Something ominous is happening to men in America

[deemus]

Most young men just do not have the oppurtunities to improve their skills.
Example: Automobiles. Way back when we had to work on the old junker every day to keep it rolling. Nowadays autos are very dependable and/or too complicated for an average guy to work on.
Then there is that getting dirty thing. Nobody wants to do that. Changing a tire is cause for a panic attack.

Very true. Every year I bought a motorcycle, boat, 4-wheeler, something. We would work on it together so I could teach my son how to use tools, and basic mechanical knowledge. By age 10 he was the go-to bike mechanic in our neighborhood. He was pretty popular, and respected by every boy around there.

When my daughters showed up in HS, all the boys knew whose their big brother was, and they got zero problems. Some guys would not even go out with them because they didn't want to chance getting on his bad side.

It brings me alot of joy to see my son and daughters fishing, hunting and shooting.

 

[Moonpie]

Took my daughter and one of her friends fishing once.
They both were about 14.
Her friend had never even held a fishing rod!
14yrs old and never been fishing.
Always kept a couple of psh button spin caster rigs around for this.
This made Moonpie a sad panda.

 

[satx78247]

Most young men just do not have the oppurtunities to improve their skills.
Example: Automobiles. Way back when we had to work on the old junker every day to keep it rolling. Nowadays autos are very dependable and/or too complicated for an average guy to work on.
Then there is that getting dirty thing. Nobody wants to do that. Changing a tire is cause for a panic attack.

Moonpie,

SAD but TRUE.
(One reason that my DD is an "old school" MB 420SEL is that I can do the routine maintenance on it myself, with a handful of hand-tools & the Hayne's Manual. - Otoh, Darla's 2016 CR-V "goes to the dealer" for anything more complicated than the oil/filter changes, as I don't have a clue about its systems.)

yours, satx

 

[satx78247]

Dang!!! My wife and I both served So, what is the percent of women who served? I got out in 1970 (3 years before she did) and she married me before I had a job. How is that for blind faith? For her it’s been over 47 years of boredom and disappointment......LOL


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C-Halbert,

1st, our most sincere congrads on 47 years of marriage. = A GOOD THING, in our opinion.
(Fwiw, I met my Darla long after my late wife passed away & never expected to love again - I got LUCKY.)

To answer your question: As female members of the Armed Forces are less than 10% of the total Forces, I cannot (W/O data that I don't have) calculate how small the percentage of the total population is but it must be a zero with a decimal & 2-3 numbers to the right of the decimal, given that 1 percent of the US citizens have served.

 

[TheDan]

Nowadays autos are ... too complicated for an average guy to work on.

I never understood this... Balancing and tuning a bank of carbs and setting up a distributor with mechanical advance and points are far more complicated than playing with numbers in software. Troubleshooting cars has never been easier. Onboard diagnostics tell you whats wrong and then you just swap the part.

What is unfortunate is many new mechanics don't know what to do when the diagnostics fail or are wrong, but then again there were a lot of lousy "mechanics" before these tools existed, too.

my DD is an "old school" MB 420SEL

The vacuum system that controls all of the accessories on that thing is a great example of how things used to be more complicated

 

[satx78247]

The Dan,

Actually, I find the vacuum system on the "old school MB" to be a great deal easier to keep functioning than the much more elaborate systems on Darla's AWD Honda CR-V.
(Perhaps the reason that I feel that way is that I've driven/maintained the old S-Class sedans/coupes for nearly 3 decades. Also, I have a local independent mechanic who can fix the things that I don't know how to do OR don't want to do.)

yours, satx

 

[TheDan]

Perhaps the reason that I feel that way is that I've driven/maintained the old S-Class sedans/coupes for nearly 3 decades.

Yep, once you master something it's easy. There are quite a few mechanics and enthusiasts out there that have mastered it because they are good cars and worth maintaining.

It's still more complicated than a control unit with on board diagnostics and a few wires

 

[satx78247]

The Dan,

Aside from the fact that I believe that the old hand-built S-Class MB was the best car of the 20th Century, they tend to stay fixed once a system is properly repaired. = Anything made by man will eventually need repair if it is used enough.
(I know any number of people who have driven their S-Class for over 250-300,000 miles without any really expensive repairs.)

Fwiw, my DD is likely to outlast me, as it's a 2-owner car with about 99,000 actual miles. = It's in my will to my adult daughter, who will take care of it as I have.

Addenda: I'm a member of the MB club chapter here in south TX & we have any number of members who have one of the 300 diesels that has well over a HALF-MILLION miles on them with no more than replacing tires, batteries, oil/filters, hoses, etc.
(The old 4 & 5-cylinder diesels are as near "bullet-proof" as engines get.)
I know a member in New Braunfels who drives a maroon 1985 300CD that has over 700,000 miles on the original engine/transmission. - I asked him one night how many sets of tires that he's bought for his coupe & he responded, "I lost count about 10 years ago. I bought a lot of them."

yours, satx

 

[dsgrey]

Two girls and one boy and none of them were ever too interested in DIY projects or mechanically inclined. Oddly enough my son's girlfriend (now his wife) helped me work on her junker car years ago and understood the concepts. My wife's 4lb YorkiePoo has taken a great interest in helping me with projects and working on cars. I tell her the dog is the kid my children never were.