The Spoon
by
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The article he was reading had to do with a rustic craft school in the Adirondack Mountains. There were several folk crafts taught here, but woodworking was the primary one. The article had to do with a specific course where the entire focus of the week was to produce a wooden spoon. What had struck the author of the article, and Tom as well, was the fact that the class was filled with high level executives and other harried professionals. They had come here from all over the country to stay in these mountains and learn to carve a simple wooden spoon. The photographs that accompanied the article showed the “students” at various stages of the class. Each photograph revealed individuals completely engrossed in the process of producing this most simple tool. They were shown sitting on the ground in the woods, bent over cabinet maker benches, and carefully guiding gouges, chisels, and spoke shaves. The results were stunning. The various woods used and the freedom to create their own designs, produced spoons worthy of a gallery exhibit. Many of these men had never worked wood before, but they all had commented in the article, that they were driven to find an outlet such as this one. It was as if they were all in search of a counter balance to the world in which they lived. As he read on, Tom thought about this phenomenon. How is it that these men with their power and their money, men that could go anywhere in the world, would choose to come to this place and make a spoon out of wood? Tom of course knew the answer to this question. He knew the beauty of wood, and the warmth it brought to the person working it. He felt the connection to the material, whether he was crafting a small pipe cabinet for his friend Mike, or splitting a log to be seasoned and burned in the stove. He knew the pleasure and satisfaction of working with his hands. He knew the gratification of using and caring for hand tools. And he knew something else. As he reached down for his glass of sun tea, and took a look over the rural summer landscape of Illinois, he knew he would not be one of the people driven to the Adirondacks out of need and frustration. A person burned out after a lifetime of struggling to get somewhere, and when they finally do, realizing that somewhere was nowhere.
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About the Book
Tom Jensen is getting old and becoming obsolete at his youth driven corporation. As things go downhill, he remembers a former life, a life before he joined the rat race. This was a life of simple pleasures and relevance. It was spent with his artist wife and their dear friends, Mike and Stephanie Monroe. He also recalls reading with fascination about a school in the mountains where powerful executives escaped to learn to carve a simple wooden spoon. With little to lose, he enrolls at a folk art institute in the Sierra Nevada mountains. There he reaffirms his forgotten values, and vows to find the Monroes again.
About the Author
Born in 1952, Bill Kleiser enjoyed a typical baby boomer childhood in the Midwest. Married at 19, he drove a truck for a living while spending free time as an amateur musician and song writer. Later, with a need to prove his self, and a financial need to feed a growing family, he changed careers and began to climb the corporate ladder. Music fell by the wayside and life continued as a series of relocations and long hours. Writing and reading has always been a part of his life. He have mostly written humorous satire and several years ago published an affectionate look back on his upbringing called "A Midwestern Memory" Bill curently live with his wife Laura in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He is still working everyday, but looking forward to retirement so he can spend more time with his writing, woodworking, and studying upright bass.