By Ronald L. Speer

Well, it’s that time again. Time to remind everyone I know that the most satisfying education we can get is to learn to do something with our hands. I’ve been preaching the Gospel According to Ron for decades, and each year the number of graduates of “Hands on 101” seems to be growing.

There’s an almost endless number of opportunities to take advantage of our fingers and thumbs and satisfy our souls. Cooking is high on the list this spring, partly because fishermen caught more striped bass last winter than anyone could imagine. Fishing is one of the most popular hands-on courses because it offers a numerous variety of chances to work your hands-on magic, from tying your own flies to navigating to the fishing grounds to skillfully landing a lunker (cq) to cooking up a gourmet repast fit for a queen.

Many of my personal hands-on offerings involve food. Let’s start with ice cream. You name a flavor and I’ll make it. Watermelon is probably my most interesting offering, but chocolate is the most popular. Smoked fish is another hands-on production that turns me on, although I leave the landing to angler Henry Griffin of Roanoke Island and others who proudly wear the title of “catcher” while tagging the rest of us as “fishers.”

Wood-working is another favorite, and its advocates range from high-salaried commercial carpenters to amateurs who can cut a straight line through a knotty board. My hero in the hands-on world was my late brother-in-law, Bob. Grandma has always kept the cookie jar filled, and her sweet rolls are the best in the county. Uncle Homer taught us all how to throw a running loop from atop a tall horse.

Call it “higher education” and put your fingers and thumbs to work.

Ronald L. Speer is a former North Carolina editor of the Virginian-Pilot.