Re: Father's Work
- From: Bryce <bryceremove@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 08:30:17 -0700
On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 02:40:16 GMT, BottleBob <bottlbob@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
To All:
I was just curious how prevalent a parent's (mainly a father's),
mechanical abilities transfer to those in here that are machinists, shop
owners, engineers, whatever.
So my question is; Was your father mechanically inclined, and what did
he primarily do for a living?
Comments:
My paternal family background includes lots of mechanical ability, as
well as electrical engineering. My dad has been an auto mechanic most
of his life, and he is one of the more capable diagnosis technicians -
especially when it comes to automotive electronics. His first self
owned business was called "Steve's Auto Electric", where he did all
sorts of mechanical repair, but also had walls completely full of
rebuilt alternators, electronic components, etc. - all rebuilt by him
personally. He has owned a few other repair shops in his day, as well
as a small Mom & Pop car lot where he bought cars at auction that
needed mechanical work done, and he fixed what was needed, making a
full page detailed inspection report on every car that he ever sold.
After working on cars became too physically taxing, he thought it
would be a good idea to start buying fixer-upper houses and
remodeling. Doesn't seem easier work to me, but he did well until the
market slumped here. Between him and my mom, they did almost all of
the work themselves, and each house that they worked on was a complete
transformation.
My dad's father was an electrical engineer, though he always had a
heart for machining particularly, as well as all things mechanical. I
still have some of his instructional booklets on "How to run a lathe".
He died in an accident riding a Honda Goldwing in about '74, before I
was born. Motorcycles are also a hobby shared by my whole family.
His mother (my great-grandmother) rode the Pony Express with two
matched pearl handled six shooters, and her husband had been a master
craftsman of some sort, though I don't remember what exactly.
My mom has always been a business owners wife, and a mother of two.
She works harder and better than most construction workers whenever
there is a roofing project, a barn to build, siding to be hung, etc.
Not nearly as technical as my dad, but when he shows her how to do
something, she keeps going until it is finished, long after he's
inside drinking a cold beer. She also was a substitute teacher.
My sister (who is two years older than me) is a farrier, making many
custom shoes for horses that are lame, or have disabilities. She
lives on Maui, and is one of the only farriers there, so she keeps
very busy.
My mom's dad was a sailboat builder and racer. He went to the Korean
War and didn't come back right. He turned to drinking, and eventually
killed himself when my mom was eleven years old. Her two brothers
became craftsmen, one of them (who I resemble most) worked as a
sailboat builder also, building extremely expensive cabinets for high
end yachts. Her other brother has made and sold artistic pottery his
whole life. My mom's mother was a journalist and gourmet chef,
writing the fashion column for "The Oregonian", Portland's premier
newspaper.
I never much wanted to be a mechanic, I excelled in math (from my
mom's side) and liked the tangible application of it. Drafting and
shop class were favorites from an early age.
--
Bryce
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- From: BottleBob
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