mean, everybody couldn't do ALL of this when I was coming up, but more people than not seemed to take on jobs like this on their own. Now, it seems that people are much more likely to hire someone to do almost all of these tasks.
I'll be perfectly honest. I don't change my oil. I rarely repair my own lawnmower. I'd be hard pressed to build my own shed or run electricity somewhere.
I guess people are just more specialized / lazier than they once were.
Or maybe it's just me.
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