Johanna

I remember those days. Tap tap tap BANG tap tapThudBANG tap tap. At least Jon more or less timed it to the music. But yeah, it's hard to get used to, and you don't want your neighbors to hate you. Braiding and beading are quiet. Good idea about soundproofing, but not always practical in an apartment, I know. I can be cooking in the kitchen, and one of the kids wikk be pounding in my shop, and I cringe. Then I'm at the top of the stairs, "Your leather isn't wet enough!" or "Do NOT drop my tools on the floor!" you know the clang on the concrete sound. "Are you sure there is a poundo board under that?" (punching holes). I once lived in an apartment that had a tenant above me we nicknamed "thunderfoot". When I finally met her, I was shocked. I had expected a 400 lb. man, and here was this tiny lady who sounded like an elephant when she walked through her place.In another apartment the neighbors blasted their stereo even when they weren't home. We had the landlord enter their apartment to turn it off over Christmas one year when they were gone for a week. They said it made their dog happy, but it made the pictures on our walls rattle, not to mention our nerves. I live in an old house these days. It has lots of rooms with heavy pocket doors that are very effective at containing temperature and noise. My husband and I have 5 kids between us, and we can use the doors to strategically heat/cool or quiet an area, also to separate fueding siblings and allow people some privacy. My late husband selected what is my bedroom in this house, and at the time, I thought he had given a better room to the kids. If I am in my bed and the door is shut, I can barely hear the dog bark. Complete chaos can happen downstairs and it's just a muffled noise. The room is on the west side of the house, so no bright lights assault you if you can sleep in. If someone gets sick, they are allowed to go to my bed because it truly is a refuge from the rest of the house. The old man picked the right room! When people share a house and have to respect different schedules, it makes it very important to communicate what gets on your nerves. If your wife can't stand the tapping and banging of ordinary carving while she's trying to sleep, I guess you have to do it when she's awake or at work. Could you go to bed early and get up with her and take your three hours in the morning when she's up or at work rather than in the evening? Me, well, I miss the old man tapping, and I'd give anything to hear it again, even though it's been a long time ago and I've happily remarried. I got used to the noise, and knew he was making money, not goofing off, whenever I heard it. I learned to dye and lace so I could hear more tapping...and that's what got me into this mess to begin with. Johanna

I have thought about posting the hate mail that admin gets from vegans and others who don't seem to understand that animals are not killed for their hides, leather is a byproduct of the meat industry. But if I posted it, even though it's great entertainment, it would give them attention they don't deserve. I believe in killing animals responsibly for consumption; I do not throw rocks at kittens or club baby seals. The mail I get from the extremists usually is passionate, and maybe sincere, but terribly ignorant of the way the industry works. A few times I tried to write back and clear up some misconceptions, but that just inspired more hate mail, so I just delete it now. I live in farm country, so the kids know where our food comes from. Some urban children don't understand how those neatly wrapped plastic packages arrived at their grocery store. Johanna

We do have concealed carry, but in my area, not too many people actually carry, or as Denster pointed out, they hide them well. LOL I live in a rural county, pop. 44,000. In the cities like Dayton and Toledo, I'm sure the carry stats would be higher. We are fortunate to have unlocked doors and pretty benign Police logs in New Knoxville, but I'd lay money every farm house has a shotgun or two. I feel safer in a community where the law abiding citizens have guns, be it Texas or Georgia or Ohio. When people from other parts of the world seem surprised about how casual firearms are in the US, I wonder how scary it would be without them? Johanna

When I lived in Georgia I felt very safe. If some maniac was going to start shooting people in the mall, several people would probably take aim and fire at the nut, I'm sure. The citizens (I don't want to use the term "rednecks", but you know what I mean!) grew up picking squirrels of off telephone lines. One day an odd man came into the Tandy. I knew there were at least six armed men in the store, one a retired GBI agent, a Marine, a hunter, two bikers and a cop. I threw the man out without worrying. Not knowing who is carrying is a deterrent to crime. We built holsters for .357s in little blue haired ladies' purses. Good luck raping grandma, punk! When I visit Texas, I get that same feeling. If I need help, a good samaritan will come to my aid, with a gun if needed. It's not like that here in Ohio. Only the bad guys seem to carry their guns around. Johanna

Chain- one thing I like about you is that you're an honest man. No BS with you. You call it like you see it, and aren't afraid to speak your piece. I also like the way you can back up what you say with mighty fine leatherwork. Good job on the bones. That's tricky, but you pulled it off. And this is a family forum...blah blah...we don't swear or stick our middle fingers up, etc. However, this thread is posted in the biker section, not "Show Off", so I'm going to assume no bikers are going to freak about this post because most of them have seen and heard more than that....by the time they are twelve. *sigh. If anyone reading this post objects strongly, click the report button and I'll move the post. Otherwise, I'm leaving it because everyone here has had a similar vent, and when we read yours we all nodded and said, "Yep!" Your work just keeps getting better, Chain. Don't let anyone tell you how to do your thing. You're doing fine without their input. ~J