I like the idea about the 2" foam, or I could laminate a piece of Masonite with the 3/4" stuff I have and not have to buy any more foam.
The Forum doesn't count since "I'm not in the basement".
Grandsons are swamped with school activities, including after-school sports for both. We're watching them both nights next weekend so maybe I can get some more work out of them. There's lots of ground cover to be put down on the finished areas of the layout.
If anyone watches "Parenthood", there's a sub-story running right now that really strikes a nerve. One of the couples has an adopted adolescent boy who's having trouble reading. The school wanted to let him back for 4th grade, but the father is upset about that. The grandfather, meanwhile, (Craig T. Nelson) has purchased a 1966 Pontiac GTO fixer-upper. He cons the youngster into helping him out, but he has to read the repair manual in order to do it right and the kid's learning how to read. When I was teaching power technology in inner-city Philly in the late 60s, I kept a supply of Hot Rod magazines in the room. I didn't care what they read as long as they did it. I often said as an industrial arts teacher, that with some kinds of kids, if I had them all day, I'd teach them all their basic skills in the context of working with their hands and making things. I stand by that thought today. This is the way the guild system worked in the old days. You worked with the master and he not only taught you the craft, but he taught how to manage the business. Maybe we should have some of that again.
