Dovetail demo

I'm in Massachusetts right now, and due to a fortuitous twist of fate (the downtown library, where I'd planned to do some writing, required proof of Massachusetts residency to use the internet, so I left and went to Walter's studio to get his truck keys), I got to see Walter do a demonstration of how to make dovetails.

He was standing in his work space, surrounded by about ten undergraduates, and although a dovetail demo could easily become pretty boring, he had those students' full attention--and mine, too. He was great! He seemed completely at ease, effortlessly masterful. You know how sometimes you'll see a presentation and you'll be nervous for the presenter, feeling like they're holding it together, but just barely? (Random side note: Jay Crockett lives for this kind of anxiety in the theater--he holds his breath, waiting to see if something will go wrong so that the actors will have to improvise.) I didn't feel even a hint of that codependent anxiety because Walter was so clearly in his element, telling stories, making jokes, and offering really clear instructions. The handout he gave the students said, "Relaxed, calm, and happy" at the top, and that's how he seemed, like he was meant to teach students how to make dovetails.