A Tiny Silver Hammer

Donald Amos Franklin

Today is my dad's birthday. He says he is 29, has been saying that for years, so we will let that be his reality!
I consider my dad to be the original McGuyver. He could build anything, fix anything, invent anything and did his best to teach us the same.

When I was very young, we lived in Florida for a while. I remember him taking a big truck innertube and lashing a round piece of plywood to the bottom and making a raft. He would pull Big Brother and I out past the waves into the deep part and let us jump off. Well, Big Brother probably jumped off of the raft...me, I was scared of seaweed, so I most likely just rode the waves. I also remember him throwing us in to the waves, sputtering to the top and saying, "Do it again!"
Thanks Dad, for teaching me how to get past my fears.

He taught me how to build a campfire, which came in handy when I was in the Girl Scouts. I can still lay out a pattern of sticks that will start a slow burn and not go out...you have to let the oxygen in to keep the fire burning.
Thanks Dad, for teaching me a skill that can save a life.

When I was in the 7th grade and taking Algebra, my dad sat at the table night after night, helping me learn the concepts. I was (am) hard headed and stubborn and I know I was hard to help. He did not give up and kept working with me until I understood that the numbers on both sides of the equal sign had to match...always.
Thanks Dad, for your patience and helping me develop my sense of logic.

He taught me how to drive. The first time I drove was in the driveway of Ganny's house on Easter Sunday, 1979. I drove frome the back of the driveway to the street, which looked like it was a mile long, but was just a couple of hundred feet or so. And then he made me back up to where we started. And that you should always push on the pedals like you have an egg under there...easy and gentle...no stomping.
He took me out to empty parking lots in the snow and taught me how to test the slickness of the road under my tires. One time he instructed me to drive way out past Leiper's Fork, driving until we had about a half a tank of gas, and then telling me to find my way back home. And I did.
Thanks Dad, for teaching me that paying attention and finding my own way are important.

My dad taught me how to fix things around the house. Good information that I have used all through my married life. I still have the little hammer he gave me when I went to college. Of course we weren't supposed to hammer nails into the walls, but a handy thing to have around. When I went to design school, he gave me his drafting tools and drawing board that he had used in college.
Thanks Dad, for giving me tools and the knowledge of how to use them.

And thank you for knocking down the rails on the fence ( see, I was listening), giving me roots and giving me wings.

I love you, I thank you and wish you a very happy 29th birthday!