My grandson Landon and I spend a fair amount of time together working in my shop. At least I'm working while he plays with his toys. Landon is always excited to see a new pile of sawdust by the joiner because he enjoys loading it onto his dump truck and hauling it around the shop floor. He makes elaborate roads on the floor with wood shavings by pulling a board behind his tractor. As he is playing, he is frequently covered in shavings and, when it is time for him to go home, I get the air hose out and blow him off. That way his mother never has to see how dirty he gets while playing in my shop.
Landon turned 5 years old in November. He is a bit precocious when it comes to his perception of some things but, overall, I think he is a pretty typical young boy. He often watches me as I work and just as often wants to emulate what I am doing. If I am gluing up a bow handle, then Landon wants to glue one up too. If I am using a rasp to form a new bow, then Landon wants to use a rasp too. So I loan him my tools, or at least the ones I don't think he will damage or will damage him.
Sometimes when I am busy at the work table, Landon will come over from his work area to borrow a tool from me. I may be using that particular tool at the time or may be needing to use it fairly soon, so I tell him I will need it back when he is finished with it. If I am using a file or a rasp to shape a bow handle, I sometimes rap the file on the wooden table edge to dislodge dust trapped in the file. Landon does this too, usually until I have to tell him to stop. I am often surprised to see how much he wants to copy what I do in the shop. As we work side by side, we often visit together. The other day we were together in my shop and I noticed Landon picking his nose.
"You don't eat boogers, do you?" I asked him.
"Naw, I don't eat them."
"That's good, because the other day I thought I saw you eating one."
"I do not eat boogers, Papaw."
"Do you know what boogers are made of?
"Yes," he said, "they are made of germs and dirt."
"Who told you that?"
"My mom."
"Did your mom tell you not to eat boogers?" I asked him.
"Naw, she never said that."
"Did she tell you it was okay to eat them?" I asked.
"No, she said I shouldn't eat them."
"Well, that's what I just asked you and you said she didn't say that."
Landon thought for a little bit, "It's hard to explain," he said.
I decided to leave it at that.
Another conversation I remember was at a family gathering on our back deck. We were all sitting around talking when the subject of hunting came up. Landon had been quietly listening up to that point but, suddenly, he came alive and looked up at me.
"Papaw, do not shoot any deer that have babies."
He spoke with earnestness and then pointed his finger at me and shook it.
"Papaw, if you shoot a mother deer, I will take your gun away!"
Landon was so serious and so sincere that the grownups all burst into laughter.
"I will," he said, "I will take your gun away."
I believe he meant it too.
Landon's grandmother, Karen, passed away in 2009, several years before Landon was born. Landon grew up hearing about Mamaw Byrnes from his older sisters. One day when Landon was barely 4 years old, we were busy in my shop and I brought the subject of Mamaw up with him.
"You don't remember Mamaw, do you, Landon?"
"Yes I do," he said, matter-of-factly.
"But you weren't born yet when Mamaw passed away."
"I knew her in heaven before I was born."
"You knew Mamaw in heaven before you were born?" I asked him.
"Yes."
"What did she look like?" I asked him.
"She looked like 'ah-uh,'" he replied.
"What did you say?" I asked him. Landon has trouble pronouncing the "r" sound. Sometimes that makes him difficult to understand. I often have to ask him to repeat himself.
"She looked like 'ah-uh. You know, Papaw, like a 'spe-uht.'"
"Mamaw looked like a spirit?"
"Yes."
"And you saw her?"
"Yes, and I knew her before I was born."
Well, out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, as the Good Book says. I am unable to convey the gravity or impressiveness of that particular conversation though I wish I could. All I can say is that Landon spoke with conviction.
Sam Byrnes is a Gentry-area resident and weekly contributor to the Eagle Observer. He may be contacted by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 01/18/2017