“I drove down to New Orleans from Vermont,” said Dan, “and asked him to teach me how to make shoes. At first he said, ‘no.’ So I went down another time and I guess he thought I was serious and this time he said, ‘yes.’ His name was Calvin.”
We were in Dan’s leather store yesterday in Vermont where he makes extraordinary shoes and belts. I asked where he had learned his trade, because he was the kind of craftsman you meet maybe once a year, if you’re lucky.
In an interview I later found, Dan said this – “back in the 1970s Calvin and I agreed I could work for him, for no pay, for as long as I wanted. It was definitely not a classroom situation, where he sat down and instructed me. It was me working for him in his shop and as the months went by, gradually I was permitted to do things. I stayed two years.” You’ll find a photo of Calvin at on-emotions.com
In his store Dan told us at times Calvin would stand behind him when he was working to learn the craft and say, “beat the knife.” Meaning, there was struggle both for Dan and the knife as he learned the craft of making the perfect shoe by hand.
If we are truly fortunate, we are given the opportunity to have a Calvin in our lives. Someone who can show us, push us, to master a craft. Usually though, finding and then engaging that person isn’t easy. It requires a desire to realize our potential that won’t take “no” as an answer. But a master always recognizes and respects that kind of desire and determination.
Have you ever wanted to learn a craft like Dan? As Dan put it, “That’s what I like to do… make shoes happen for people.”
If we can identify our “shoe” we’ll likely find our Calvin.
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