- Joined
- Jun 17, 2006
- Messages
- 4,090
My Father passed away this week at the age of 79. He was a veteran of the Korean War and had lost his left leg (as well as sustaining a number of other serious wounds) in the war.
In spite of that fact he managed to graduate from college, marry, and have a family. He was extremely self-sufficient in spite of his handicaps: he raised a garden and did a whole lot of other physical labor that most two-legged men are too lazy to do today. Shortly after I was born he dug a hole for a 1000 gallon septic tank with nothing but a shovel, the laid a tank from concrete blocks by himself!
Time had taken a toll and when arthritis set in in his remaining knee he gradually became unable to care for himself. He had lived alone since my mother passed away in 1986 and with no one to help him he decided (against my wishes) to move into the state Veteran's home two years ago. As it turned out, he made the correct decision because he really needed the kind of care they could provide. Like the true unselfish gentleman he was, he hid how far he had declined from my brother and I as long as he could so we wouldn't worry about him being at home alone.
He was honest, honorable, and above all a true gentleman. It was only in the last few weeks before he died that his sense of optimism and 'can-do' attitude began to diminish at all. Everything I know about what it means to be a man I learned from him. I will miss him terribly for the rest of my life.
Before he moved out of his home he emptied the stuff in his pockets he wouldn't be taking with him onto the kitchen counter. One of the things he left behind was this knife. It had previously been carried by my Grandfather and Dad picked it up and put it in his pocket when Grandpa died in 1977, I think it was the only knife he carried from that point on. The jigged bone is worn almost smooth in places and it shows the signs of two lifetimes of honest use.
The workers at Case Knives should feel honored that such an exceptional man chose this knife to be his constant companion for over 30 years. Of all the knives I have ever owned, or ever will, this plain Case has just become the most cherished.
In spite of that fact he managed to graduate from college, marry, and have a family. He was extremely self-sufficient in spite of his handicaps: he raised a garden and did a whole lot of other physical labor that most two-legged men are too lazy to do today. Shortly after I was born he dug a hole for a 1000 gallon septic tank with nothing but a shovel, the laid a tank from concrete blocks by himself!
Time had taken a toll and when arthritis set in in his remaining knee he gradually became unable to care for himself. He had lived alone since my mother passed away in 1986 and with no one to help him he decided (against my wishes) to move into the state Veteran's home two years ago. As it turned out, he made the correct decision because he really needed the kind of care they could provide. Like the true unselfish gentleman he was, he hid how far he had declined from my brother and I as long as he could so we wouldn't worry about him being at home alone.
He was honest, honorable, and above all a true gentleman. It was only in the last few weeks before he died that his sense of optimism and 'can-do' attitude began to diminish at all. Everything I know about what it means to be a man I learned from him. I will miss him terribly for the rest of my life.
Before he moved out of his home he emptied the stuff in his pockets he wouldn't be taking with him onto the kitchen counter. One of the things he left behind was this knife. It had previously been carried by my Grandfather and Dad picked it up and put it in his pocket when Grandpa died in 1977, I think it was the only knife he carried from that point on. The jigged bone is worn almost smooth in places and it shows the signs of two lifetimes of honest use.
The workers at Case Knives should feel honored that such an exceptional man chose this knife to be his constant companion for over 30 years. Of all the knives I have ever owned, or ever will, this plain Case has just become the most cherished.
