Member and Contributor; Michael Riegel
Pro Bowl football player Rosey Grier changed my life
forever — but not the way you might imagine. He didn’t influence me to beef up
to 285 pounds. He didn’t sway me to become a bodyguard like he did for RFK. He
didn’t even inspire me to play football.
So what did he do that impacted my personal life so deeply? He did needlepoint to pass the time, and as a young boy, I did, too.
This early exposure to a man’s man doing gentle things
led me down a path that, even had I known it, probably was taking me down the
“road less travelled” made famous by Robert Frost. It is only recently that I
have become to fully understand and embrace this concept of willingly breaking
the gender stereotypes. We are probably a very typical family from the out side
– - 2 kids, 2 working parents, a mortgage, 2 cars (1 minivan required), and lots
of noise at home. However, in many ways we are not the picture of the typical
household as Deborah does most of the business travel and I am often tasked with
helping out the kids on school projects that require a trip to Michael’s Craft
Store and time spent at my drafting table in the basement.
While I might not have understood my own interests at an early age, I suppose my mother did and encouraged some less than typical activities. Make no mistake, my childhood was filled with Little League games and soccer, and camping trips and Matchbox cars that have survived and are being attended to with similar care by my own son. But I was also lots of other activities in my house. All types of handicrafts including needlepoint, crocheting, knitting and sewing. My mother got it into her head that needlepoint would be a good activity for an 11-year old. At 11, I had no idea who Rosey Grier was except that he sang “It’s All Right to Cry” on the Free to be You and Me record for those of us who recall vinyl and record players. I had no idea if he actually did needlepoint but it was a great story and a way to introduce a non-traditional activity to a pretty traditional household. In fact, not only did he do needlepoint and macramé, way back in 1973 (who remembers the polyester shirts and striped pants?) he wrote a book called “Needlepoint for Men” which put him way out on the edge of traditional male hobbies. Truth be told, I did not keep up with needlepoint but it did encourage me to be crafty and that has continued throughout the many years.
So what did he do that impacted my personal life so deeply? He did needlepoint to pass the time, and as a young boy, I did, too.
This early exposure to a man’s man doing gentle things
led me down a path that, even had I known it, probably was taking me down the
“road less travelled” made famous by Robert Frost. It is only recently that I
have become to fully understand and embrace this concept of willingly breaking
the gender stereotypes. We are probably a very typical family from the out side
– - 2 kids, 2 working parents, a mortgage, 2 cars (1 minivan required), and lots
of noise at home. However, in many ways we are not the picture of the typical
household as Deborah does most of the business travel and I am often tasked with
helping out the kids on school projects that require a trip to Michael’s Craft
Store and time spent at my drafting table in the basement. While I might not have understood my own interests at an early age, I suppose my mother did and encouraged some less than typical activities. Make no mistake, my childhood was filled with Little League games and soccer, and camping trips and Matchbox cars that have survived and are being attended to with similar care by my own son. But I was also lots of other activities in my house. All types of handicrafts including needlepoint, crocheting, knitting and sewing. My mother got it into her head that needlepoint would be a good activity for an 11-year old. At 11, I had no idea who Rosey Grier was except that he sang “It’s All Right to Cry” on the Free to be You and Me record for those of us who recall vinyl and record players. I had no idea if he actually did needlepoint but it was a great story and a way to introduce a non-traditional activity to a pretty traditional household. In fact, not only did he do needlepoint and macramé, way back in 1973 (who remembers the polyester shirts and striped pants?) he wrote a book called “Needlepoint for Men” which put him way out on the edge of traditional male hobbies. Truth be told, I did not keep up with needlepoint but it did encourage me to be crafty and that has continued throughout the many years.
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