The handy gene

Remember watching "The Smurfs" -- that Euro-inspired cartoon with its constant good-versus-evil struggles? Each member of the Utopian socialist society had a name describing his specific role. Brainy was the intelligence, wearing glasses no less. Papa was the patriarch, and his beard told us so. Hefty's muscles and barbell announced his brawn. Cook's special chef hat and his pastries said he was the cook. Jokey always had a gag. And Smurfette, well, she just looked pretty.

Then there was Handy. He was in charge of building things, implementing Papa Smurf's or Brainy's plans, rebuilding a house after Jokey blew it up, or helping a captured Smurf escape from Gargamel's castle. Yes, Handy was a V.I.S. -- a Very Important Smurf -- because being handy means self-sufficiency.

My dad is handy. My brother Jay, also handy. I visited Jay and his wife, Jodi, at their home in Ellensburg on Sunday. Jay was taking a break from building a garage/shop/apartment just a few feet away from the house. These buildings sit down a lane from my family's historical property a few miles east of Ellensburg; it's 26 acres total. He's building a massive building where he can park the boat and his pickup truck and to use part as a shop. The back third of the structure is an apartment where my mom will live. Plenty of storage is located above the apartment.

It's ironic is that when I bought my home almost three years ago, there was also a detached shop, a remnant from a former engine-repair business. My dad and Jay are both exceptionally handy. They can fix things without reading very much of the manual. They can jury-rig and construct and repair. Dad and Jay covet a shop -- a place to go to build and to be handy. And of all people to get one -- a shop that gets no shop-like use -- it's me.

The Handy Gene skipped me. Now, I am a guy who likes to create things, and I can find my way around a wood shop just fine or putt in the garden, thank you very much, but I can't just dive in to make a home repair. Eventually, that shop of mine will have another purpose, perhaps a sauna or a studio, but for now it's mostly empty. The yard supplies are on one shelf, the reel lawn mower in another corner. There is ample room to stow the patio furniture for the winter.

This summer, I resolve to get more handy. Hopefully being handy is not a gene, but a learned skill.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.