I have a ton of regrets about the knowledge that I basically actively avoided as a kid. My father grew up on a farm so naturally, he knew how to repair almost anything. He attempted to pass this knowledge on to me and my siblings but all but one of us basically treated his attempts and passing the torch as an annoyance rather than the loving care that it was. I now know how to repair almost nothing and it was right there for me to take if I has simply been willing to listen. The same goes for my mother and cooking. She really wanted to help us to learn but same thing, we all just kind of ignored her. Now I can barely cook an egg and I feel terrible about that.
I agree with you about trade skills. I went to college twice and have 2 degrees and I wouldn't say that I am a master of anything including what it says on my degrees.
That's a shame. Is it too late for you to learn from him now?
Probably not but he lives really far away from me. I live in Vietnam and he lives in North America. Can't just pop by for some knowledge.