Art & Inspiration Grandpa's Tools - A Short Story

Way back in my teens one of my best friends died in a car wreck. He had a small but good set of tools. A year or two after he passed I happened to ask his mom if she still had the tools, and if so could I purchase them. She gave them to me - I have that set to this day and whenever I use one of them I think about my good friend.

 

Wow, what a great story.

My Grandfather was a Texas oil man. He worked on the drilling rigs and roustabout crews in East Texas right after WW2. He spent his years at the same company although it changed hands many times from Tidewater Oil to Getty Oil to Texaco. He was this really cool softspoken man and could fix anything, He acquired most of his tools from the company as they replaced them some he just "found". I acquired most of his tools after his death as I was the only one that wanted them. I still have them and think of "Papa" every time I open my box. I hope it makes him smile.

 

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but someone in the internet world posted a letter from their dad written in 1992 to them as he was dying from Leukemia... and it was eerily similar to my story.

http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/kyodb/my_father_passed_away_from_leukemia_when_i_was/

The letter:
http://i.imgur.com/eCcSx.jpg

 

thank you , reading this as i,m starting my day , very touching ..........

 

GREAT story............ the best part is...... I am sure it's NOT fiction........
NICE to know!!!!

boz

 

Obviously an old post, but yeah.... Great story. Hits very close to home for me too.
almost every time I turn a wrench I look at my grandpa's engraved initials.

 

Obviously an old post, but yeah.... Great story. Hits very close to home for me too.
almost every time I turn a wrench I look at my grandpa's engraved initials.

 

A lot of people can't have the feelings you wrote about because they're too focused on themselves. In fact, I've been pretty busy lately. I think I'll write each of my daughters a letter. Thanks for the reminder.

 

Wow, I didin't catch this when first posted.
My dad got most all my grandfather's tools back in 79 when he died. Grandpa Frank was a farmer and a Navy man. After the war, he and my dad took a train back to the Packard plant and picked up a brand new 48. They drove it back to San Diego. Frank had that car until he passed. Dad had good hands too and showed me a lot, but did what his father taught him and got a desk job.
Dad passed along many of the tools to my brother and I, most to me since I turned wrenches for years. He finally passed this year after a long battle with Alzheimer's.
I miss them both and reflect on them often when working with my hands.

Thank you so much for the story and everyone's replies.

 

that was a good read tanks

 

Very nice read. It got me thinking of old times this morning. Thanks.
Tom

 

Very well written. Great Post. Thanks!

 

Wow! What a legacy to pass on. Your grandfather was the kind of man we all want to be.

 

Incerdible story. Thank you....

 

Where my Grandpa worked during WWII. He was a mechanic in a fabric shop that made uniforms for the troops. He wanted to enlist but the company needed him to keep the shop running. After the war he made supervisor of the shop. I still have his hand built toolbox from entering the trade during the depression. Made of wood ,painted grey and leather hand straps.

 

That story really hits close to home. My grandfather is getting up there in the years, just turned 90 on Sept. 16, I have told my mom and aunts that all i want is his tool box because i remember helping him as a kid and opening the tool box up and it was always like when Indaina Jones opened up the chest or bag and the glow came from inside. He always had cool old tools and as a kid i always thought "Why does he keep that old screwdriver with the broken handle? Why don't he just throw it away and get a new one?" I am pretty sure that the same screw driver is still in his box this 29-30 years later. Sometimes, in some peoples lives, it is never about the money that is left to you but more about the memories you shared with the person when they were here doing something that made a difference in your life.

Thank you for the heart wrenching story!

 

I got a box full of USA made machinist tools from eBay. Paid more for shipping than the tools. Listing was,"grandpa was a machinist. I don't know what these tools are. Just want to sell them." Sad but true. Many modified and a few weird custom made tools for who knows what one-off jobs. Old scraps of paper with notes on them, even though I don't know the man who wrote them, I keep them in the box with his tools. Now to read the story again. I read it years ago when first posted.