Everywhere I go I find a pal

Peter Weinschenk, Editor, The Record-Review

I have been reminded recently how much I am a citizen of the world.

This revelation follows a routine home project to replace the failing deck boards and steps on my back porch.

The current boards are Douglas fir, but, looking for a more durable wood species, I opted for Iroku, an African plantation species that is used for piers in marinas.

This wood is straight grained, dense, but not as dense as other African exotics, and has a subtle yellow cast to it. Throw some penetrating oil on Iroku and it looks fantastic.

At first I felt a little odd about using African wood on my American house, but, then, I thought about it.

My car was made in Sweden. The gasoline in the car comes from Saudi Arabia. My shop tools are made in Japan, Taiwan and China. My underwear is made in Vietnam. My socks are from Cambodia. The shrimp in my gumbo comes from Thailand. My coffee comes from Ethiopia. My bananas come from Costa Rica. My orange juice comes from Brazil. My olive oil comes from Greece.

I am a consumer in an international marketplace all connected by the internet. It’s difficult to comprehend all of the stuff I can buy from any corner of the globe with a few strokes on a keyboard.

That being the case, I feel a little less strange using an African wood as a home building material.

My American home is just another house on our increasingly shrinking planet.

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This morning, the Trump presidential campaign approved my media credentials to cover a planned rally at the Mosinee airport. This will be my third Trump campaign event.

Frankly, I am worried about COVID-19. The event will take place in a half-covered airplane hangar with thousands of people from all across Wisconsin.

Somebody in that crowd is bound to have coronavirus.

My plan is not to use a face mask, but the 3M 6001 respirator that I use for spraying lacquer and other foul substances.

I am hoping that the campaign will not squish the media together on a multi-level platform in this time of COVID-19, but, knowing how Trump feels about the media, I am not too optimistic.

I am quite unhappy about how Trump, Inc. is treating me as a human being. I cannot go to the president’s rally with any expectation of safety. This is the disclaimer that came with my media pass: “By registering for this event, you understand and expressly acknowledge that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present. In attending the event, you and any guests voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19, and waive, release, and discharge Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.; the host venue; or any of their affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, contractors, or volunteers from any and all liability under any theory, whether in negligence or otherwise, for any illness or injury.” Wish me well.

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I sprayed on the last coat of lacquer on my guitar over the weekend. I am pleased with how it went.

Before the final spray, I fixed an oops where I sanded all the way to the wood while attempting to flatten the finish on the guitar headstock. That took some wood dye and dye-colored lacquer.

The final coat went on nicely. The lacquer was liberally thinned with solvent. It melted easily into the old coats of finish.

The task now---and we are getting to the end of the guitar build---is to coax a highgloss out of all of this lacquer. This comes with sanding the finish with increasingly fine sandpaper, up to 2,000 grit. I will use car finish polish to bring out a dazzling shine.

I see the light at the end of what has been a very long tunnel. I am excited.

Contact Peter Weinschenk at pweinschenk@ tpprinting.com