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A retired sweep in Asheville said something I still think about
He watched me work on a 1920s flue for an hour, then just said 'You're cleaning the smoke, not the history.' Anyone else get a piece of advice that stuck like that?
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benk263mo ago
That "cleaning the smoke, not the history" thing is everywhere. We fix the surface problem but ignore the real story underneath.
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skyler_adams3mo ago
Yeah benk26, it's like putting a band-aid on a broken leg.
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mason8472mo ago
That reminds me of this old timer up in Boone who was helping me dig post holes for a fence. He watched me for a solid twenty minutes trying to get the rocks out of a single hole, and he just says "You're fighting the ground, not digging the hole." I was so focused on getting every last stone out I forgot the actual goal was to set a fence post. I still catch myself doing that with all kinds of stuff, getting hung up on the small stuff and missing what I'm actually there for. Sweeps and fence builders must share a brain or something.
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