Volumes.

Volumes.

Share this post

Volumes.
Volumes.
Hard Days, Good Days
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Features

Hard Days, Good Days

Something different for Volumes.

Matthew Morgan's avatar
Matthew Morgan
Feb 01, 2025
∙ Paid
4

Share this post

Volumes.
Volumes.
Hard Days, Good Days
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
6
Share

Almost a decade ago, when I first created Volumes, I worked a day job for one winter to summer as a handyman for a care home. The work was hard, both in the sense of being physically demanding and that it was often difficult for me to wrap my head around. I might be able to distill ideas to first principles, but seeing the world in terms of mechanisms and measurements is like being one of Edwin Abbot’s two-dimensional creatures attempting to see the world in three dimensions.

I had, however, a guide to this unfamiliar terrain: a man in his seventies named Mike, who could navigate the world of physical breakages and tangible solutions — he could look at wall or listen to a pipe and know exactly what was wrong and about twelve ways he might fix it — and who obviously saw me as no less alien. Somehow, he and I found ways to communicate, to work together, and to become friends.

I wrote many notes while I worked that job, and over the years they’ve been rewritten and collated into various ve…

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Volumes. to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Matthew Morgan
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More