Why Should I join the NAWCC?
(Or renew my membership?)
Legend has it that someone asked Willie Sutton why he robbed banks. His response was supposed to be, "BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE MONEY IS!
Similarily, the NAWCC is where the knowledge, experience and horological resources are. I don't know our average age, but I am sure there are a lot of seniors amongst us. Thats a lot of experience and knowledge that is going to pass into history in a relatively short period of time. I recall reading in a 40
+ year old bulletin where a younger member wrote, perhaps tongue in cheek, that the best way to collect watches and clocks was to make friends with old people. Well, I think that pretty well defines the membership of the NAWCC.
One of the drawbacks of associating with old folks is that a lot of them are in declining health and some times act like they are approaching senility or in their second childhood. A large percentage of them have politics to the right of Attila the Hun or to the left of Karl Marx and think the younger generation is a bunch of spoiled whippersnappers!
Because a large percentage of them are no longer physically in their prime and suffer from numerous ailments, they can tend to be cranky and bitter. Many are disappointed with how life has worked out for them and are not always pleasant to deal with.
Taking this a bit further, the ten percent or so who actively use the internet and have the time to do so are most likely to be retired with time on their hands and fit into some of the above categories.
We could wish for all of our elders to fit the image of the kindly grandfather or grandmother but it doesn't always work out that way.
So to you younger folks who wonder why you should join or renew, rather than ask you to respect your elders, think of it more like an inheritance! Not many people will tell the rich old gezzer to stuff his bucks and shut the @#$%#.
And if you keep your expectations low, you can never be disappointed! A lot of those old foggies are nice guys! Be sure to attend chapter meetings, the assistance, camraderie and opportunities that arise there more than compensate for annual dues and petty personality clashes!
In the end, its all about watches and clocks and not the personalities of their present caretakers!!
And yes, I can see more than a hint of a self portrait in this essay!
Happy hunting,
Bill Kapp
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