[Milsurplus] Happy Birthday Boatanchors

[Bruce Gentry]

David Stinson wrote:
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Don Reaves" <donreaves at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [BoatAnchors] Happy Birthday Boatanchors
>
>
>   
>> The talent on this list has always been outstanding.  But I'm
>> concerned membership may drop just due to age attrition.  Who are 
>> the
>> under 50 youngsters here that will inherit our love of boatanchors 
>> and
>> care for our equipment?
>>     
>
>   
This is a very serious issue, for our hobby and many other things as 
well. I attribute it to the lack of, and suppression of, imagination and 
creativity in our culture. Young people are focussed almost entirely on 
the next 5 seconds, with little interest in the next 5 weeks or years, 
and even less on the past. Breaking through this is vital, and extremely 
difficult. Every cue tells young people that being the biggest, baddest, 
meanest, on the block is the way to success.  All artifacts, 
discussions, or practice of real craftsmanship are regarded as 
irrelevant at best.  In this dog-eat-dog environment, nothing of lasting 
value or inspiration is given any value, and anyone who does find it 
interesting  faces serious practical and social attack.
       I agree fully that writing about our hobby, the history and 
meaning of it, is probably the best way to preserve what we have given 
so much of ourselves for. Many of you may feel writing or anything 
artistic is beyond your abilities or not appropriate for your persona, 
but I think you could be in for a good surprise.
      One thing I have been disappointed about on this list is the lack 
of girls and women.   I believe many of them are quite interested but 
terrified to come forward, based on my experiences  as an elevator 
technician.  When working on elevators in schools, girls were always far 
more interested and offered very intelligent questions about the 
equipment. Because it's  obvious I am different from most guys, they 
probably felt safer to come forward and talk to me. There is interest in 
the equipment and history, we must present it in a manner that welcomes 
rather than intimidates. The newly interested person must be assured  
it's ok to have the passion  we do, and  it can open the door to a 
lifetime of fun, learning, and companionship.
      I  think a lot of the "clean it out or else!' orders from spouses  
stem from post-WW2  social engineering.  Women built the equipment we 
collect, and had budding careers and knowledge. They were evicted 
ruthlessly from the postwar workplace, and did not want reminders of 
their destroyed past in their homes. I'm sure many indoctrinated their 
daughters to be sure their future spouses did not take up the hobby. 
This is absolutely true in my case, my mother ( a WW2 aircraft 
mechanic's helper ) finally admitted  that is why she did not want me 
collecting and restoring surplus radios in my youth.  I had to tell Fair 
Radio and G&G not to put a return address on ( or a receipt inside)  the 
packages they sent me, and pray they would  arrive on a day she was at 
work.   Decades later, she and I together cleaned up and repaired an 
ARC-5  and talked deeply about her foreshortened career .
      I am sure there are many other very good ideas, we need to share 
them and raise interest (and tolerance) in this hobby.  I would love to 
be able to insert a scene in a favorite TV show- "Glee"- that is set in 
Lima, Ohio.  It's about a group of very talented,  gifted,  high school 
misfits and how they improve themselves and everyone around them.  I 
would love to show Kurt Hummel (my avatar) carrying a PRC-6  up to the 
checkout counter at Fair Radio,  and Lauren Xysis coming out of the back 
room with an RT-68 under one arm,  a PP-109 under the other,   and an 
ear to ear smile on her face.  They would chuckle to each other and 
Lauren would say "Coach Sylvester will never expect us to be using this 
stuff to foil her latest scheme!"  The idea that cellphones and the 
internet are not all there is needs to be brought forward anywhere it 
can be, in real life as well as fiction.
     Tourist railroads, theater organ groups, amateur radio, and a host 
of other skilled hobbies are literally dying off.  All of these groups 
are facing the same problem, and only recently have started trying to 
reverse it.

     Bruce Gentry,     KA2IVY