He was witty and wise~ an absolute Renaissance man. I remember him ranting about the inequity of the electoral college, the horrors of racism, and the dangers of ethnocentrism. He taught me how to garden, about medicinal plants, how to work on my car, how to use a coping saw, how to sew, how to can tomatoes, and how to take apart anything that was broken to try to fix it. He showed me how to drive a tractor and a manual transmission , taught me about wine and bourbon, how to fell a tree, use a chainsaw, and about land management. He told me to always follow the recipe when baking but to use it as a suggestion when cooking. He showed me how to take care of tools and how to maintain them. He showed me how to reset a broken finger, how music or a good novel can change your life, and how to care for houseplants. It was important to him that I learned and internalized that I could do or be anything I wanted.
17 years ago today this wonderful human left this earth because some capitalist assholes decided money was more important than the safety of their workers. They poisoned the shit out of their employees and directly exposed them to colossal amounts of chromium. Then, when they realized they were in trouble, the fucking cowards just closed the doors and took their fucking factory to Germany and ran away. He sacrificed his body and ultimately his life to provide for me. I will forever be grateful to be his daughter. I hope he’d be proud of the woman I am and of the granddaughter he never got to meet.