Last week I wrote about the hundred-year-old house I live in. I have been in it for less than a year, since I continued to rent it out even after moving back to California from the Bronx five years ago. Now that I am living in it again, I have been doing all the things a homeowner does after renters move out.
What are those things? Let me start by saying that owning something usually makes the owner feel responsible for its care and use–its wellbeing, so to speak. And when I say “own,” I mean anything you can lay claim to where there is no competing interest; that is, no other person or group is responsible for its wellbeing or claims to be responsible.
Notice that responsibility plays a big part of this and is related to stewardship. When you rent, that sense of stewardship is often diminished. Some renters are better than others. Some, like the ones who drank a case of my wine, will get away with whatever they can, believing the owner can absorb the loss. No skin off his proverbial nose, they say.
In my case, being a responsible owner has included hauling away junk, repairing a buckled fence, building a basement door, removing tree stumps, treating wooden floors, replacing broken electrical plates, cleaning air ducts, scrubbing carpets, cleaning appliances, putting new batteries in digital locks and ceiling fans, weeding, repainting, refurbishing, and redoing just about everything that needs to be redone. I also had to buy new furniture and other items for the basement, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom. Renters may do some of these things (e.g., the carpets), but owners do them all.
I am writing this on a new desktop computer that rests on a standing desk next to a metal bookcase that took weeks to assemble with most of that time spent trying to decipher the 20-page instruction booklet. Illustrations helped somewhat (see Assembly Required). Lest you think me boastful, I freely admit that I did not do it all by myself. I hired a neighborhood guy for the fence and “College Hunks Hauling Junk” for the trash. Another repairman awaits the arrival of a heating element to fix the espresso machine. Life just isn’t the same without an espresso machine.
Now, for the doorknobs. Men, dads in particular, tend to be detail oriented. I make this broad claim, because it’s Father’s Day and I give myself permission. As an example, after finishing all of the tasks above and planning for others (i.e., trimming the front yard and monitoring what looks like the beginning of a hornets’ nest in a corner of the porch), I sat back to relax only to find that one of the doorknobs in the house was different from the others. The rest were glass and original. This one, however, was an ersatz, electroplated, golden knob as thick and dumb as could be.
Something had to be done. I removed both knobs and foraged in the basement for the original, which I knew was down there. I figured somebody had replaced it after suffering a kitsch attack. Now, I like kitsch as much as the next guy, but it has to be clever to work. Mister Parker’s leg lamp this was not (see Calling All Kitsch). Then I discovered the real reason for the replacement. Someone had cut a hole in the door larger than the rosette of the original glass knob. The rosette is the plate or base that the knob fits into, possibly so called because it looks like a rose in bloom.
So, I measured the hole and ordered two new rosettes online that met the specs and looked like they would go well with the glass. They arrived yesterday and now, presto chango, the house has all glass doorknobs again. I can’t tell you what a relief this is. I’m sure the house feels it, too.
This attention to detail, this responsibility in ownership, this drive to do things yourself (did somebody say obsession?), are part of being a dad. They are aspects of providing for others, that quintessential male trait. But get this. Even if you’re not a dad, think of the things you can learn and the pride you can feel when you achieve something for yourself and others. Then, anything becomes possible. Even installing glass doorknobs.
Image credits: feature by Perry Merrity II; door by Claire Sauvin. Want more? Go to Robert Brancatelli. The Brancatelli Blog is a member of The Free Media Alliance, which promotes “alternatives to software, culture, and hardware monopolies.” Happy Father’s Day!
