<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Neil 2.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 187px; float: right;" />At the beginning of every summer college session, Dave Mahan delivers an introductory speech that <em>always</em> contains the line, &ldquo;And, because we want to make sure you leave Au Sable with a practical skill as a back up in case grad school doesn&rsquo;t work, we have assigned you to a dish crew to help clean up after meals&hellip;&rdquo; His proclamation is met with tentative laughter and groans. During my sojourn at Au Sable, I have learned many such practical skills.</p>
<p>
	My work in the kitchen taught me how cook for fifty hungry college students. Such a feat requires judicious time management, efficient clean up, and strong arms to heft five-gallon pots of boiling pasta water. Additionally, I learned some prize-winning recipes&mdash;pineapple carrot cake, zucchini-feta casserole, and maple baked oatmeal, to name a few. And, after making cookies two or three times a week, I developed baking prowess that would make any grandmother envious.</p>
<p>
	I mastered other handy skills during the short weeks I worked maintenance. One morning, I met Bob Barr to learn how to operate a chainsaw. &ldquo;The day I learned how to use a chainsaw,&rdquo; he told me, &ldquo;The guy who was teaching me took a chunk out of his knee. I hope that doesn&rsquo;t happen today.&rdquo; Thankfully, neither of us lost blood or limb in our morning of sawing.</p>
<p>
	Another day, Eric and I tramped into the basement of Willow House to find the bathroom a flooded, moldy mess. Eric kneeled in the puddle on the floor and stuck his head behind the toilet. &ldquo;Hmm, this is a soldering job,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Have you ever soldered before?&rdquo; Of course, I hadn&rsquo;t, so we hiked to the shop to accouter ourselves. We returned with a blowtorch, soldering wire, a new toilet valve, and a slice of bread to absorb trickles of water in the pipe. Following Eric&rsquo;s instruction, I installed the new valve in five minutes. &ldquo;That would have cost a hundred bucks if we had brought a plumber in here. Good skill to have,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p>
	I had never split wood before coming to Au Sable. If Paul is not careful, I will propose that the environmental education internship be renamed the wood splitting internship. The Michigan History program requires copious fire building and therefore lots of wood!</p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Neil 3.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 187px; float: left;" />I love splitting wood. Successful technique requires a healthy marriage between power and precision. You must aim the ax head at the edge of the log and swing <em>hard</em> for an even split. And, to be safe, you must stand with your legs spread wide. I learned this the hard way when the blade bounced off a knotted pine log and nicked my ankle. When a log splits&mdash;or, as it often seems, jumps&mdash;apart, I can&rsquo;t help but feel wonderfully strong.</p>
<p>
	These are skills that will never appear my r&eacute;sum&eacute;. However, I am sure that I will utilize them later in life. Years down the road, when I need to split wood or solder a pipe, I can thank Au Sable for lending me this practical knowledge.</p>
