An Old Friend

Before Craig went on his mission to the Caribbean (West Indies Mission) he work diligently at two jobs. I find a lot of irony in the jobs he worked. He would rise early and work as a trash collector. He was dirty, wearing overallsT-shirt and jeans, and in need of cleaning when he would finish his shift of work in the sanitation business. After he was cleaned and presentable he would go to Southwest Plaza Mall and work at Foley's Jewelry Department. What a contrast.

Craig was one of Foley's best salesmen. He entered into a promotional contest where when he sold a certain number of watches then he could receive a watch for himself. Craig provided watches for Jeanette, Arlo, Larry, and Craig. These were not ordinary watches.

My watch is a Seiko kinetic watch. I really have enjoyed not having to put batteries in it or having to wind it on a regular basis. This watch and I have been many places together. We have seldom left each other for the past 7 or 8 years. One day the watch band came apart at the latching mechanism. I struggled to figure how the mechanism worked and then devised a way to replace a spring that was lost when things came undone. I used a piece of rubber band as a spring. It worked well for the past year.

Yesterday our next door neighbors had a disaster when part of their tree broke away and fell on their lawn. Jeanette suggested we go help them a bit and help clean the debris. We went out and helped for a while. When we left we walked up the drive and into the back yard. I noticed an ant nest by the side of the drive and stepped on it to see if there was any activity. Jeanette cautioned me to be careful not to get ants on me.

We went into the house to cool down some. I was standing by Jeanette as she was logging onto the computer and felt a pinching sensation in my wrist. I thought it was an ant. I looked closer and realized that it was my watch band, and that part of the latch mechanism was gone. GONE!

The pin that normally secures the mechanism was still in the hole where the locking device would be, but there was no locking device and my hair was tangled in the band. I was sad and just handed my watch to Jeanette.

This is what it looked like.



A closer view of the watch will just show how much wear this watch and I have endured together. (Than means to click on the image so you can see the enlarged view and really appreciate the watch.)



I will miss you watchy!