Page 16 - Discover Summer 2023

Throw It Out! CONTINUED
in his recliner, sewing patches made from scrap
material, table cloths and sometimes he may even
buy (yes, I did say buy) fabric, but much of his
material comes from the local thrift store where
he volunteers. Eventually, he will hand sew all the
patches together to make a queen size quilt. He
never uses a sewing machine, just thousands and
thousands of hand stitches.
His early quilts were random, with no
particular pattern. As he would say, “quilts were
made of scraps of fabric that would ordinarily be
discarded.” In the short 24 months since he lost
his wife — my mom — he has made more than
five queen size quilts. Quilting is a hobby that
he learned from my mother, and he is doing her
proud with his acquired talent. This is his way of
honoring Mom.
During the warmer months, he can be found
tinkering in his garage. He will sort through his
collection of discarded items in need of repair
that he picked up from the roadside during trash
day, items he found at the thrift store that are
unable to be sold, or maybe household items
that just gave up the ghost. If the item cannot be
repaired, it would be dismantled, and the parts
would be sorted. Nuts and bolts and any other
small items would be stored in the ever-so-handy
Gerber baby food jars with masking tape labels,
and placed on the shelf for the next 20 years
or so. I joke, but I guarantee you: if you need
something, he has it, and he will know where it
is. His garage is like a Dewey Decimal system for
nuts and bolts!
If Dad is not fixing things, he is mass
producing PVC bird houses in assembly-line
fashion. I would say that tinkering must be
hereditary, since Gramps made many birdhouses
in his lifetime. I guess you can say “the apple
didn’t fall far from the tree where some of
Gramp’s birdhouses are still hanging.” My dad
has all his family and friends on a mission to
supply him with old PVC fencing and PVC post
covers that otherwise would have ended up in the
landfill. He shakes a little more these days, which
14 Discover Smith Mountain Lake SUMMER 2023
is why I assist him in cutting the components
to his dimensions. He will need all of his 10
digits come winter to continue his quilting! He
will then assemble the pieces to create high-end
housing for sparrows, blue birds and finches. He
does not discriminate by species, and the rent is
always free.
Each birdhouse has a perch, windows and
shutters. He has many styles: some are single
units, others are duplexes, and some are triplexes.
All are hand painted. The PVC construction
ensures that these structures will house many
generations of birds. There is some irony here:
Dad’s final resting place, when he is adorned with
his angelic wings for his migration north into the
heavens, will be a custom three-tiered birdhouse
that he constructed to hold his ashes. Dad will
be buried next to my mom’s ashes at the military
cemetery, wrapped in a hand-made quilt that
they stitched together. That should keep the two
of them warm for eternity.
I myself am a third generation tinker. I save
too many things that should just be thrown out.
Like that 12-inch piece of wood in the garage
that you think you will someday need but don’t.
We have vacuums on every level of our house,
plus one in the garage and even one in the boat
house just for the pontoon. All came from the
recycling center (a fancy term for dumpsters)
along with lumber, molding, lawnmowers,
spreaders, and a host of other formerly non-
functioning items. All were repaired and returned
to service. This is my way of reducing the amount
of scrap to occupy the landfills.
I came to the realization long ago that I was
put on this earth to imitate my dad. It has been
a tough line to toe, but I accepted the challenge.
We are so much alike that it is obvious that I
must have ignored the Progressive Insurance
“how not to be your father” commercials. I have
not taken up quilting or birdhouse building (yet).
But, if DNA has any say in it, I “tink” a birdhouse is
in my future. Thanks, Dad!