If one goes by the air's 60 degrees of warmth, the crocuses abloom (and the daffodils nearly there), and the lengthening hours of daylight. It is the feast today of Abbot Saint Romuald, founder of the Camaldolese monastic family.
I discovered Paul Sellers, a brilliant 'lifestyle woodworker', in a pair of articles by Paul Kornicki in the Autumn 2021 issue of Dowry, the publication of the Fraternity of Saint Peter in the UK (there is a paper edition and then a pdf version; it's not online, evidently). The Dowry articles were featured because the Sovereign Pontiff had proclaimed the 'Year of Saint Joseph' (Our Lord, a carpenter; Saint Joseph, a carpenter); Sellers, from what I can tell in the brief reading I did earlier, is the most authentic sort of professional-- he is an expert at his craft and cannot help but teach it to those others who sincerely want to learn it. Anyway, while I expect my burst of enthusiasm for tenons and chisels and mortises and so forth will fade away, I was struck by this brief colloquy between commenters on one of his blog posts-- was browsing through and didn't note precisely which one, tsk-- from four years ago.
MICHAEL
In my life, I’ve watched many television shows, videos and read many articles by men and women who are experts in what they do. They have personality, passion and skill, but I have never seen a single one whose personality, passion and skill elicit more regret. It’s the regret that I have never known in my life a man like I see in the words and deeds of Paul Sellers.
DEREK
I think you’ve tapped the Spirit of the Age. Many somehow sense that we went wrong somewhere along the path the last more than half-century.TOM
I share this exact same eye-tearing thought Michael, how did I make it to the final phase of my life without ever having had a mentor like Mr. Sellers. Through his writing and videos, even though I am slightly his senior, I consider him my mentor now. We both have a lot to catch up on.
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