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- Mar 17, 2015
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Couple disclaimers; This’n will be lots of rambling but I have to set the stage for how this come to be. I told my better half and she wasn’t as enthusiastic as I am and that was a letdown so I’m posting it here because y’all will understand it better. I put this in traditional forum because all knives mentioned are traditional but it’s more story than knives. Kinda. I’m sorry if it’s boring. Oh, and the Bible is mentioned but in a very general way so I hope that’s allowed. Now on to the story!
Once upon a time (today) in a land far far away ( Eastern middle Tennessee) *goofy attempt at humor on my part*
I drive a milk truck. 18 wheeler size, pulling tankers. I go to dairy farms and pump their milk out of their tanks and into my tanker to take it to the milk plant. I deal with farmers and milk plant people a lot obviously. Some of the farms on my route are Mennonite. They all have several kids or grown kids plus grand younguns but this one farm has this one kid in particular. Don’t know his name I just call him Boy or Smiley because that’s what his family calls him cause he’s literally always smiling. Almost as if he physically can’t stop himself from smiling. Somehow he took up with me real quick. Every day I’m there he comes to the barn and we talk hunting or farming, guns, the Bible- which he teaches me a lot about. He asks me lots of stories about my life and my family, why I got divorced and why I ain’t still a cop, how I grew up, college etc. I make ‘em PG rated out of pure respect for his beliefs but he gets the undiluted truth about whatever he asks about. He’s a friendly type, probly 19 or 20. I seen he’s real smart. Just talking farming and machinery and stuff it’s noticeable right off. One day he saw me cut something and I showed him my knife, Case jumbo stockman. He studied it real close and carefully felt the edges and handed it back without much comment.
Couple weeks later I got stuck in the mud at their farm. Him and his brothers chained two tractors to my truck in the rain and pulled the Peterbilt free. So I dropped by the local pawn shop here at home and picked the boys up a handful of knives as thank you gifts. I reserved the best one for The Boy. He reminds me a lot of my youngest son but grown up more or less. Both blond headed, both have real thick glasses and happy go lucky personalities. The boys didn’t wanna take the knives but I told them they really helped me out and I wanted to say thank you and I figure knives will be handy on a dairy farm. Ol’ Smiley kept fiddling with his and carries it every day.
One day his sister had her school class come to the family farm to learn about dairy farming, I reckon she’s been a school teacher since she got out of school herself. Totally unrelated but his sister is one of THE most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. Blond red strawberry hair and the cutest freckles across her nose! I show the kids my part of the process and let them climb up in the tractor trailer and check it out, they loved blowing the air horns but I’m not sure the cows enjoyed it much!
Couple months later he tells me when school starts back in session he’s going to be a school teacher like his big sis and won’t be around much. I knew he seemed smarter than his brothers so I wasn’t real surprised. I told him how proud of him I am, cause I genuinely really am. We talked about why he didn’t want to farm but wished to teach school instead and I said son, every man has to make his own way in life - do what makes him happy and fulfilled. I told him I think he’ll be a good teacher because I really do. I’m gonna miss those conversations though I’m not gonna lie. I’ve learned a lot about the Bible from him. I’ve never been able to read it and understand it at all as bad as that sounds. Ye olde English throws me for a loop that and the font. That and dyslexia don’t mix well for me. The Boy told me after hearing my stories he’s asked me about, he prays for me every day. It was touching really.
So I got to thinking yesterday and I dug out a bone handled sodbuster to give to him. I’ve had it a while but never really took to it. Nothing wrong with it I just couldn’t take to it for some reason.
I already had it real sharp but last night before I left out for the run I stropped it to a mirror polished edge because I wanted it to look real nice and be real sharp for him. Earlier today I gave it to him. He didn’t want to accept it but I told him I enjoy giving knives as gifts and wanted him to have it and I reckoned it’d serve him well. He disappeared and brung me a Mason jar full of fresh honey from his bee hives and said he’d only take it if I took the honey. If I liked honey that is. I said “shoot yeah son! Honey and butter on fresh biscuits right out of the oven! One of my favorite meals! Thank you!!” About that time one of his older brothers walks in. He’s about 30 or so and Boy is still grinning like he won the lottery and playing with his new knife and big brother asks him in a scolding voice why he has a knife and saying he has no need for it. Brow beating him. I says well he’s going to be teaching school so I figure he’ll have a lot of pencils to sharpen and splinters to dig out of little hands so yeah he definitely could use it. Big brother backed off and all was good.
The Boy asked me how to sharpen it and said he didn’t know how to sharpen a knife other than a pull through sharpener with the two wheels. I explained the basics of sharpening and he understood and then I showed him the hunting knife I keep in the Peterbilt for rough stuff. He got to see a cleanly apexed coarse edge and feel the difference and had me explain the difference and the why’s and how to’s. Before I run again I’m going to my parents home and dig him out one of my old stones to give him and draw him some diagrams and tips to get him started. I showed him how to color the edge with a marker and tell if you’re hitting the angle right or not.
It feels so good to get to start somebody off with a couple knives and how to sharpen! He’s such a good boy and I’m very proud of him. Wise beyond his years and about half my age yet I’ve learned so much from him in the last year or so, whenever I became their hauler. Their society norms are a bit different and he asks me very direct questions about my divorce and things that happened on the job as a deputy that wouldn’t normally be answered by me but I choose to answer them for some reason which is very out of character for me. He told me today as I was leaving “Coty you’re a man of many character flaws. MANY. But I believe you’re a good man. I hope our talks about the Bible help lead you to find peace in your soul”. I was floored. In a good way though. I foresee him having a fulfilling career, I sure hope so anyway. With a bone handled sodbuster in his pocket!
Thought I’d add that the old Freightliner truck in my avatar was what I started pulling tanks with, I’m in a new peterbilt these days. Didn’t want the picture to be misleading
Once upon a time (today) in a land far far away ( Eastern middle Tennessee) *goofy attempt at humor on my part*
I drive a milk truck. 18 wheeler size, pulling tankers. I go to dairy farms and pump their milk out of their tanks and into my tanker to take it to the milk plant. I deal with farmers and milk plant people a lot obviously. Some of the farms on my route are Mennonite. They all have several kids or grown kids plus grand younguns but this one farm has this one kid in particular. Don’t know his name I just call him Boy or Smiley because that’s what his family calls him cause he’s literally always smiling. Almost as if he physically can’t stop himself from smiling. Somehow he took up with me real quick. Every day I’m there he comes to the barn and we talk hunting or farming, guns, the Bible- which he teaches me a lot about. He asks me lots of stories about my life and my family, why I got divorced and why I ain’t still a cop, how I grew up, college etc. I make ‘em PG rated out of pure respect for his beliefs but he gets the undiluted truth about whatever he asks about. He’s a friendly type, probly 19 or 20. I seen he’s real smart. Just talking farming and machinery and stuff it’s noticeable right off. One day he saw me cut something and I showed him my knife, Case jumbo stockman. He studied it real close and carefully felt the edges and handed it back without much comment.
Couple weeks later I got stuck in the mud at their farm. Him and his brothers chained two tractors to my truck in the rain and pulled the Peterbilt free. So I dropped by the local pawn shop here at home and picked the boys up a handful of knives as thank you gifts. I reserved the best one for The Boy. He reminds me a lot of my youngest son but grown up more or less. Both blond headed, both have real thick glasses and happy go lucky personalities. The boys didn’t wanna take the knives but I told them they really helped me out and I wanted to say thank you and I figure knives will be handy on a dairy farm. Ol’ Smiley kept fiddling with his and carries it every day.
One day his sister had her school class come to the family farm to learn about dairy farming, I reckon she’s been a school teacher since she got out of school herself. Totally unrelated but his sister is one of THE most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. Blond red strawberry hair and the cutest freckles across her nose! I show the kids my part of the process and let them climb up in the tractor trailer and check it out, they loved blowing the air horns but I’m not sure the cows enjoyed it much!
Couple months later he tells me when school starts back in session he’s going to be a school teacher like his big sis and won’t be around much. I knew he seemed smarter than his brothers so I wasn’t real surprised. I told him how proud of him I am, cause I genuinely really am. We talked about why he didn’t want to farm but wished to teach school instead and I said son, every man has to make his own way in life - do what makes him happy and fulfilled. I told him I think he’ll be a good teacher because I really do. I’m gonna miss those conversations though I’m not gonna lie. I’ve learned a lot about the Bible from him. I’ve never been able to read it and understand it at all as bad as that sounds. Ye olde English throws me for a loop that and the font. That and dyslexia don’t mix well for me. The Boy told me after hearing my stories he’s asked me about, he prays for me every day. It was touching really.
So I got to thinking yesterday and I dug out a bone handled sodbuster to give to him. I’ve had it a while but never really took to it. Nothing wrong with it I just couldn’t take to it for some reason.
I already had it real sharp but last night before I left out for the run I stropped it to a mirror polished edge because I wanted it to look real nice and be real sharp for him. Earlier today I gave it to him. He didn’t want to accept it but I told him I enjoy giving knives as gifts and wanted him to have it and I reckoned it’d serve him well. He disappeared and brung me a Mason jar full of fresh honey from his bee hives and said he’d only take it if I took the honey. If I liked honey that is. I said “shoot yeah son! Honey and butter on fresh biscuits right out of the oven! One of my favorite meals! Thank you!!” About that time one of his older brothers walks in. He’s about 30 or so and Boy is still grinning like he won the lottery and playing with his new knife and big brother asks him in a scolding voice why he has a knife and saying he has no need for it. Brow beating him. I says well he’s going to be teaching school so I figure he’ll have a lot of pencils to sharpen and splinters to dig out of little hands so yeah he definitely could use it. Big brother backed off and all was good.
The Boy asked me how to sharpen it and said he didn’t know how to sharpen a knife other than a pull through sharpener with the two wheels. I explained the basics of sharpening and he understood and then I showed him the hunting knife I keep in the Peterbilt for rough stuff. He got to see a cleanly apexed coarse edge and feel the difference and had me explain the difference and the why’s and how to’s. Before I run again I’m going to my parents home and dig him out one of my old stones to give him and draw him some diagrams and tips to get him started. I showed him how to color the edge with a marker and tell if you’re hitting the angle right or not.
It feels so good to get to start somebody off with a couple knives and how to sharpen! He’s such a good boy and I’m very proud of him. Wise beyond his years and about half my age yet I’ve learned so much from him in the last year or so, whenever I became their hauler. Their society norms are a bit different and he asks me very direct questions about my divorce and things that happened on the job as a deputy that wouldn’t normally be answered by me but I choose to answer them for some reason which is very out of character for me. He told me today as I was leaving “Coty you’re a man of many character flaws. MANY. But I believe you’re a good man. I hope our talks about the Bible help lead you to find peace in your soul”. I was floored. In a good way though. I foresee him having a fulfilling career, I sure hope so anyway. With a bone handled sodbuster in his pocket!
Thought I’d add that the old Freightliner truck in my avatar was what I started pulling tanks with, I’m in a new peterbilt these days. Didn’t want the picture to be misleading
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