Respect runs through everything I do in the trades. Respect for others is a given – but respect for the inherent dangers, the tools, and the work itself is something I’ve grown into since stepping away from the office and onto job sites. A construction site can be a dangerous place. Between the tools, tripping…
When I was a child, my dad used to say, “A single stick can be broken easily, but bundle a few together and it’s nearly impossible.” It was his way of teaching us the value of unity—especially important in a house full of brothers who didn’t always get along. That lesson stuck with me, and…
After 23 years in journalism, I thought I knew work—how it shapes you, what it demands, what it teaches. But stepping away from the newsroom into the trades has shown me something else: work isn’t always about skills. Sometimes, it’s about what it reveals inside you. Every morning, I walk to a river where the…
It too shall past.
I’m not sure where I heard or read this, but …
The best times. The worst times. They all pass, eventually. Perhaps it was deeply set in my subconscious when I was wrestling with the Mikasa MTX60HD 4-cycle rammer for an hour (also known as a tamper), compacting backfill at a residence in Haliburton.
What do you need to start in the trades?
You know, the saying that it starts from within? It’s true.
There are three things to remember when starting anything new, particularly when it comes to an area of work that is a contrast to what you’re used to: Attitude. Attitude. Attitude.
We learn a lot through other peoples’ stories.
They can inspire. They can give us reason for hope. They can be an example of what is possible.
As a man in his forties with a 20-plus year career in journalism, I have told many thousands of stories.
Now it’s time I share my own through the series Sawdust Stories that depicts my efforts to work in the trades industry.
