Good Morning Team. I have stumbled upon my choice for what to call our mutual chin-wag group, now several members strong and counting. With all due respect to the suggestion made by Patrick Russell of Williamsburg, VA, that we call you all the ASS FACTION, I have thankfully stumbled upon something even better. As I was readying my breakfast this morning for the onslaught of my hands and face, my subconscious, entirely unbidden, delivered to me a poignant flashback of my joyful participation in my college’s circa 1990 (or so) production of Man of La Mancha, directed by Ginny Simms. One of the three roles I assayed in that glorious show was that of a Muleteer (pronounced Myoo-la-teer), and if the script called for six of them, then I was Muleteer #7, there not for my mediocre singing pipes, but for my ability to tackle people safely and take a swinging guitar to the face. I had merely to flop about thus in the Spanish dungeon fight scenes, and in exchange I got to spend the rest of the show entranced by the gorgeous songs and glorious life wisdom of Cervantes’s story. Don Quixote. Sancho Panza. Aldonza/Dulcinea. The Golden Helmet of Mambrino…(heart eyes emoji). It was the greatest, and proof positive that you don’t need the warble-skills of a songbird or the grace of a swan to enjoy participating in wonderful theatre productions. After all, somebody has to carry the talented people on and off stage.
The original Muleteer…Photo Credit: Brian McConkey
Justin Long & I were just talking about those frustrating days of yore when we thought we had to look “cool” to get work. We both (thankfully) discovered that we would only succeed when we realized that people enjoyed us for being dorks.
The dictionary definition of Muleteer is “one who drives mules”, so that’s actually perfect for our purposes here. Your questions are what will drive this Sub-Haystack, specifically the titular Donkey typing these sentences. Today I’m experimenting with this “thread” format, as I think this will be how I’ll harvest questions once the paywall goes up in a week or two.
So please leave your questions here, and always please include where you’re from, if you don’t mind, so I can at least get a sense of in which general direction I should bray when answering.
The text version of this will always be free, but soon you’ll need to be a paid subscriber to ask questions and hear the audio versions and other confections. In any case, I am grateful to be in this conversation with you, and I wish you as beautiful day as can be mustered in this strange time.
Love the story and Pics! Thanks Nick Just wanted to relay info about the GreenWood Wrights'Fest we're having in North Carolina, April 22-24, with Roy Underhill and many more great instructors. We'd love to have you come! Gratis of course.
can you believe what a glorious day that was? Andrew Pressman turned me onto an IG account called @BigDonsMeats in Perth, so you'll see we obviously have to get back.
If you're looking to open your minds to new ways of working using primarily axes and knives, and connect with other woodworkers and carvers across the nation? Join us at Shakori Hills in Pittsboro, North Carolina for 25 workshops for beginners and advanced carvers. Master of Ceremonies and world-renowned woodworker Roy Underhill will shed light on the greater meaning of being a spoon carver today. Thanks so much for sharing. For more info follow us on Instagram @greenwoodwrightsfest or go to greenwoodwrightsfest.com
What I wouldn't give to be there! Shaving away at a Sløjd-infused spoon while listening to Master Underhill weave his yarns sounds like a dream vacation to this wandering mule. Please give him my best affection, cheer, and a moderate serving of the Devil's Biscuits™.
I can and will gladly take credit for The Ass Faction - while I am deeply saddened that my suggestion was not adopted, I am equally - perhaps even more so tickled to have been shouted out by the Head Muleteer himself (albeit, reduced simply to “person” - I still take pride in my otherwise anonymous moment of humor).
I'm just so happy to be here with you watching your delightful thought-baby being born! Muleteers (or as I lovingly call "Muley") will grow up to be a treasured and wise paragon of literary greatness. And woodworking.
P.S. You were pretty cool. Still are. We just grow up to become even more cool, and that is tinged with the sweet, sweet patina of Nerdity and Sorrow known as Wisdom.
Hi Nick. I have an ongoing debate with my better and wiser half about the role of GPS in travel. I am of the opinion that GPS is a backup method of navigation and one should be first and foremost able to prepare for a journey through effective map reconnaissance. By using GPS as the go-to method of wayfinding, we atrophy our innate sense of directional problem solving. Naturally, she disagrees. Where do you stand, chief muleteer?
Hi Nick. Helen from Nashville. Do you and Megan still have the Airstream? If yes, where do you hope to take it next, and what advice do you give to a couple who will be embarking on their first trailer travels this year?
Hi Nick. This is Cole Calfee from Nashville, Tennessee. I’m 27 years old and worried that people of my generation don’t believe in the power of poetry. Do you have any favorite poems?
Hi Cole - good to hear there ARE young poetry readers out there. May I suggest the poetry of Denise Duhamel to you AND Nick? She's got a great book - Blowout - that'd I'd recommend:
Rumpus: Another of my favorite poems from Blowout is called “My Strip Club,” which was also reprinted in The Best American Poetry 2011. I find this poem laugh-out-loud funny—subversively so:
Hello there, sir! It is well known in my circles that you partook of tabletop roleplaying/story games like D&D, etc., in days past. My question is sort of many-headed: When and where was this time in your life *and* how has creative, narrative play affected your creative, narrative work or outlook on it? That is, how do you divide work and play, and why is that? Thanks for this opportunity to ask. Cheers from Chicago.
I've recently salvaged some maple that was intended as firewood, but has gone beautifully spalted. Since it was intended for the campfire instead of the sawmill, most of the pieces are just over a foot long. What would be a good use for such short (although plenty thick!) stock? I've got access to a fairly full shops worth of both hand and power tools and enough know how to get myself into trouble!
Read an article in the Huffington Post on travel to our national parks, and common mistakes/misconceptions. Thought of you because of reading your wonderful book, "Where the Deer and the Antelope Play." https://apple.news/AogZImRZGSBaNIbrn8yzGsQ
Having spent a few of my youthful summers as a real-life muleteer in the tobacco fields of eastern North Carolina, I am delighted to reclaim the mantle of one who toils at the ASS-end of nature’s most stubborn animal. Don (not Quixote) from Nashville.
Bruce form St Louis, originally from Idaho and Montana. The sky really is big. Love the Mule part of Muleteer. Stan was the first mule I ever rode. Or more accurately Stan allowed me to ride. Still trying to figure out riding. As you have previously channeled Becksvoort, have you personally tried taking a belt sander to a chest of drawers? I am thinking about this and could use some wisdom.
I didn't know you had a tattoo. Now you've lived a little more life, are you still happy with your tattoo, any regrets? Would you/ have you done more inking of the rig? All the best from Brisbane, Australia.
Pablo here, 27, from Spain (not sure that'll be useful data for you, but hey, it's Cervantes' country!)
My personal pain point with most people is the amount of certainty they display, no matter the topic - politics, sports, home-made beer. I lack that; I tend to think nuance gets you closer to truth. To quote an Spanish thinker, Antonio Escohotado: "truth is there where you have infinite twists and details - as opposed to definitive, straight boundaries".
So my question is... Where do people get that certainty from Nick? Do you know where I can order a gallon or two of it? Wouldn't we be better off with more doubt and less certainty?
Deep down we all know we wanted to be called the Ass Faction.
Nick, in a few interviews I have heard that your favorite wood is American White Oak. Let's say you are making a tabletop. Would you still choose American White Oak? I am partial to Black Walnut especially when combined with Danish oil. The grain becomes iridescent and the light reflecting off the table can make it seem as if the grain itself is changing before your eyes. Boom. 360 degrees of Mother nature magic.
Eric Brown from Dayton Ohio. Muleteer is ok. Been called worse. Busy taking pictures of my tool collections for documentation. Do you collect anything special?
If there is a Muleteer decoder ring, I definitely want one. And I'm hopeful the first secret message will have nothing to do with Ovaltine. Now, if it encourages one to imbibe an excellent, peaty single malt--that's a mule of a different color. I'm writing from beautiful Lake Luzerne NY, home of the Adirondack Folk School where you, too, could build a cedar strip canoe. Of course, you (Nick) already did so twice--but yours have nail/staple holes that ours do not thanks to a truly ingenious strongback designed with double mold stations invented by the instructor.
I built one of each, sir, with staples, and without staples. I salute your pastoral spot, and were I to visit, I would hope to be schooled in building an Adirondack Guide Boat. Also without staples.
Thanks so much for your encouraging reply! Your whit paired with Roy's would definitely make the event an all out kick ass spoonaliscous hoot. Perhaps you can put us on your tentative schedule Oct 21-23. I also want to know more about the Devil's Biscuts, and what makes you tick. So glad I was finally able to connect with you I tried through your publisher...
My family met you guys in Arizona at a campground. Scout and Carter still talk about Clover. I showed them the book and we were curious if you had completed the book before your road trip or if you were still writing then?
Hi Nick, love the blog. Have you any plans to take your show on the road? Specifically the UK? You could swing by that distillery in Scotland.... Carl, Surrey, UK
Who is your all-time favorite baseball player (you can list more than one, if you'd like) and why? And what position did you play in little league growing up?
Hey Nick, I hope you’re doing well. My wife and I saw you and Megan at the State Theatre in Portland, ME during the Summer of 69 (No apostrophe) tour. We bought tickets for our anniversary and after the show I drank my first glass of Lagavulin at a local Irish pub. Prior to the show, we followed the advice of the tour name at a local Inn (wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more). I’m now sitting in my apartment roughly an hour and a half northeast of Christian Beckvoort’s workshop with my soon to be 5 month old son in my lap. I almost named him after you because the night before my wife told me she was pregnant I had a dream where you visited me in a cornfield. But, that’s neither here nor there. I’m curious if you have any of your classic Offerman-isms that you think I should instill in this young man. Any advice for a first time father? I have to go as my son just spit up while laying on his back.
Rockport is also home to the Center for Furniture Craftsman. It’s gallery is free and well worth a perusal by anyone interested in woodworking. And, it’s just down the road a bit from Lie Nielsen Toolworks.
Hi there! I have nothing to add, and no questions at the moment. Just happy to be here! Jessie - Chicago Suburbs
Love the story and Pics! Thanks Nick Just wanted to relay info about the GreenWood Wrights'Fest we're having in North Carolina, April 22-24, with Roy Underhill and many more great instructors. We'd love to have you come! Gratis of course.
I remember when you sang songs from this on a bike ride in Perth. That was a great day.
can you believe what a glorious day that was? Andrew Pressman turned me onto an IG account called @BigDonsMeats in Perth, so you'll see we obviously have to get back.
If you're looking to open your minds to new ways of working using primarily axes and knives, and connect with other woodworkers and carvers across the nation? Join us at Shakori Hills in Pittsboro, North Carolina for 25 workshops for beginners and advanced carvers. Master of Ceremonies and world-renowned woodworker Roy Underhill will shed light on the greater meaning of being a spoon carver today. Thanks so much for sharing. For more info follow us on Instagram @greenwoodwrightsfest or go to greenwoodwrightsfest.com
What I wouldn't give to be there! Shaving away at a Sløjd-infused spoon while listening to Master Underhill weave his yarns sounds like a dream vacation to this wandering mule. Please give him my best affection, cheer, and a moderate serving of the Devil's Biscuits™.
Linda from NJ will be thinking about Ass Faction for days. Thank you, PERSON.
Why not Mullet-teer? But hey, you're the boss.
As much as I appreciate the hairstyle (and the fish), I'm afraid I don't know what place a mullet has in my donkey-themed clubhouse?
I stand corrected looking at my original request. I guess this is why you are the boss!
I weep for this opportunity lost.
Dear Nick, Do you currently have a "go" bag and if so, whats in it?
Have you designed the super-secret Muleteer decoder rings?
I can and will gladly take credit for The Ass Faction - while I am deeply saddened that my suggestion was not adopted, I am equally - perhaps even more so tickled to have been shouted out by the Head Muleteer himself (albeit, reduced simply to “person” - I still take pride in my otherwise anonymous moment of humor).
Your fellow Muleteer,
PATRICK | Williamsburg, VA
Thank you kindly, I have corrected it in the post.
Aw, shucks. Thanks… hombray 👊🏼
What's Rob Lowe *REALLY* like?
-- Jeremy, mostly Californian, partly Texan, currently from Eugene, OR
Hahaha
I'm just so happy to be here with you watching your delightful thought-baby being born! Muleteers (or as I lovingly call "Muley") will grow up to be a treasured and wise paragon of literary greatness. And woodworking.
P.S. You were pretty cool. Still are. We just grow up to become even more cool, and that is tinged with the sweet, sweet patina of Nerdity and Sorrow known as Wisdom.
Hi Nick. I have an ongoing debate with my better and wiser half about the role of GPS in travel. I am of the opinion that GPS is a backup method of navigation and one should be first and foremost able to prepare for a journey through effective map reconnaissance. By using GPS as the go-to method of wayfinding, we atrophy our innate sense of directional problem solving. Naturally, she disagrees. Where do you stand, chief muleteer?
Best Beer and Bacon Wishes,
Jeremy
Roseville, MN
Hi Nick. Helen from Nashville. Do you and Megan still have the Airstream? If yes, where do you hope to take it next, and what advice do you give to a couple who will be embarking on their first trailer travels this year?
Hi Nick. This is Cole Calfee from Nashville, Tennessee. I’m 27 years old and worried that people of my generation don’t believe in the power of poetry. Do you have any favorite poems?
Hi Cole - good to hear there ARE young poetry readers out there. May I suggest the poetry of Denise Duhamel to you AND Nick? She's got a great book - Blowout - that'd I'd recommend:
Rumpus: Another of my favorite poems from Blowout is called “My Strip Club,” which was also reprinted in The Best American Poetry 2011. I find this poem laugh-out-loud funny—subversively so:
In my strip club
the girls crawl on stage
wearing overalls
and turtlenecks
then slowly pull on
gloves, ski masks
and hiking boots.
As the music slows,
they lick the pole
and for a tantalizing second
their tongues stick
because it’s so cold.
They zip up parkas
and tie tight bows
under their hoods.
A big spender
can take one of my girls
into a back room
where he can clamp
on her snowshoes.
Hello there, sir! It is well known in my circles that you partook of tabletop roleplaying/story games like D&D, etc., in days past. My question is sort of many-headed: When and where was this time in your life *and* how has creative, narrative play affected your creative, narrative work or outlook on it? That is, how do you divide work and play, and why is that? Thanks for this opportunity to ask. Cheers from Chicago.
omgosh I had no idea - this D&D Nick-o-tinist fact elevates him from merely supercool to ice cold
I was really hoping for Jack Associates.
How do you feel about Malört?
From Milwaukee, WI, muling from Highland Park, NJ.
Hi Nick,
I've recently salvaged some maple that was intended as firewood, but has gone beautifully spalted. Since it was intended for the campfire instead of the sawmill, most of the pieces are just over a foot long. What would be a good use for such short (although plenty thick!) stock? I've got access to a fairly full shops worth of both hand and power tools and enough know how to get myself into trouble!
Thanks, Colin from La Crosse Wisconsin
Colin, sounds like some incredible carving stock for spoons, small turned bowls or other objects, or boxes.
Could you share your thoughts on how to properly outfit a home workshop, both for regular home DIY work and hobbyist activities?
-Marc, a fellow Illinoisan by origin but living in Tacoma, WA, these days
Read an article in the Huffington Post on travel to our national parks, and common mistakes/misconceptions. Thought of you because of reading your wonderful book, "Where the Deer and the Antelope Play." https://apple.news/AogZImRZGSBaNIbrn8yzGsQ
Or, maybe call us subscribers? Sometimes keeping things simple is a virtue.
Having spent a few of my youthful summers as a real-life muleteer in the tobacco fields of eastern North Carolina, I am delighted to reclaim the mantle of one who toils at the ASS-end of nature’s most stubborn animal. Don (not Quixote) from Nashville.
Muleteer — love it!
- James from De Pere, WI
This makes my heart sing. I wrote my dissertation on muleteers, literally!
Bruce form St Louis, originally from Idaho and Montana. The sky really is big. Love the Mule part of Muleteer. Stan was the first mule I ever rode. Or more accurately Stan allowed me to ride. Still trying to figure out riding. As you have previously channeled Becksvoort, have you personally tried taking a belt sander to a chest of drawers? I am thinking about this and could use some wisdom.
Tif, stationed in Durango asks, ‘What’s a girl to do?’
Bray my way.
Hey Nick,
I didn't know you had a tattoo. Now you've lived a little more life, are you still happy with your tattoo, any regrets? Would you/ have you done more inking of the rig? All the best from Brisbane, Australia.
Hi Nick.
Pablo here, 27, from Spain (not sure that'll be useful data for you, but hey, it's Cervantes' country!)
My personal pain point with most people is the amount of certainty they display, no matter the topic - politics, sports, home-made beer. I lack that; I tend to think nuance gets you closer to truth. To quote an Spanish thinker, Antonio Escohotado: "truth is there where you have infinite twists and details - as opposed to definitive, straight boundaries".
So my question is... Where do people get that certainty from Nick? Do you know where I can order a gallon or two of it? Wouldn't we be better off with more doubt and less certainty?
Love what you and your wife add to this world.
Cheers from Spain!
Josh from Springfield, MO.
Deep down we all know we wanted to be called the Ass Faction.
Nick, in a few interviews I have heard that your favorite wood is American White Oak. Let's say you are making a tabletop. Would you still choose American White Oak? I am partial to Black Walnut especially when combined with Danish oil. The grain becomes iridescent and the light reflecting off the table can make it seem as if the grain itself is changing before your eyes. Boom. 360 degrees of Mother nature magic.
Eric Brown from Dayton Ohio. Muleteer is ok. Been called worse. Busy taking pictures of my tool collections for documentation. Do you collect anything special?
If there is a Muleteer decoder ring, I definitely want one. And I'm hopeful the first secret message will have nothing to do with Ovaltine. Now, if it encourages one to imbibe an excellent, peaty single malt--that's a mule of a different color. I'm writing from beautiful Lake Luzerne NY, home of the Adirondack Folk School where you, too, could build a cedar strip canoe. Of course, you (Nick) already did so twice--but yours have nail/staple holes that ours do not thanks to a truly ingenious strongback designed with double mold stations invented by the instructor.
I built one of each, sir, with staples, and without staples. I salute your pastoral spot, and were I to visit, I would hope to be schooled in building an Adirondack Guide Boat. Also without staples.
Absotively poselutely love our new name MULETEERS HIGH FIVE. Nick what beautiful throwback photos. As well .
I started growing my mullet before understanding the word. I have not regrets.
Hi Nick,
Do you know about Mule Day 2022 in Columbia, Tennessee? If not, be sure to Google it. This U of I grad won't steer you wrong.
From northern Illinois
Thanks so much for your encouraging reply! Your whit paired with Roy's would definitely make the event an all out kick ass spoonaliscous hoot. Perhaps you can put us on your tentative schedule Oct 21-23. I also want to know more about the Devil's Biscuts, and what makes you tick. So glad I was finally able to connect with you I tried through your publisher...
OK... just subscribed and this old lady is trying to make sure it is not a donkey thought that you make a cougar happy......
My family met you guys in Arizona at a campground. Scout and Carter still talk about Clover. I showed them the book and we were curious if you had completed the book before your road trip or if you were still writing then?
Hi Nick, love the blog. Have you any plans to take your show on the road? Specifically the UK? You could swing by that distillery in Scotland.... Carl, Surrey, UK
Nick,
Who is your all-time favorite baseball player (you can list more than one, if you'd like) and why? And what position did you play in little league growing up?
-Max B. (Chicago)
Hey Nick, I hope you’re doing well. My wife and I saw you and Megan at the State Theatre in Portland, ME during the Summer of 69 (No apostrophe) tour. We bought tickets for our anniversary and after the show I drank my first glass of Lagavulin at a local Irish pub. Prior to the show, we followed the advice of the tour name at a local Inn (wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more). I’m now sitting in my apartment roughly an hour and a half northeast of Christian Beckvoort’s workshop with my soon to be 5 month old son in my lap. I almost named him after you because the night before my wife told me she was pregnant I had a dream where you visited me in a cornfield. But, that’s neither here nor there. I’m curious if you have any of your classic Offerman-isms that you think I should instill in this young man. Any advice for a first time father? I have to go as my son just spit up while laying on his back.
Camden, Rockport, or Belfast?
Queen City. I did go to photography school in Rockport, though. Love the midcoast area.
Rockport is also home to the Center for Furniture Craftsman. It’s gallery is free and well worth a perusal by anyone interested in woodworking. And, it’s just down the road a bit from Lie Nielsen Toolworks.