Here one day, gone the next GAW in memory of a short friendship

How very sad Sam, what a shame to lose your new pal so soon :( I'm sure though, you're very glad your encounter happened, and it clearly meant a lot to Henry. Not an entry my friend, just a thank you for enriching us all by passing on the wonderfully written tale of your encounter with Henry. I think he will be missed by anyone who read your post. My condolenses.

Jack
 
I too enjoyed your story Sam of the encounter with Henry - it was a great read - it really was, and I personally think the slightly older generation have much to say and we need to listen more.
I can really feel your sadness, the letter you told us about saddened me - it reminded me about a letter I read to my brother Andrew, he has sadly died since, I received a letter addressed to Andy, and when I was talking to him over the phone I told him I had a letter for him - he said " Oh read it out to me"...I did, it was a moment that got so quiet and sad very suddenly and very deeply - it was a letter from Andy's best friends sister ( Andy before this had moved from the same town as his friend ) how his friend had struggled with depression - ( which Andy helped him with greatly ) but had given in and committed suicide. Letters - when they bear sad news are extremely powerful - I still remember Andys silence on the other end of the phone - it was extremely painful to listen to - not being able to put my arms around him.

I wont enter your give-away as I wouldnt use that great knife as much as the way it deserved to be used, but I think its a great idea, and I hope the winner thanks Henry for this knife when they open it up now and then!
 
My condolences for your loss Sam...Be grateful that you met a man that left a positive impression on you,in such a short amount of time.....respectfully not an entry..

Fes
 
That is so sad. My sincere condolences, I am not entering for the giveaway. However it is good that you were able to bring sucha great deal of happiness into someone's life, especially considering the shortness of the friendship.
 
So sorry to hear of your loss. Finding like minded folks we like to be around seems to get harder all the time. And the older we get, that harder it seems to get harder still. Really sorry for your loss; I personally was thinking of an older friend I used to have that was always ready to talk "gear" when I read your posts.

Not an entry. Just wanted to let you know I'm sending some positive thoughts to you and yours.

Robert
 
Such sad news. I read your post about the encounter and was delighted to hear about the gifted tinker. I'm so sorry to hear what happened.

I'll share an anecdote about my Grandmother.

Stella is 94 years old. She is a wonderful woman who spent much of her life in China, where she worked as a red cross nurse. Whilst there she met my grandfather who was a Christian missionary also working there in the Hunan Province. My mother and her siblings were brought up in Hong Kong. Recently I went south to visit my parents and join in their Ruby wedding anniversary celebration. Whilst there I visited my Grandmother. Stella lives nearby in a care home because she now suffers from Alzheimer's and needs 24 hour attention. One of my family's old friends who knew Stella in China was visiting the UK and came to speak with her and greeted her in Cantonese. She happily chatted away to the Rev Prof Lo Lung Kwong in Cantonese for the rest of lunch. Isn't it extraordinary that she can't remember who anyone is but she can easily talk to someone in a language she hasn't spoken for twenty years.

Not an entry. I just wanted to share a little about the wonders of the human spirit.

Paul

 
Not an entry,
This is sad news, i'm sorry it went like that, i read the story and it was touching, and now to hear this it's so saddening.
My condolences.
 
Not an entry.
My condolences to you Sam. It seems this short friendship may have been one of the most important ones in both yours and Henry's lives. And I believe your story could make most of your friends on this forum's lives a little better as well, if we follow your and Henry's example.
 
Last edited:
Not an entry, I just wanted to offer my condolences, it's a biggest little community I've ever been a part of, the knife community is full of casual friends and rarely do we align with one person so well but when we do and we connect we develop friendships that last forever.

Take solace in the fact that you got to meet him at all and keep his spirit and love of knives alive with how you approach the community and people in it. Remember the welcome feeling you got from him and the free exchange of information, ideas and stories you had in one chance encounter.

Again I'm sorry to hear about your loss, thanks for the generous giveaway and good luck to all who enter.
 
So sorry for your loss Sam. You and Henry probably felt like lifelong friends even though you just met. The Tinker will have a great heartwarming story behind it and keep the memory of Henry alive.
 
Not an entry, but I would like to pass on my condolences as well.
Your story was a great read, and I was shocked by this.
 
Oh, how sad that he passed, but how wonderful that you were able to meet Henry and share such a wonderful experience together. You obviously left a great impression on the man, and I'm sure he was as thankful for your meeting as you are!

Not an entry for me, but I am going to order a new tinker in Henry's honor. You know what I'm going to do with that Tinker? I'm going to keep it in my briefcase that I always carry, and wait. I'm going to wait until I meet the right person, and pass it on to someone who will appreciate it. Just like Henry did.
 
Not an entry, but just wanted to say that this is a very fitting giveaway for your friend. What a great man, I'd have loved to have known him. One of his last acts on this earth was to gift something meaningful to a stranger he'd just met. He had to go out his way on his visit to go find a SAk for sale, and then go back and find you. This alone puts him way above the run of the mill person. But then, the traditional knife scene seems to attract above the norm people.

I feel like going and getting a tinker to carry for a while, to remember a man I never met, but who would go out of his way for a stranger. A very good lesson in something there!!!

If only half the people were of this caliber, it would be a far far better world.
 
Sam,

I am sorry to hear that. It is amazing how quickly we can find people who feel like long time friends when we least expect it...
I travelled from one country to another to pursue my education. While being in the east coast of Canada I have met my share of people who became family very quickly. It is amazing how a complete stranger can sometimes feel the need to help you out in your time of need. As a student on my own (my parents didn't have the financial stability to help me through the 10x more expensive tuition cost in Canada than back home), I worked and put myself through university. In many random jobs I met many people, one of them being a fine gentleman who worked with an insurance company. We quickly bonded over his love for a little tiny pocket knife he carried (similar to a GEC 15 in size). He later taught me about fishing, caring for a horse and how to eat lobster "properly" (he used only his hands to crack open every part of the lobster.. no tools just your hands and a cold brew to accompany the meal).

Now, living in a larger city.. I wish more people felt comfortable saying "hello" to a random stranger. I think the world would be a better place..
 
mudguard said:
I wish more people felt comfortable saying "hello" to a random stranger. I think the world would be a better place..
Click to expand...

Boy, ain't that the truth.

Thanks again for the heartwarming tale of meeting Henry, RaptureRaptor. Sorry it worked out this way.

Thanks too for the GAW chance. I'm in, as I know my boy would enjoy toting a Tinker.

-- Mark
 
Not an entry.

That's awful, but like Henry's wife said in the letter, at least you met.
 
Not an entry but you were both put in each other's path for a reason. My condolences to you. My buddy Joe was larger than life at 6'9" and 400lbs. He raised hell everywhere he went but always took care of those less fortunate. He would get a truck full of food every month for his Baltimore city neighborhood. He would take a truckload of food and toys to the Cherokee reservations, a whole trailer full, and hang out with Chief Turkey Soup. A great man that got bad dementia. I hadn't been to see him and was told by his sister that he said I visited him every day and we'd go riding around.

Be glad for the time you did spend with your friend.
 
I'm sorry for your loss. I remember reading your story earlier and just thought how good it made me feel. With all the negative stories out in the world, it was really cool that two strangers could share a moment and find something simple to enjoy.

I'd be honored to enter. I don't have a Tinker, but it's a great knife and a fitting tribute to your friend.

I don't know if this fits, but it makes me smile to think about: My grandmother grew up on a farm during the Great Depression. I always enjoyed hearing her stories about living back then. I may have never met some of the folk she spoke about, but I sure knew about them. Two charachters were her mules, George and Doc. They used these mules to plow the fields and pull a buggie.... many stories had the phrase "Whoa George, Whoa Doc." Which obviously meant for the mules to stop. When she got older, I guess she thought it'd be funny to start reffering to her feet as George and Doc. She'd slip on her shoes saying "Whoa George. Whoa Doc." I always smile when I think about it. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top