bobinmaine's Journal

 My friend Dennis!

I worked 18 years of my life for an architectural woodworking company. I enjoyed working with my hands. I developed this interest early in life. My dad was a carpenter who built many homes during his lifetime. I always looked up to him. So naturaly I got a job working with wood.

I rarely brought lunch with me to work and would usually stop at a convenience store a few miles from work. Upon entering and leaving the store I would see a farm a short distance away. Having been brought up in the city, I always wondered what a modern milking operation looked like. I've always had a soft spot for farmers. Its not just a low paying, seven day a week job, its a way of life!

One day during lunch I dared myself to go to the farm and introduce myself. I found out that this farm was a one man operation and Dennis, the owner, was more then happy to show me around. I offered to help him out during what little time I could spare by feeding hay to the cows and cleaning up the stalls. It was easy to see that Dennis was a hard working poor man. He slept in a shack attached to his barn that was big enough for just a bed and tv.

As we were talking on the day that we met, I noticed a hammer with a broken handle laying on the floor in the corner of the barn so when he wasn't looking I picked it up and stuck it in my back pocket. When I returned to work that day, I found a good piece of ash (no pun intended) and carved a beautiful handle with finger grooves for a good grip and affixed it to the head. I ran the head over a wire wheel and shined it up like a brand new hammer! I put a beautiful stain and finish on the handle and It was the most beautiful piece of wood in the world. I was extremely proud of my work. Quite often a coworker would break a handle and bring it to me and I would carve them a new handle for free so I was pretty good at it.

A few days later I gave it to Dennis and asked him if he recognized it. I had to tell him it was the one that had been lying on the floor for such a long time. Denis was so happy with his new hammer, it was just like I gave him a brick of gold!

Dennis was a proud man who seemed to enjoy my company. I would always leave a treat for him that I picked up at the store. He would never accept it if I offered so I would hang it on his door before I left to return to work.  I was happy to help Dennis stay afloat.

After nearly a year of leaving him food, He thanked me and there were tears welling up in his eyes as he spoke. I said,"how did you know it was me?" and he said "because you're the only one who visits me"! He asked me to follow him out back behind his barn where he had a small vegatable garden and he dug up a sack of potatoes and gave them to me so I thanked him and went back to work.

One day he presented me with a sledgehammer head and asked me if I would make a handle for it. I told him I would be happy to! When I went back to the shop, I began work on it immediately, however, I didn't get it finished that day.

The days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months. As I became more preoccupied with other things, my visits to "the farm" became less frequent. but when I did go, I always left food and did something to help out Dennis like hay the cows.

One day a coworker came to my work area and asked me if I heard about Dennis. I said "what happened? Is he sick or something?" He said, "no, he was out riding his horse, the horse paniced and threw him into a nearby pond, used as a watering hole. It was 15 feet deep and he didn't know how to swim so he drowned." My mouth hung open and my eyes widened! He was only 28 years old! As the coworker walked away, I looked at the unfinished handle on the back of my bench. I broke down and cried!

I thought I'd go to the funeral but I was afraid I'd be the only one there because Dennis had no family. When I got to the church I noticed people standing outside the doors! There was no room left to sit and the church had a capacity of 400. Apparently, I wasn't the only one touched by the simple life of this farmer.

I finished the handle and took the sledgehammer home with me. I've used it many times for work projects and projects around the house and every time I use it I think of the hard working farmer with a heart of gold and how he appreciated the little things in life, a life, tragically cut short by a freak accident.

Nowadays, I try not to procrastinate about getting things done because you can never tell what tomorrow may bring. How does that go? Don't put off til tomorrow what you can do today. That is a motto I live by!

This is a true story! Thankyou for reading this!