He can. Throughout his life, if there was something that needed doing but he didn't know how, he would learn and do. I always just thought he already knew everything (again, I'm a hero-worshiper when it comes to my dad!). He did all the maintenance on our 100+ year old, six bedroom home. All the remodeling. Fixed the roof (which was 2.5 stories high!), rewired, re-plumbed, even put in two bathrooms. All this in addition to being involved heavily in our church, working more than full-time as a microbiologist/virologist/immunologist, being a Navy reservist, and a half-dozen other things. (He was also an awesome husband, but that's for another post.)
Born in 1918, Dad grew up on a farm in Kansas. They were tenant farmers. Poor, as was nearly everyone else. All they bought in town were yard goods and coffee. Everything else was produced on the farm. And they used every bit of everything (my grandfather loved pickled pig's feet - can you imagine?). His mother, a very wise woman, made sure that everyone pitched a hand. She even had the boys help quilt periodically. So after my mom died and I inherited her sewing machine (which I still have), dad went out and bought a new one. He made new curtains for the bathroom, did minor fixes to his and my younger brother's clothes, and whatever else needed doing.
(BTW, Mom was no slouch either. She looked just as elegant as Jackie Kennedy, but with less than a shoestring budget. Which again, is a topic for another post.)
Dad is truly a renaissance man. He said the only thing he couldn't do (or learn how to do) was to have a baby! How lucky am I to have such a father? He's continues to be my best example and my inspiration and will be forever.
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