The old guys with a pen knife.

[JTB_5]

Nice story! Central Texas is beautiful and Texans love their knives and guns and outdoors, as they should!

 

[johnboy1984]

Searching out and reading all of Carl’s numerous stories here in the Traditional forum would be a very wise and enjoyable use of time. I often go back and re read his stories several times a year.
It’s like sitting on the front porch of a cabin listening to stories from an uncle.

John

I do the same thing they are very informative and entertaining

 

[Ernie1980]

Love the story! I live in a small Texas town too, and it is so very different from life in the large suburban areas or cities. Retirement is still years away for me, but I am looking forward to sitting in the bakery

 

[JTB_5]

Why I don’t understand is why you guys aren’t eating kolaches at the bakery.

 

[jackknife]

Why I don’t understand is why you guys aren’t eating kolaches at the bakery.

Shipley Doughnuts is walking distance from the house, and they have great kolaches.

 

[JTB_5]

Shipley Doughnuts is walking distance from the house, and they have great kolaches.

I’m jealous. I haven’t had Shipley since 2010.

 

[btb01]

Shipley Doughnuts is walking distance from the house, and they have great kolaches.

I’m jealous. I haven’t had Shipley since 2010.

My dad used to take my brother and I to Shipley Donuts in Little Rock, AR every Saturday morning when we were kids. We would eat our donuts down by the Arkansas River, then go around looking at garage sales. (I think it was my dad's way of giving my mom a morning off every week.)

 

[Roscotanna]

Nice bit of writing, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! Its nice to hear about how things are in rural US, most of what we see of the states over here (in the UK) are the massive flashy cities or old westerns.

 

[ohen cepel]

Great read!

Stuck in the dc area myself now and dreaming of escaping back to America someday.

I've seen my Father and his generation do a lot with a pen knife, he has done many a deer with one. Sure, he prefers something a bit larger but can make it happen with a pocket knife.

 

[jwb01]

If your in Georgetown it is definitely worth the occasional drive to Round Rock to Lonestar bakery and have some of their round rocks, best dadgum donuts anywhere. There kolaches are amazing as well.

 

[sunnyd]

Maybe it's just me, but I think it's pretty awesome you guys consider the little scissors that Steve from California uses as cheating, haha. It's smart, but it's cheating. Haha. Great read!

Well perhaps he was cheating and then again perhaps he was just opting for those more citified civilized 'utilitarian' scissors.. Not something one does in a country coffee shop in Georgetown, Texas U.S.A. One has to consider southern tradition..

 

[jackknife]

Great read!

Stuck in the dc area myself now and dreaming of escaping back to America someday.

I've seen my Father and his generation do a lot with a pen knife, he has done many a deer with one. Sure, he prefers something a bit larger but can make it happen with a pocket knife.

I grew up watching my dad with his little Case peanut aka on all kinds of cutting jobs. Never failed to get it done with a little forethought and careful cutting. I had a co-worker named Andy who was an older man. He invited me down to his home turf where he grew up down in southwest Virginia by Mt. Rogers for hunting. Opening day of deer season I had my tricked out Remington 870 with a Hastings barrel and Leupold scope with cantilever mount. On my hip was a Randall sheath knife.

Andy had an old single barrel Harrington Richardson break open shot gun, a few slug rounds in his pockets and his regular pocket knife, a Buck 303 cadet. Just after daybreak, Andy got his deer with that one single round of 12 gauge slug. I watched him dress it out with his little Buck stockman like a surgeon.

I learned a lot that day, mostly about what I didn't need.

Old guys know.

 

[johnboy1984]

I grew up watching my dad with his little Case peanut aka on all kinds of cutting jobs. Never failed to get it done with a little forethought and careful cutting. I had a co-worker named Andy who was an older man. He invited me down to his home turf where he grew up down in southwest Virginia by Mt. Rogers for hunting. Opening day of deer season I had my tricked out Remington 870 with a Hastings barrel and Leupold scope with cantilever mount. On my hip was a Randall sheath knife.

Andy had an old single barrel Harrington Richardson break open shot gun, a few slug rounds in his pockets and his regular pocket knife, a Buck 303 cadet. Just after daybreak, Andy got his deer with that one single round of 12 gauge slug. I watched him dress it out with his little Buck stockman like a surgeon.

I learned a lot that day, mostly about what I didn't need.

Old guys know.[/QUOTyour right jack knife I am 34 learning this I thought older men in my life was crazy carrying a small knife. I bought a 3 and a half long congress and carried it turkey hunting it did all I needed cleared branches out of the way cut my linch and was light was able to carry few calls and decoys and used my single barrel 20 gauge shotgun. I was able to be prepared and not feel like I was carrying a whole lot of gear for an army. U really only need a couple inches of steel I used tp carry a single blade modern folder got tired of it being heavy I like having a knife with more blade options for different tasks so I am more prepared

 

[Bartleby]

Old guys know.

Amen, Amen. I always carry a two blade pen knife, or a Christy knife (also in part based on Jackknife's observations). Even if I am carrying something more substantial, the little knife gets used much more often.

 

[22-rimfire]

...Andy had an old single barrel Harrington Richardson break open shot gun, a few slug rounds in his pockets and his regular pocket knife, a Buck 303 cadet. Just after daybreak, Andy got his deer with that one single round of 12 gauge slug. I watched him dress it out with his little Buck stockman like a surgeon.

I learned a lot that day, mostly about what I didn't need.

This be true (knives and guns). Figured you were going to say he was using a Winchester Model 94. Many don't want to use a slippie for field dressing a deer. I used one for years for that and don't have the slightest hesitation of doing so again. But now I will usually have a Dozier fixed blade on my belt and a slippie in my pocket as a backup.

 

[5K Qs]

Okay, I'm officially an old fart. I know that. I remember Ike as President, cars with tail fins, duck tail haircuts and James Dean when he was still alive. I remember seeing "East Of Eden" in a movie theater. Jeez that guy was a good actor before the clown in the DeSoto pulled in front of him.

Hate to say this, but I'm apparently an old fart, too! Thanks a lot, Carl. I can check off all of your boxes except seeing "East of Eden" in a theater; I'd have only been about 4 when it came out, and my church frowned on movies, cards, and dancing. (The old Dutch immigrants didn't seem to have any problem with smoking and drinking, at least in moderation. Well, as a 4-year-old, I wasn't allowed those "pleasures". )

But being an old fart has it's good side. Being retired has been great, with no alarm clock going off while it's still dark out. No rushed commute to a job that had gone stale and all my days are mine. It got even better when Karen retired and we had lots of time for ourselves to be ourselves. Long road trips around the country and to see family in California. Rafting trips to the Rogue River in Oregon and trout fishing in the Sierra Nevada's. Fishing and partying in Key West without having to worry about being back for work. After our move to Texas, lots of sight seeing in our new environment, the small/medium size town of Georgetown Texas.

I'm set to "officially" retire at the end of August, and I'm a little bit apprehensive about some aspects of how that will change my life. But you're making it sound pretty good, sir!

Retired life in Georgetown, and maybe life in general in Georgetown, is like stepping back in time. Especially coming from the hectic pace of life in the Washington D.C. area. It has a real town square and the flavor of life general seems more southern than western. The old courthouse has tours, theres a real old fashioned barber shop on the square, various little business's in historic old stone and brick buildings that date back to the 1870's and 80''s. Among them is a great little coffee shop that we discovered when we moved here. And I love my coffee.
...
This shop has some the best cinnamon buns I've ever had. But...they're wrapped up better than King Tut's mummy! I have a sneaking suspicion that the shop owner has stock in Saran Wrap, so uses about 20 times more than he has to. Or, he's fanatical about maintaining the freshness of his on premises baked cinnamon buns. On top of that, the package is taped shut. This of course makes them almost inaccessible to senior citizen fingers. With a cup of nice coffee steaming away on the table, one has to resort to cold steel to liberate the cinnamon bun.
...
Steve from California cheats and uses the little scissors on his Victorinox classic. He neatly snips his way around the bun midway around the middle and neatly lifts off the top half of the Saran Wrap to the good natured jeers of the old timer crowd. Morris will stage whisper, "He's from California!"
...
It's reassuring to know that even in Texas, where hand tooled belt sheaths and pocket clips are normal, the old guys with the little 'pen knife' in the coin pocket still go about their life, cutting what needs to be cut.

I enjoyed reading about the cinnamon bun crowd, Carl; thanks for another good tale! I wish you'd be a little more welcoming to California Steve; I probably use my Minichamp scissors more frequently than any of the knife blades I carry!

I wouldn't mind finding myself a "hangout" like your coffee shop for my "golden years". The Hall Street Bakery is right out my back door and their Island Cookies are incredible, they have wi-fi, they have fancy coffees and beers, and breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus. But I fear if I started hanging out there regularly, I'd be a blimp and broke before I knew what hit me!

Oh, there are plenty of towns like that. My town has a population of about 1600 - heck the whole county (roughly 75 miles wide by 50 miles high) only has about 9200 people in it. This is mostly ranch and farm country here in CA. ...

Here are some cattle being driven down the road in front of our house by cowboys taking the cattle up to the "Devil's Garden" on the Modoc National Forest. Note the Cowboy on his horse at the top of the hill and a couple more lower down in the picture next to a power pole.

...

That's a great photo, @Modoc ED , and the first thing that I thought when I saw it was, "That looks like the Ponderosa on Bonanza! I'll bet that's Hoss and Little Joe on the horses."

That was an enjoyable read, Carl. Thanks for sharing!

We spent a little time in Georgetown last summer (we were there for my cousin's wedding, which was at a venue just a little outside Georgetown). I've been fortunate enough to visit a lot of small towns in Texas (I grew up in Arkansas, and we had a lot of family and family friends throughout Texas); I've always enjoyed the town squares and courthouses in small-town Texas, and Georgetown did not disappoint!

I wonder if it's not just Texas, but small-town America in general. That courthouse looks like dozens I've seen while I'm driving around the Midwest, especially IN (James Dean's home state ).

Shipley Doughnuts is walking distance from the house, and they have great kolaches.

Plenty of diversity in America, too, though! I had to look up kolach, and I'm quite sure I've never had one or even seen them around here. (I just checked the online menu at Marge's Donut Den and see no mention of kolaches - I know they do paczkis in huge volume on Fat Tuesday.)

...
I learned a lot that day, mostly about what I didn't need.

Old guys know.

I'm an old guy, and I'm not so sure I know. What I DO know now that I'm a geezer is that I don't know nearly as much as I thought I did when I was younger! I could probably paraphrase Carl's sentence: "I learned a lot ..., mostly about what I didn't know."

Splendid thread, Carl, and wishing you and your bride the best possible news tomorrow!

- GT

 

[Wowbagger]

Glad there is still some sanity and grace in the world.
Sounds like the place I moved to for my dream job in the early '80's.
Perfect. That's were I bought my 110 from the little hardware store (Shock's Hardware).
That's all gone now, well it's still there but it's turned into a . . . a . . . I don't even have a word for it. My work eventually moved away and I have been chasing all that ever since.

One thing a pen knife will do that all the pocket clipped, Spydie holed (I love Spyderco though) Colossus bladed, car door ripping . . .

where was I ? . . .

Oh yeah . . . what a pen knife can do that all that other noise can't is cut a curve. Or cut a small circle. This last winter I gained a new appreciation for that fact. I always carry a little slippy with a short skinny blade so now I know why.

I love cinnamon rolls as well. The bakery here that was nearly next door to where I worked back then and made very consistent rolls . . . now ? . . . they have more than one shift and one of the shifts don't know how to bake cinnamon rolls. We've complained and returned rolls for years (we buy several and haul them home to eat them) . . . their response ? Well they have raised the price twice in the last year or so but the iffy quality is something they chose to keep.

Hahaha . . . being the "different" sort I would have to busssout this to cut my cinnamon roll wrapper. (I hope one day I get a chance to pass through and do that)
Third knife from the top.

 

[Old Hunter]

Old guys and penknives seem to go well together just about anywhere I have been. While I lean to a 3-1/2" pocketknife, it seems the SAK Classics are much loved as well as Peanut sized knives. I like the way your stories take the mundane and make it interesting! OH

 

[J Buck]

That's a good story! Having just turned the corner at 55 years now, and retirement maybe in sight in another 15 or so, I've come to the realization that the Buck 309 fits in my jeans watch pocket more often than probably any other pocket knife in my shoebox. I have an office /warehouse/sales manager job for the greenhouse foliage business and when home I fish a lot. We downsized 2 years ago (still trying to wrap my head around that). I have more pocket knives than any one person probably should have. My little town of Tavares Florida has a courthouse, county jail and seaplane port. Kind of an interesting place that is developing quickly without losing the small town feel. I think I'm gonna like here. Keep the stories coming man, It's helping me ease into middle age.

 

[Woodrow F Call]

I have to admit, I'd rather have a Kolache with a little sausage, jalapeno, and cheese in it over a cinnamon roll. I can't argue about a pen knife though. I like the little knives.