Inch by Inch

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” – Confucius.

Upon the lumber, I laid out the measure, the yellow and black tape measuring with granular precision the thirty-second, sixteenth, eight, quarter, half, and inch, all of them coalescing into a measure of eight feet. In a dimensional world of height, width, depth, weight, and distance, scaled against the forward and backward movement in time, I place my scratch at the seventy-five-inch mark. Measure twice, cut once the carpenter teaches, and so I shall.

To query the measure, to ponder the inch, to appreciate the scale knowing that just a sixteenth is too long or too short portends an environment where experience can be bitter. Looking down at the length of this semester, the board is slightly warped, the grain is not center cut, and there is a knot in the lumber. However, every woodworker knows the value of scrap, and I have a growing pile.

Laying on the workbench, the orthographic drawings with cut lists and dimensions convey an image and guide the construction of the final project. The lesson to be learned is patience and tenacity, for there is no mention of the years required on the blueprint, no mention of the cost of lumber, and no mention of how many knuckles get busted. The pieces do not fit. The joint was weak. Tool by tool, screw by screw, cut by cut, the object takes shape. The chisel was dull, and the saw dangerous. The nights were cold and the days long, but slowly, month by month, year by year, from nothing…something.

To proclaim oneself a master artisan, to hang the shingle on the shop door, to delude oneself into presuming that constructing one small side table is all it takes evokes a chuckle and a smile. I am an academic apprentice, and the time I have endeavored to move through the ranks of academia to “feel ready” for a dissertation will depend on how well I can cut lumber to the correct measure and how many bandages will be required. Will the dissertation be a jaw-dropping masterwork provoking applause and amazement? That will be the purview of the guild.

If reflection is the noblest method of obtaining wisdom, I will measure the inches cut from the length with no regrets and value the potential left in the scrap. When the cutting, nailing, gluing, sanding, and finishing are done, I will stand as a testament to the skill of the craftsman to be no more or no less than all that I was ever meant to be. I will be the sawdust on the floor, and the credenza in the corner gathering dust. Capricious is my guide, uncertainly my master. The best plan is no plan.