Landon and I have been busy in the shop. I have been building a small box for each of the 14 granddaughters, not to mention a few other things. Landon has been helping me, of course. And at 5, he is beginning to be a big help. He enjoys watching me work and sometimes I get him to hold something steady while I work on it. Or, maybe I ask him to sweep up a little around the shop.
I always carry a Yeti cup with unsweetened tea in it and, at the shop, it is something of a community cup as Landon makes free use of it. The other day I had just taken a big swallow of tea while working on a small box. Landon was watching me work. I hadn't swallowed my tea yet, and Landon's curiosity got the better of him.
"Papaw, do you have a mouthful of tea?" he asked.
I swallowed my tea and said, "Yes, I did, anyway. I guess I got so busy I forgot to swallow."
"You forgot to swallow?"
"Well, I reckon I did, I don't know. What difference, at this point, does it make?" I asked. (A question borrowed from Hillary Clinton and used when fitting.)
"But how do you forget to swallow?"
"Maybe I didn't exactly forget to swallow. Maybe I enjoy swishing it around for a while before I swallow. Did you ever consider that?"
"What are you doing with that box?"
"Well, I just cut the box joints in the side pieces and now I am going to cut a dado near the bottom of each piece for the bottom to fit into."
"What's a dado?" Landon asked as he took a swig of tea.
"It's a groove in the wood. If it was on the edge of the piece it would be called a rabbet. But this groove will be set in a little from the edge so it is called a dado. Actually, when a groove runs with the grain of the wood it is called a groove and when it runs across the grain it is called a dado. But I call them all dado since I use my dado blades to cut them. I use the dado blades because I can put several blades together and make the groove as wide as I need it to be with just one cut."
I adjusted the sacrificial fence on the table saw to the correct position for the dado cut and ran all four of the side pieces through the saw. Landon was watching me closely. All of a sudden he said,
"Hey, Papaw! I was so busy watching you I forgot to swallow!"
"Wow," I said, "It must be catching!"
Linda was off to a quilting retreat in Oklahoma, so Landon and I headed to La Huerta's for lunch. The waitress brought out some chips and salsa and took our order. Usually Landon will dive into the salsa and load his chip as full as possible. Today was no different. He had a large chip piled high with dip and was slowly bringing it to his mouth.
"Hey, Bud, you might want to dip your chips in the salsa instead of loading them up like that. You aren't going to be hungry when your plate comes out."
"Yes, I will. I am terrible hungry right now."
We continued eating chips as we waited. Pretty soon Landon said, "Papaw, I need to move the chips and dip closer to my side of the table."
"Oh yeah? Why is that?"
"Because your arms are longer than mine and I am having to reach too far."
"Well, suit yourself," I told him. He slid the chips and dip closer to his side. The waitress brought out our plates and, after prayer, we dug in. It didn't take Landon long to finish his meal. He sighed a big sigh and took a last drink of orange pop.
"I'm ready to go back to the shop now," he said.
"Okay then, let's go."
As I paid for our meal, I saw Landon take a peppermint from the bowl on the counter. I took one, too. We headed to the pickup where Landon got into the back seat because he isn't old enough to ride up front.
As we were driving home, Landon said, "I have been alive for five years."
I asked him, "Where were you before you were born?"
"In my mommy's belly."
"And before that?"
"Zero. I was zero," he said, matter-of-factly.
"Zero? What do you mean, zero?"
"I wasn't one yet. I was zero. Danica is zero right now."
"You mean she isn't one year old yet?" I asked him.
"Yeah, she isn't one year old yet."
We weren't back at the shop long before Landon was ready to go home.
"Papaw, are you going to pay me for helping you today?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'll pay you today. You've been a big help to me." I had two quarters and four pennies in my pocket leftover from paying for lunch. I gave the change to Landon.
"How much is it," he asked.
"It's fifty-four cents," I said. "Those two quarters make fifty cents, and the four pennies are four cents. Fifty plus four makes fifty-four."
"I already have two quarters, so with these two quarters I will have a dollar," he said. Then, "Papaw, you don't have to pay me. I had a good time today. I don't want to get too rich, but you can pay me if you want to."
"You earned it. Now put it in your pocket and be careful walking home through the woods."
Landon did as he was told and headed off down the lane. I watched my partner fondly as he disappeared from view.
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 05/17/2017