Saturday, January 24, 2015

Dad's Hammer

This is a little story I wrote a few years back about my Dad. Just ran across it and decided to post it here. 

Dad's Hammer...

At one point in his colorful life, my father worked for the Nickel Plate Railroad. He was a tender, one of the guys who would prepare the trains in the mornings and throughout the day as trains came in & out.

I don't know exactly how he ended up leaving that job, but before he left he "acquired" a 2lb sledge hammer that had great sentimental value to him. Growing up as a boy who was always into his tool & such, I ran across that hammer a few times, I remember one time I was using it to break up the sidewalk at my neighbors house.....got in trouble for that....but got in more trouble for using Dad's Nickel Plate Railroad hammer. I knew I was not supposed to touch that hammer.

Many years passed & I had grown into a man. Dad had been diagnosed with Leukemia & he knew he was in the final chapter of his life.

He asked me to come over to his house one day unexpectedly one Saturday. Like all busy family men I had other things to do but I also knew that my time with him was running short.

When I arrived he was sitting in his chair with a box on his lap. He told me that he had some things he wanted me to have.

Inside that box was a silver pocket watch and a World War One army issue shaving kit that belonged to my Grandfather. Also in that box was Dad's hammer. You can still after almost 100 years make out the Nickel Plate Railroad logo stamped in the side.

It needs a new handle but I don't think I'll replace it. I don't use that hammer anyway.

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