My first Motorcycle, it's Trailer, My first Hammer & Larry
Well....You may recall Tuesday & the left Nut & how we high-tailed it to where all the sorority girls were med students & practicing swimsuit models...... & how we drank lots of Jack, ate jerky & all those girls managed
to sew me back together while Tuesday gently twisted the throttle & how we all laughed & told lies to the rest of the day & half the night.
Remember how I kinda lost touch with those girls over the years, but I still have that Triumph?.........
Well that's because of an old soul named Larry Jackson who came to Dallas in a Model A & landed a job at Evert's in the early 50's where he worked with my Dad & motorcycle racer Johnny Allen. When my father lost his
battle with cancer I was 16. Larry promised my Dad he would finish parenting me, so I inherited Dad's pristine 1967 Triumph TR6C & his best friend. I went to live with Larry & my Dad's old boss at Sterling's gave me a job. I
worked in that jewelry shop, sat at my Dad's bench, surrounded by all my Dad's old buddies and honed my craft while Larry became my new father figure, co-worker & motorcycle riding buddy.
Getting drafted probably saved me from girls like Tuesday & while I was off saving the rest of world & raising a family, Larry quietly archived that motorcycle.
When Keith restored the Triumph for me, I asked him to keep a watchful eye out for my front teeth because they went missing up near the front somewhere. I promptly rented a U-Haul trailer so we could drag the beautifully
restored 650 out to Farmersville to show Larry how sweet it was again & that's when he shared with me that he had also archived my Dad's handmade iron & wood motorcycle trailer (outdoors). My Dad & my Grandfather had
built it from scratch specifically for that Triumph. My son Mason & I limped that trailer home & we restored it as well.
Then just before Larry passed, he handed me a Proto 1428 chasing hammer & it's companion dolly that my Father had owned since he was a kid. I remembered it so very vividly. I had played with & abused that hammer so many
times when I was a pup. As soon as I was big enough to pick up a hammer & hit something, this was my tool of choice. I had lost track of that old hammer along with so many other things over time, so I was grateful Larry
saved that one for me too.
This Spring I am going to stay at my son's place in New York for a week or so while I attend a private workshop on the art of Chasing & Repousse. That workshop requires I bring a chasing hammer or two.
Now I can't imagine not taking that 70+ year old Proto along with a couple other jeweler's hammers that were my Dad's and that I have also used almost daily for over 45 years. The original wood handle on the old Proto
displays all the abuse that I had no doubt dealt it many years ago, so I kinda owed it a new one.
Darrell
My Dad & his Dad next to the welding rig while building the motorcycle trailer.
This is Larry on it first. He taught my Dad how to ride it.
My Dad on it later.
The trailer before and after the restoration. Click on images to enlarge.
All were my father's & I have used the other three for 45 years.
