When I was young, we had a "family carpenter" (he was way more important to my dad than the family doctor). He was a scrappy kind of a guy, somewhat disorganize

When I was young, we had a "family carpenter" (he was way more important to my dad than the family doctor). He was a scrappy kind of a guy, somewhat disorganized, not great on craftsmanship but was willing to realize whatever my dad's visions of next project would be so I would see him every now and then. While he was on such an assignment, I requested a wooden sword and he made one out of the leftover wood - ugly but solid. He also made a bed-top desk for me with a compartment that had a liftable top to keep my stuff - again, ugly but solid. He would be an old man now, if he is still around. I think those ugly and solid people who made ugly and solid things are increasingly going away and we as society are worse for losing them.