Sad moment with a Spyderco

[Knifestyle]

This isn't a water cooler story, readers currently in a good mood may want to skip this.

I've had a rough run of luck. Three weeks ago, a classmate of mine met a tragic end right before the holiday. Last week, my grandmother finally passed after a long illness. Seconds after being told of this, I found out the grandfather on the other side whom I'm very close to had a stroke followed by a heart attack. After finishing off my finals and closing up my hall for the year, I spent a few days sleeping on trains and in cars to make it out there, but I managed to make it to his bedside in the ICU. I've seen a lot of things, but I'm still shaking off what condition he was in. This man trained the first pilots in the Chinese Air Force, negotiated for labor unions across the country, rebuilt the inside of a cathedral, and raised twelve children. Seeing him living off a series of machines and fluids, degrading visually as time went on...Like I said, this isn't an easy story.

Amazingly enough, he was still lucid following the initial stroke. While he tired quickly and had trouble focusing, he kept surprising workers and family with odd moments of blunt clarity. One of these moments of clarity is going to hang with me for a long time. My mother is a veteran nurse who stepped in to handle smaller tasks and improvise things to make him more comfortable, and at one point the oxygen mask he had been fitting with was irritating his face heavily to the point he was in considerable pain. She immediately ran off and came back with a stack of gauze, and folded it into a crease to paid out the mask. She then drew a blank as she remembered she was not in her scrubs, and the gauze was much too large to fit under the mask.

My ninety year old grandfather rose his arm off his deathbed, pointed in the direction of where we were all sitting. He then stated as clear as a bell,
"He always has a knife on him, go ask him for it."

...He was right, I did in fact have a knife on me. It was the Delica I bought with spare change back in January and have been carrying ever since. Needless to say it got the job done, my mother raised her eyebrows at how effortless it seemed, and I went back to sit with my relatives off to the side. In the past, my grandfather had spoken to me a great deal about my hobby, often asking to see my smaller fixed blades and multitools. He bragged to other relatives that I ran a small sharpening business for pocket money and that I was known for, and commented a few times on how I handled a knife. For him to remember this at a time like that, it was a solemn moment for me. Not long afterwards, I left for the night and wasn't able to make it back to see him that next morning because of a scheduled procedure.

That was three days ago. A few hours ago, I got the call. The stroke and the heart attack didn't do it, it was sudden pneumonia. He'd been completely healthy until nine days ago, before that he was completely independent and living on his own. He called my up on my 21st birthday last July to brag about how nice it was to have no responsibilities anymore, and to enjoy all the struggles ahead of me until I reach his age. No long suffering, no loss of dignity, just one last bad week.

It's rather odd. I was the first grandchildren out of a few dozen to study Chinese after his involvement in WW2, I was the first to look into the military, I was the only son of the daughter who spent the most time caring for him...And my last moment with him was about the knife that's always clipped inside my waistband. I can't say it wasn't meaningful, but it's certainly ironic. I'm younger than some of the knives on this forum, and I'm learning that little things like this can mean more than they appear to.

I have to admit the pink FRN may not be the ideal color choice for such an occasion, but it looks like that knife earned its place in my jacket pocket once it's time for the funeral. I haven't had a chance to use it since then, keep finding myself turning it around in my hand during the slow times. It's been around the country and back with me, but it just seems different after that last visit.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for making a knife that never let me down.

[D1omedes]

Sad story, indeed. I know from personal experience how tough it can be to see a loved one waste away in front of you. I had an aunt who passed away from an ongoing battle with lung cancer. It is very sobering to see an individual so full of life reduced to relying on machines.

I am glad you still remember the good times with your grandfather. That is crucial. Be sure to keep that knife close from now on as it will bring a smile to your face for the rest of your life.

I'll pray for your grandfather, you and your family. The best of luck to you, brother. :)

[Water Bug]

Sorry to hear of your loss.

Thank you for sharing your story.

In the end, you made a difference... and you did so by simply being you.

[Donut]

That is a very good story. Try to remember everything he taught you, so that he will live through his influence on you. If you carry the good things from him, you can feel that he is still a bit alive through you.

I think at the heart of this story, he taught you to pay attention to the people around you. Everyone can be helpful with something, you just need to know what everyone is good at.

He sounds like a powerful man, remember the saying, "Give a man a fish and he can eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he can eat for a lifetime." What has he enabled you to do?

If you can learn from him and someone says, "How did you learn to do that?" You can say, "My Grandfather taught me."

[SQSAR]

Thanks for sharing your story with us. Knives have been with me through some of my greatest memories, , and a number of things I'd just assume forget. Either way, our knives are there, silently, waiting to share our lives' adventures with us, , ,both good or bad, ready to be called into service at a moment's notice.

[1623]

Even though we collect and own objects and should never let them own us, there are instances when you know that something must be kept forever.

My sincere condolences to you and your family and may all the wonderful, happy memories of your Grandfather ease you through this difficult time.

[razorsharp]

wow, i have had 3 attempts but i find replying to things like this hard . So My condolences. That must have burned to write

[Dr. Snubnose]

Sorry to hear about you loss. As long as your Grandfather lives in the hearts and minds of those he left behind, he will always be remembered....Doc

[GotDogs]

I am not as well spoken when it comes to matters of the heart. I am kinda in the same position with my Dad as I type this. God Bless you and your Family.

[TazKristi]

Knifestyle,
I'm sorry for your loss, but grateful that you shared your story with us. Thoughts and prayers sent your way.

Kristi

[Half Sack]

I still miss my grandfather, I hope you and your family are ok. My thoughts are with you man.
Funny how a tool can have such importance, hang on to it.

[chuck_roxas45]

Thanks for sharing and sincere condolences...

[yamamoto]

Please accept my sincere condolences. It is very hard to lose loved ones. It's good that you shared your story on the forum. When you talk about it with friends, it becomes easier. Good luck to you.

[Monocrom]

Very sorry for your loss.

Your grand-father sounds like a very interesting man.

[c.joe]

So sorry for your lost. Your grandfather was a grandfather that everyone would love to have. I never had the luxury of spending much time with my own but I knew that he always took care of me when I was a baby.

Thank you so much for sharing this story. Wear that Delica proudly, it has so much meaning to it now.

[Knifestyle]

The wake and funeral are done, everyone is heading back. He's being officially interred tomorrow. His obituary was one of the longest articles in the city's newspaper...It wasn't a quick blurb we sent in, they had a reporter on the case and were quoting people from all over. Thanks for all the kind words.

[SolidState]

Think about how wonderful it is that in his time of need he knew that he could rely on you being prepared. You can be sure he was proud, and that he knew you can be counted on.

Sorry for your loss.

[sarguy]

Thanks for sharing your story, and I offer my condolences as well, Knifestyle. Experiences like yours are truly priceless, and I'm sure you will cherish it and the Delica for the rest of your days.

Your grandpa sounded like a great man. May I be so bold as to ask if there's a link to his obituary?

Tom

[sarguy]

Thanks for sharing your story, and I offer my condolences as well, Knifestyle. Experiences like yours are truly priceless, and I'm sure you will cherish it and the Delica for the rest of your days.

Your grandpa sounded like a great man. May I be so bold as to ask if there's a link to his obituary?

Tom

[Knifestyle]

http://www.toledoblade.com/Deaths/2011/ ... edral.html

You can't really track down which of the...thirty one grandchildren I am, so I feel safe enough to post that. I'm a bit ticked that they said he was a Flying Tiger, he was actually just a linguist who stayed stateside. I do have his original Chinese dictionary in my possession, handwritten in bizarrely perfect script. Most of the focus is on the cathedral because it truly was his pride and joy, he had a personal key to it for decades. They used to joke that he'd key in the back door whenever he needed a relative baptized or married.