I would get broke down cars when I could and fix them up. He has lost all sorts of business with teaching me how to work on cars. My friend Billy hooked me up with “how to” advice. I couldn’t afford to take it to a shop when something went out, so I learned to work on it. One of the nicest things ever done for me.

I somehow made it to college and was blessed with a 1982 Chevy C20 pickup for high school graduation. I would swap anything I could, and save to buy parts.

As soon as I would finish one thing, I was always moving upward and onward. Selling bicycles in the local classifieds. And they worked! I was mowing neighbor’s yards with a concoction of 3 mowers. Frankenstein bicycles and mowers from neighbors throw away parts. Bows and arrows from flimsy rain trees and shoe strings. Lightsabers carved out of wood with wires and pieces of a discarded motherboard for affect. I would occasionally ask my parents for something that I liked, and most times the answer would be, “Christopher, you can make that”. But my father is a whole other story entirely. He taught me how to rebuild things and make them better. He taught me to work with my hands and instilled in me the discipline to produce excellent results.

He taught me what quality is, and has shown me what a Man of God looks like. We shopped at Salvation Army and Goodwill, but frequently we would come up with something quality that would last through our gauntlet of use and I came to appreciate quality items, and good looking items.

I come from a big family and we now have good strong bones. My family would rarely buy anything new, and when we did it was usually something like milk. I have always been impressed with the best. I never could sit still and neither could my mind. I made what I could with sticks, rocks, and vines and would steal my dad’s tools when I could, to improve my design. It probably started when I was young and we weren’t allowed to watch TV, so I had to make my own fun.

Black flag buy metal