Those of you who are fortunate enough to have a mentor, be it a father, grandfather, uncle, whatever, do not take them for granted. My father has worked with his hands his whole life, a self taught welder and machinist with skills that rival anyone I have ever met. He will turn 74 this July and up until last Saturday was healthy as an ox. He had a mild stroke (thank God for the mild bit!) and was just released from hospital yesterday. Physically he is still strong but his language center was damaged, a condition known as aphasia. He is recovering at home now and with the help of speech therapy he is recovering his words but it will take time. We have all struggled to find the right word or remember a name that is just on the tip of the tongue, and know how frustrating those little fumbles can be. Imagine having that feeling several times in one sentence, or not being able to come up with your wife's name. My folks have been married 50 years this month and my dad knows my mom and remembers the most minute details about their life but he cannot pull her name out of the damaged area of his brain. Even after being told, and repeating it over and over if you ask him he cannot come up with it. I followed in his footsteps as a welder for 20 years, then in the last 15 or so as a machinist. He has always been a wealth of information and I learned nearly everything I know about everything from being a father to changing a flat tire to running a lathe from him. Even though he still has all that knowledge his ability to share it might have been lost now, and I feel so lucky to have asked the questions I had the chance to ask. 90% of the tools and materials in my own shop came from him when he finally retired about 5 years ago. I don't know how many more years I will have my dad but I will treasure every minute.
Ask, watch, and learn while you can. You never know how long you have.
