12:25 a.m. - 2002-09-30
Bits and Pieces
Just bits and pieces today.
My oldest son called to say he has a new job. When he first left school he was apprenticed to a stone carver. About a year and a half later the economy went flat and there was no work. He has been working in a steel mill since in order to support his two little ones but it wasn't very satisfying. The new job is stone cutting again and he sounded very pleased. He said his boss was Chinese and he wondered how he was going to manage to communicate clearly. I explained about his younger brother's choice for a second language. It is always easier to learn something when you can apply it and see the results. His other option, of course, is to talk with my second son's fiance. When her family fled mainland China as refugees they went to Hong Kong first. The schools there require students to learn to speak and write in Mandarin, Cantonese, and English.
My third son came by yesterday and mentioned he was picking up his first car today. He is buying it from one of the technicians who has worked for my Dad for years. Harvey is a World War II vet who spent a lot of the war developing new technologies for the defense of the U.K. He tells fascinating stories about the siege of London. His vehicles are ancient but probably in better running order than a lot of new cars - they are his babies. My three older sons all worked at my Dad's store when they were in High School. They learned more about the importance of understanding history from spending time with my Dad and the other technicians than they did at school because they heard the stories from people who were there. Number three son still works there and is hoping to start college in the spring when he has enough money to do so and when he is certain which of the electronics/engineering programs will suit his interests best. Hope that the new car means he can visit a little more often but my Dad says there are a number of young ladies vying for his attention so maybe not.
Anyway it's time to go read. The Grail is the fifth in a series by Stephen Lawhead. It starts with the story of the Welsh bard Taliesin in the first book then moves through the lives of Merlin and Arthur. This is the final episode. The first two books were very well written and excellent character studies; the next two books were focussed mainly on the battles that washed back and forth across Britain over that period of time. Not my cup of tea but the boys like that sort of thing. I hope this one has more elements of the first books included. We'll know soon.
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