SCFlyGuy
Gold Member
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2015
- Messages
- 427
Beautiful post!! I read it while lounging on the couch in the Lake House my grandfather bought in 1970. Every time I walk through the door I think of him. His handiwork - like a built-in spice rack in the cabinet above the stove - is everywhere. Unfortunately, there are also liquids in baby food jaws in the garage that I fear will make this an EPA Superfund Site if we ever open them!One evening, as Jim sifted through a box of old family memories, he found a black-and-white photo that immediately caught his attention. It was from a sunny spring day in the late 1950's, a warm afternoon on the lawn of his grandparent's home. Jim's grandparents sat happily, surrounded by a gaggle of their precious grandchildren. In the front of the picture, young Jim stood holding a ball, his smile relaxed and carefree.
Jim thought about the pocket knives he'd seen his grandfather use. Mostly they were old Case knives. To his grandfather, those edged instruments were tools, companions, and in some ways, a marker of the man himself. Whether Pop was peeling apples in the kitchen or carving walking sticks by the fire, his pocket knife was always there, a constant in a world that never seemed to stop changing. Pop never hurried when he worked. Whether it was fixing a fence, whittling a piece of wood, or cutting rope, he took his time. There was a calm certainty in every slice, a rhythm that spoke of a life well-lived and a deep connection to the world around him. Although his grandfather had passed away too soon, Pop left a legacy of patience, craftsmanship, and the quiet power of a well-used pocket knife. And Jim had always wanted a pocket knife just like one his grandfather might have carried.
The photo brought all those thoughts as an unexpected rush of memories came flooding back. Jim could almost hear his grandfather’s voice, steady and deep, telling him stories about the land, about life’s simple pleasures, and about the importance of having a good knife by your side. As Jim held the photo in his hands, he felt a quiet bond to his younger self, the boy in the photo, so full of life and unaware of how quickly time would slip by. It mattered not to Jim that his own pocket knife did not have the brown jigged bone covers of the ones his grandfather carried. What mattered was that it was a Case pocket knife in a pattern his beloved grandfather might have proudly used. Jim gently placed the photo next to his Case Medium Jack on the table, a symbol of family, of legacy, and of the memories that could never be forgotten.
Thanks for reminding us the value of legacy!!Toting this Case that will be part of the legacy I pass onto my kids and grandkids!
(See what I did there?)
