On Christmas, while we were out in the garage opening our presents, my father-in-law walked over and handed me a small, heavy box secured with a rubber band. Inside, I found three well-used, brass-case pocket watches.
“I don't know anything about these,” he said. “Whether they're worth anything, I mean. I found them when I was going through some of the stuff we were redding up at Mom's house. They were Dad's, and you can see that one of them has his initials on it.”
And then he kind of shrugged. “Like I said, I don't know if they're worth anything.”
Well, they are – to me, at least. Maybe not in the monetary sense, but even if I weren't so fascinated with weathered old things with a sense of history about them, the real riches lay in the fact that my dad-in-law thinks enough of me to pass on these family treasures to me. Whether he sees them as such, or not, is entirely beside the point.
An added bonus is the design I found on the back of one of the cases, which depicts a bicycle racer. Based on the style of the clothes and the handlebars, I'd guess it was from the 1920s or so.
8 comments:
Wow! What a special gift! But what I really love about your post is the term "redding up." I thought my family was the only one who said that -- and I've never heard of another Texan saying it. You're not from around here, are ya, boy?
@Peggy: Dad-in-law is from Missouri. I don't know whether Missourians do much redding up (and maybe it's a generational thing), but it was a pretty common expression among my extended family when I was a little kid in northeast Ohio.
I can't remember where I found it, but I once went digging and seem to recall that this meaning of "red" has its roots in Scots.
What a beautiful keepsake! And a wonderful gesture from your FIL.
wow, foo, that is fantastic. The trust from your FIL and the heirloom.
Does the cyclist on the watch have you curious as to if there is a significance to Grandpa's hobbies or perhaps an achievement in a race?
That is just amazing, Turtle must come by cycling very naturally. :)
PS. Hope you had a super Christmas!
What a wonderful gift on so many levels. I hope it's okay if I giggle a bit at the "while we were out in the garage..." portion of your post. ;-)
A belated Merry Christmas to you and Turtle!
A very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all of Foo's fans.
I was so surprised that my Dad gave Foo that gift, since my Dad was so close to his father. My dad isn't one to make a big deal out of things, but it was a BIG DEAL. The gesture was priceless, and Foo definitely "rates" with the parentals.
Those are the best gifts. When Hoop's Grandfather passed, we found a bunch of knives in his shop that he had hand made!
@Ems: I don't think genetics come into it. Turtle's dad is a step-dad, technically if not emotionally. I asked my second dad about the cycling connection, but he said he didn't know.
@Gwynne: Feel free to giggle. We had a good time out there (not having to be involved in the noisy, profanity-laced board and card games the women were playing).
@Tink: Erm... I believe the technical term for those is “shiv”.
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