Back at the Bench: A Carpenter Finds Therapy in His Craft
By: Robert Lowrey
Updated: January 31, 2013
(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) Pick any day of the week and there will be a sound of a saw slicing through wood in a Kansas City neighborhood.
Inside a garage, an artist is working on his next masterpiece.
"I make three of those and then I glue them together," said Curt McEnaney, going over his blueprint. "Then there's the cover."
It is a talent for wood work Curt McEnaney has been perfecting for years.
The man who built 77 homes in the Midland Empire is now focusing on another craft.
He is building wooden motorcycles for charities and by request.
"This one here is number five," said McEnaney, showing off his latest piece of work. "And I started on them last August and it takes me about a month per motorcycle."
For six months, the carpenter has been sawing and sanding pieces of wood that will hopefully be a heirloom for a family.
His motorcycles sit on a wooden foundation that works like a rocking horse.
He is combining his two loves: woodwork and motorcycles.
"Every single motorcycle, I take special pride to make sure there is something different about this particular one then the ones I did before," said McEnaney.
But unlike most carpenters, McEnaney's real trick of the trade is more than his vision of the wooden canvas in front of him.
It is what he has overcome that has left his vision off-center and the left side of this body completely numb.
"You don't have a clue and then your life changes," said McEnaney. "Everything about your life changes in the blink of an eye."
Two years ago, McEnanay suffered an hemorrhagic stroke on his brain stem.
It was one that doctors say he had a ten percent chance of surviving.
Building homes in his family-owned construction company suddenly took a turn for the worse during a down economy and housing market that crashed.
"And I was worrying about everything," said McEnaney. "And it took its toll. But I was like, 'No way. That is not me.' And the fighting part of me came out."
That fighter soon found his way back to his home in his workshop.
After facing an uncertain future of unemployment and disability, he took up his craft once more.
During which, he got some support from his family and his wife who stood by his side in the workshop and on the road.
"After I had my stroke, she said she wasn't going to ride again until I ride again," said McEnaney. "And I love her so very much for that."
It is a passion that is keeping his mind busy and body active.
One his doctor said is touching more lives than the homes he build ever did.
His first motorcycle raised more than $1500 for March of Dimes in a raffle.
His fourth motorcycle is currently being raffled off with the Ride for Ryan charity.
McEnaney is taking calls for orders to help him continue his craft. You can call him at 816-262-7894.
Inside a garage, an artist is working on his next masterpiece.
"I make three of those and then I glue them together," said Curt McEnaney, going over his blueprint. "Then there's the cover."
It is a talent for wood work Curt McEnaney has been perfecting for years.
The man who built 77 homes in the Midland Empire is now focusing on another craft.
He is building wooden motorcycles for charities and by request.
"This one here is number five," said McEnaney, showing off his latest piece of work. "And I started on them last August and it takes me about a month per motorcycle."
For six months, the carpenter has been sawing and sanding pieces of wood that will hopefully be a heirloom for a family.
His motorcycles sit on a wooden foundation that works like a rocking horse.
He is combining his two loves: woodwork and motorcycles.
"Every single motorcycle, I take special pride to make sure there is something different about this particular one then the ones I did before," said McEnaney.
But unlike most carpenters, McEnaney's real trick of the trade is more than his vision of the wooden canvas in front of him.
It is what he has overcome that has left his vision off-center and the left side of this body completely numb.
"You don't have a clue and then your life changes," said McEnaney. "Everything about your life changes in the blink of an eye."
Two years ago, McEnanay suffered an hemorrhagic stroke on his brain stem.
It was one that doctors say he had a ten percent chance of surviving.
Building homes in his family-owned construction company suddenly took a turn for the worse during a down economy and housing market that crashed.
"And I was worrying about everything," said McEnaney. "And it took its toll. But I was like, 'No way. That is not me.' And the fighting part of me came out."
That fighter soon found his way back to his home in his workshop.
After facing an uncertain future of unemployment and disability, he took up his craft once more.
During which, he got some support from his family and his wife who stood by his side in the workshop and on the road.
"After I had my stroke, she said she wasn't going to ride again until I ride again," said McEnaney. "And I love her so very much for that."
It is a passion that is keeping his mind busy and body active.
One his doctor said is touching more lives than the homes he build ever did.
His first motorcycle raised more than $1500 for March of Dimes in a raffle.
His fourth motorcycle is currently being raffled off with the Ride for Ryan charity.
McEnaney is taking calls for orders to help him continue his craft. You can call him at 816-262-7894.
