Neither my dad, nor Ken, were handy men.  I was the one who nailed things together, hung sheet rock, insulation, tore out old bathrooms to the studs and put them back together, hired contractors and refinished furniture.  Even before I married and left home, Daddy would watch and say, "Where did you learn to do that?"  To which I would say, "I learned how while I was doing it."

Ken would help, but I always had to show him what to do.  Reworking the studs in a house, or relocating walls is just like sewing.  And I learned to sew when I was ten.  And perfected it in Home Economics through four years of sewing in high school. (Which was required of all girls.  Unfair, but it was the 50s.)  If you can correctly attach the curved top of a sleeve to the bodice, you can build whatever you want with lumber and a saw.

All I ever needed was an idea, or a pattern.  Ken once said, "I'll fly the airplanes, and you can do everything else."  He was teasing, but maybe it's why he wouldn't give up when I would tell him, "No, I'm not going to marry you."  I know how to do stuff.  He liked that.

Unless it is electronic.  Computer things escape me.  You can tell me how.  You can show me how.  But it just won't stick.  I don't get electricity, satellite transmissions, etc.  If I can't see it or touch it, don't ask me what to do with it.  It's Voodoo and black magic.  Ken on the other hand, had gone to electronic military something or other kind of school.  It came in handy when I was reworking, or building something and needed someone to wire it.  He could always fix a lamp or install a switch.

When the Apple came on the market in the late sixties, Ken and our son Jon got one--and from that point on, I rarely saw them unless it was time to eat.  Every time an upgrade came on the market, they would go get one.  A couple of years ago, Jon dug one of the old Apple 2E's out and took it to his physics class and set it up.  The kids had never seen such a thing.  They were fascinated.  So Jon left it there for the students to play with.

The first computer class I took you had to punch cards for "open or closed."  I gave up.  But if you ever want to add a room to your house, give me a call.