Restoration: What is worth saving?

About 18 months ago, Amy and I rescued a dining table from her grandmother’s old house.  The house has a leaky roof and rain was seeping through to the table.  It was only a matter of time before the table was ruined.

There is nothing especially noteworthy about the table – at least not to most observers.  It is a traditional farm table made of pine.  The legs and frame had a dark stain and the top was unfinished.  My guess is that it was locally made 75-100 years ago, and the top had been replaced somewhere along the way.  Five layers of vinyl tablecloths offered some protection from the rain dripping in though one leg had a bit of rot.  Its monetary value was minimal at best.

The actual value is twofold.  One, the table is functional and will look great in a mountain home.  Other tables could fill the space just as well, but this one has rugged character that goes a step beyond simple function and utility – it has a history of staying power.

Second, there is a strong emotional value to the piece.  For decades meals were eaten around this table, preceded by prayers of thanksgiving and supplication.  After school snacks were wolfed down before kids headed out for evening chores.  Amy's grandfather was a pastor so many of the community's problems were addressed at this very table. So, it is much more than a piece of furniture.

I started refinishing the table about a month ago.  I thought it would only be a matter of stripping away the old finish and replacing it with new.  A question from the beginning was how much to “clean up” and what imperfections to leave.  The boards on the top showed some water damage, and were loose and uneven.

So I removed the individual boards, glued them back together as a whole and then sanded the entire top surface.  The boards were resistant to bending from their previous shape so clamps and glue and screws were required to pull them back to where they needed to be.  Then, it took aggressive work with a belt sander to smooth out the uneven spots and to make the five separate boards one unified table top.

We opted for a walnut finish and three coats of polyurethane for protection.  I feel the character has been preserved and it is a functional piece that will last another 100 years.

As I worked on the table, I thought about how those in positions of authority are accountable for disciplining individuals in their organizations.  Human Resources departments have policies, churches have scripture, and parents draw from a variety of sources to aid them in applying discipline.  Most of us hear “punishment” when we hear someone talking of discipline.  While there may be a punitive aspect to discipline, true discipline goes beyond steps taken to punish behavior or actions.  At its root, discipline is training.

I considered how easy it would be to simply scrap the table and go buy a new one.  We sometimes do that with employees – look for a way to remove them from the organization and hire someone who is (hopefully) a better fit.  And Michael Cheshire writes in Why We Eat Our Own about how churches often “discard” members who struggle with sin.  We have a tendency to look for the easiest way out of a situation, especially those situations that make us uncomfortable.

We sometimes close our eyes and hope that a personnel problem will go away on its own.  Amy stored the table for over a year and its condition did not change.  Change took removing old nails, gluing the boards back together, and hours of sanding – all hard, dirty work.  It takes work and persistence to change behavior.  Most of all it takes a firm vision of our desired outcome.

As I look at the table in the dining area, I realize that this wasn’t a refinishing job after all.  Refinishing is just removing the old finish and replacing it with new - it is cosmetic at best.  This was a restoration project.  The goal was restoring the table to its original complex value.  That goal has been met.

I wonder how much stronger our organizations would be if we came view those who fall short of our expectations as restoration, instead of refinishing, projects?

Making the Complex Simple

It was always surprises me when someone tells me that they rarely (or never) read a book.  A 2007 NBC News survey found that roughly one American in four didn’t read a book in the preceding year.  Other surveys place the number even higher.  I would guess the true number would be shocking if the respondents were completely honest.

That whole thought baffles me.  As a kid at Bethware Elementary School, I loved going to the library.  That library contained a group of small biographies where I learned of the exploits of John Paul Jones (I have not yet begun to fight!) and Kit Carson.  At Central Junior High, teacher Betsy Wells allowed us to order paperbacks.  One of my all time favorites is Where the Red Fern Grows.  I dreamed of owning a pair of Redbone coonhounds like Old Dan and Little Ann, and following them up a creekbed while they poured it on a coon.  Reading took me from a small town in western North Carolina to the American Revolution, the Ozarks and on to the western frontier.

In high school I was keenly aware that it wasn’t very cool to read.  So, I tried to strike a balance by focusing on hunting and fishing books.  Thumbing through the old card catalog, searching for fishing books, I came across a novel by this Hemmingway guy and it doing so found myself immersed in the high literature of the Old Man and the Sea.  When I read about Santiago’s epic struggle with the great fish, as a high schooler, I couldn’t see past the fishing story (a story that is incredible).  Later, after the second or third reading, I came to realize it was more than just a story of an old man and a great fish, and I came to appreciate the writing of a story spun by a master.

These days I continue to read a variety of texts.  I bounce from non-fiction and fiction.  It is pretty rare that I don’t have a book nearby.  I read fiction for pure enjoyment and I greatly enjoy a well written tale.  I read nonfiction because I like learning new things or hearing different viewpoints.  Most of all I like to read something that inspires me to act or that expands my thoughts on the world. (Under the Overpass transformed my view of the homeless while Nickeled and Dimed opened my eyes to the plight of the working poor).

This past week at the conservation leadership academy, I led a short class on the power of storytelling in leadership.  It is a topic that fascinates me, and done well, it is one of the most effective ways leaders can connect with others.

I'm not opposed to statistics and logical reasoning.  But, we tend to throw numbers and facts at people, and then wonder why they aren’t inspired to act.  We show charts with numbers and graphs hoping to change behaviors.  We aim for the head, but vision should be cast to the heart.  Whether they are written, sung or spoken, stories connect on an emotional/relational level, helping the abstract become understandable - the complex become simple.  Simplicity makes action possible and action drives change.

It all begins with a story.

In Honor of NC Wildlife Officers Killed in the Line of Duty

To observe National Police Week, our conservation chiefs leadership group went into Washington, DC to participate in the Candlelight Vigil at the National Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial.  We drove to the western end of the Metro line where we caught the train.  At each stop we were joined by law enforcement officers from across the country.  We left the Metro and walked a short distance to the memorial.  I was a surprised at the mood of the crowd although I should have known exactly how to describe the atmosphere.

The feeling was more of a family reunion than a memorial.  There was a mixture of uniformed officers and those in civilian attire with their spouses.  There were young police explorers who had the most serious faces of all.  I suppose they had been coached on the fact that this was a solemn affair and their behavior should reflect that fact.

And there were the families of officers whose sacrifice was being honored.  They carried a single red rose.  The image of that rose spoke volumes, and people showed deference and respect to those “survivors.”

I thought it would be fitting to share the names of North Carolina Wildlife Officers who were killed in the line of duty.

John W. Hollowell                 End of Watch:  August 30, 1930

Officer Hollowell was assaulted outside the Chowan County courthouse by three individuals whom he had just testified against for fishing violations.  He died as a result of injuries sustained in that assault.  Two of the subjects were charged and convicted in Officer Hollowell’s death

Joseph D. Whitaker              End of watch:  November 15, 1936

Officer Whitaker was killed while working night deer hunting in Henderson County.  His assailants were never identified.

William I. Wright Jr.            End of Watch:  October 31, 1948

Officer Wright was thought to have been killed by a person or persons closed season hunting squirrels in Sampson County.  Although it was reported that his killers were known by police, no one was ever charged.

William G. Holler                  End of Watch:  October 19, 1951

Officer Holler was killed in an automobile accident in Mecklenburg County.

Amos M. Bordeaux               End of Watch:  April 10, 1962

Officer Bordeaux was accidentally killed in Sampson County while cleaning his service weapon after target practice.

John O. Edwards                  End of Watch:  August 3, 1963

Officer Edwards was killed in an automobile accident on his way home from a night deer hunting detail.  The accident occurred between Jacksonville and Kenansville, N.C.

Dewey H. McCall                  End of Watch:  September 5, 1971

Officer McCall was killed in Burke County after issuing an angler a citation for possession of undersized fish.  The angler left the area and returned to confront Officer McCall.  The assailant was shot by Officer McCall, but survived his injuries.

Troy M. Sigmon                    End of Watch:  September 1, 1978

Officer Sigmon was an area leader (a position now referred to as sergeant) in District Four.  He was flying as an observer in a helicopter near Whiteville, N.C. when it snagged a power line while looking for dove bait.  Officer Sigmon was killed when the helicopter crashed.  The pilot survived.

Lloyd (Neil) Mayse                End of Watch:  November 27, 1980

Officer Mayse stopped two brothers for night deer hunting in Northhampton County.  One brother was riding on the hood while the other drove.  After stopping the pair a fight ensued followed by gunfire.  Officer Mayes killed one suspect and was then killed by the other.

William A. Williamson          End of Watch:  December 4, 1985

Officer Williamson was responding to a call for assistance from an officer who had stopped a vehicle for night deer hunting.  He crashed his vehicle traveling to assist the officer and died on the scene.