My granddad was a charecter. His name was Charlie Watson and he lived in West Pratt until he died in the late 60's. He had worked many years in the coal mines of Sloss, Hull and Kershaw.
He moved to Indiana when the work in the mines played out in the late 50's and lived there for about 10 years where he worked in the city garbage dump. I thought that was the coolest job in the world when I was a kid. One time when we went to visit him he gave me a gallon jug full of marbles. He had collected them at the dump. He found other stuff too, but the marbles stand out in my mind.
When he and my grandmother moved back to Alabama they built a small Jim Walter house next door to us. It was great having them home and living next door. I would run to their house every morning and eat breakfast. He had a parakeet that they let fly free in their house. It would lite on his glasses and watch him eat. I thought that was a hoot.
I helped Pap build a flatbottom fishing boat and we took it to #11 (the Backwater off of the Warrior River) in the back of his old Chevy truck. He taught me to fish for bass. We put out trotlines and caught boat loads of cat fish.
He also shoed mules for the small mine operators. He had a little blacksmith shop behind his house. An old anvil was mounted on a sycamore stump is where he pounded shoes into the right shape and size.
He taught me a great deal. As he went about his work, he would tell me to "focus on what you're doing and do the task the best you can". It might not always be perfect, but you will finish knowing that you did your best. I took those words to heart and I've always tried to live by them.
No comments:
Post a Comment