I only
remember my Kentucky grandfather (1886-1964) from the few minutes I saw him when I was
nineteen and had just enlisted in the Navy.
He was tall
like me, and I suppose I have some of his traits.
Years later,
in my fifties, my wife and I moved from Alaska to Kentucky, where we lived for
a few years. In an antique shop in
Paducah, I found some of his belongings in a consignment display case. There were some letters he had written, some
photographs and his railroad watch. He
had worked for decades with the Illinois Central Railroad. I bought his watch and my cousin bought the
rest of his consignments.
The watch
never worked properly, and it has remained in one of my drawers for over twenty
years.
I posted
earlier about jobs that have been replaced by technology. There is a jewelry store in our town, that has
been here longer than anyone can remember.
The owner is near my age, and he inherited the store when his father
retired many decades ago. He is a
jeweler and a watch repairman. He
recently sold the store, but returns on Tuesday through Thursday to repair
watches. Soon watch repairmen will be
consigned to history, replaced by cheap, disposable electronic watches.
With that in
mind, I decided to have my grandfather’s pocket watch repaired.
Each morning
I wind the watch. All my jeans have
watch pockets, so now this is the only watch I carry. This watch is a touchstone to my time of life,
that will soon become history.
the Ol’Buzzard
That's a very fine watch -- the watchface is so clear and easy to read! I'm glad you're going to have it repaired so you can use it -- a real connection to your heritage and forebears.
ReplyDeleteI can't wear watches. My body magnetism is too high, or something.
ReplyDeleteAny watch I wear on my wrist runs extra fast. Even inside of a week it can be as much as 20 minutes fast. And this is any type of watch, analog or digital, wind-up or battery-powered. Doesn't matter.
If I carry a watch with me it has to be inside my pocket if it's to stay accurate.