Date: Fri, 29 Feb 2008 09:48:08 -0800
Reply-To: neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Complaining to the World first ...
In-Reply-To: <A630ED7193B4420499DCA621E0DB3082@ZoltanPC>
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There is not doubt. Learning how to maintain ones' own vehicle, i.e. a
Vanagon, will "force" a certain sense of logic. Eventually you *need*
to learn it. And eventually, if you stick with it, you ditch the
emotional response and develop more logic. Having that logic, IMHO, is
part of maturing, and part of being a "man". (whatever that can mean
in this, at times, gender confused world)
It is easy to have a "knee jerk" reaction to a problem.
Anger/frustration, and/or the reaction of "calling on" the list.
Sometimes the search function is best. Deal with it on your own. I
have been guilty of this "reaction". Before the internet, I obviously
couldn't do this. Either I sucked it up and dealt with it, or,
possibly, I asked for help. In terms of using an email list, the knee
jerk reaction of "calling on" a list, is a bad habit in a way. But,
this is a community. One that is quite helpful. I CAN'T imagine
tackling an engine conversion without the help of email lists.
But the "logic". When I was much younger, I worked on my Beetles in a
natural way. I just did it. And poorly at times due to being self
taught. I didn't ask many questions either. I started out at 14 with a
36 HP seized engine, nasty seized nuts, bolts, studs, and a
"Transporter" shop manual. I "rebuilt" it. True I had some pointers
initially, but was on my own after that. Good, but not so good. FF to
years later, and here I am learning to be better at wrenching. I feel
quite proud that my skills have improved. My Westy has been a valuable
experience in that regard. And the lists. Again, I can't stress just
how important and useful a community such as this Vanagon list, has
been.
I think there is a better balance. IMHO, one should ask if their
question is a "knee jerk" reaction. i.e. I likely didn't have to post
asking about the torque value of the thermo switch on the Vanagon WBX
rad. BUT, the value isn't shown in the rad pictoral in Bentley and the
part does thread onto brass threads on a plastic rad tank. Normally
I'd just do it by feel, but I actually thought about it. Something I
didn't always do when I was younger.
I guess a big part of life is finding the balance.
Interesting to see your insights Zoltan. I'll be curious to see the
responses! --- :^)
Neil.
On Fri, Feb 29, 2008 at 8:56 AM, Zoltan Kuthy <zolo@foxinternet.net> wrote:
> It is child like to be shy to face the source of trouble and try to settle your difference. Men, grown up men, do. The general nature of the females is also to complain first to everybody else first, and probably never to the source. Men, most of the time, don't even complain about it after it was settled. The differences of the sexes and the stages in life are very noticable. Many males and females may not be able to called "grown ups" in many ways, even when they are old. It has much to do with the circumstances they grown up in.
> Today, we can see a lot of men behave female like and child like. And can also see many woman behave man like and aggressive, violent. These were absent in the classical world when families and communities were normal.
> Most Vanagon owners are very normal. Of course, there is the ocassional exception, the helpless, complaining kind, but a Vanagon can make a man out of them too when they have to face all the challenges of life under the car, fix all the broken parts from one end to the other, and eventually they may come out of it as real man, on the way to be grown ups.
> This List provides the community they did not have, and here they will find brothers who are willing to help and scold and show the way but always providing that moral support.
> Zoltan
> Not intended to make anyone feel bad.
>
--
Neil Nicholson. 1981 Air Cooled Westfalia - "Jaco"
http://web.mac.com/tubaneil
http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
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