Take a deep breath: My grandson, 17 (son, grandson and great-grandson of lawyers — and one very handy boilermaker), is enrolling in a half-day carpentry “Career Academy” for his Senior year. He wants to work with his hands and isn’t doing well in most academic studies.

This is where my theorizing about the wisdom of skilled trades gets its acid-test.

My main blog is the Tipsy Teetotaler, http://intellectualoid.com.