Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Flintknapping => Topic started by: gstoneberg on March 23, 2012, 02:00:20 am
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My brother called today to tell me my Dad had a mild heart attack. I was on a conference call so I couldn't take it. By the time I finished I'd forgotten. Later he sent email. I wasn't able to reach my step sister and get more information until after work. They said the doctors had found some blockage and the surgeon would come by later to give them options. While I'm waiting to hear what the surgeon thinks should be done and whether I need to fly out there, I grabbed 3 spalls. All 3 had a lot of coretex with cool color. The first one was quite small and I was surprised to get a nice little point out of it, lost some width but almost no length. The second spall was really thin and I almost had a point that was half red coretex and half flint. I broke it 3 times trying to run long flakes, it was just too thin. The last spall made a nice teardrop, but I totally botched the notches, stalling them both. I should've left it un-notched, it was better before.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7055/7007412923_d2f0807257_z.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7275/6861295594_24a4c10aa6_z.jpg)
After all that, the surgeon never stopped by to talk to Dad so I won't know anything until tomorrow. I hate not knowing, wish I was out there with him.
George
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Like I said in the PM, let me know what you need and I'll see if I can keep you informed. I guess he is Lakeland Regional?
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Nice points George. Prayers to you and your family. dpgratz
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Thanks. I PM'd you back Eddie. I honestly forgot to get his hospital info when I talked to Marilyn.
George
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nice points, and your family is in my prayers, hope everything turns out well
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hope the best for you and your'se George, Bub
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Sorry about the bad news and hope all turns out well for you.
Tracy
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Sorry to hear about your dad. I'll put him in my prayers.
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Sorry to hear that news, George. I'm praying everything comes out ok. Glad you were able to find something to do to keep your mind off of it.
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Hope your dad can pull through it. Ill send up a prayer for him. Nice points though, I have found that knapping can be relaxing.
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Sorry to hear that George! I truly hope the Dr's can patch up dad and send him back home..
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Sorry about your Dad's trouble. Prayers on the way for a speedy and full recovery. Josh
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Paryers for your dads recovery and for you on breaking them spalls. ;D
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Thanks everybody. I still haven't heard from the surgeon so I don't know what's going on or whether I should be headed to the airport. Pretty soon I'm going to go out to the shop again as the knapping helps with the tension.
George
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Keep busy, that is best.
All our thoughts are with you!
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Thanks Bevan. Still no news from the surgeon. I was able to turn a huge spall into a little dovetail...very frustrating and therapeutic at the same time...
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7191/7008936485_0045d70e68_z.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7224/6862819962_f0f6d50e10_z.jpg)
I had it to a nice little neck knife blade and went to take 1 more flake at the tip and shortened it a lot at the base. :-[
George
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George,
I'm sorry to hear about your Dad's Heart Attack.
Your Dad and you and you family are in our prayers.
Love the points, its good to keep your mind busy and steered away from worry as you wait.
-gus
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Thanks. I'm still in Texas. Dad has a couple options with surgery and once that decision is made I'll be headed over there.
George
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Comes in bucket's full sometimes....hope and pray it all works out well for your dad, keep up your own spirits too.
rich
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Thanks Rich. I'm trying to get to Florida but have been delayed twice so far. Thank goodness it's a direct flight.
I made 3 more points last night. Also scored a small pile of flint.
George
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Sorry to hear that George, I hope all goes well with the surgery. Take care buddy.
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Sorry to hear about your dad my family will keep yours in your prayers. I just had to go through a very simular thing with my dad he had a mild sroke and is currently doing good just having to go to speach theropy to learn to talk again his speach is very slurred.. Again we will keep your family in our prayers.
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I'm sorry to hear about your dad. We will be praying for him, doctors and you amigo ;)
Cipriano
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Good news is George's flight made it here last night. :)
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Boy Eddie, you and your wife were good to me to wait all that time for that delinquent flight to finally arrive. I appreciate your help so much. I'm driving Dad's car around now and stayed in his trailer last night. They have free wireless in the hospital so I brought in my laptop.
I do have an update. Dad had a tough night last night. He's having a reaction to the blood thinners that causing problems. It looks like it'll take a few days to get that resolved. Not sure how soon we'll be able to get back to working on the heart problems. As soon as possible I'm sure.
Thanks again for the thoughts and prayers. Keep them coming, Dad is pretty uncomfortable right now.
George
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By the way, I did a little knapping/flint collecting on Friday night and Saturday before I left. The other hunters were very interested in the process of making points. I did these 3, gave them all away to the landowner, hog forum owner and a friend:
(http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6240/7015723889_1080f9c246_z.jpg)
I was near Temple, TX. and found all this flint in the driveway of the farmer where we were hog hunting. None of the cobbles are big enough to be more than a single point. Most are buttery brown colored. I took a scredriver and was prying it out of the driveway when the wife called. Here's the first few I found:
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7203/7015715811_026f409da4_z.jpg)
and here's what I went home with:
(http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6035/7015721425_a1f2128a60_z.jpg)
I wish I could have found more of that dark gray stuff. It looked like georgetown to me and knapped nicely raw. I tried making a point with the brown stuff while I was there and it flakes OK but is very hard. Once I come up with a way of heating some I'll try again.
George
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That's some great bleeders ya made. Nice rocks too.
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With all the medical advances they've made sounds like your dad is going to be fine George. My dad was going through the same thing, with a few stints he was good for another ten years :).
Congrats on the flint hunt in that guys driveway tool. lol.. You'll find down in that country and further south and west just about everybody's driveway has something worth picking in it..
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Thanks guys. Dad is scheduled for a triple bypass tomorrow morning at 8am. I was planning to head home tomorrow night but we've moved that flight back to Wed night so I have more time here. Now that he's made that decision, Dad is feeling and acting much better. He's a trooper for sure.
I did spot a bunch of rocks in a field on my way to the airport and I really wanted to stop and grab a few but fought off the urge. I barely made it to the flight as it was...and then we were delayed so much I could have been 2 hours late and still made it. :(
George
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George your Dad and You and your Family are in our prayers.
And we'll kick it up a notch this evening.
You can always ease back over and pick up some rock once your Dad is on the Road to a Mends.
:)
-gus
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Georgy you're truly a rock hound. I'm glad to hear the docs have a plan of action and that dad is more at ease. Like Gus said. We will "nock" it up a notch with the prayers tonight ;)
Cipriano
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Dad had triple bypass surgery late this morning. He came through it fine according to the surgeon. When we left the hospital at 5pm he had not awakened. We were up at 4am and could not go on any longer. Hopefully he'll wake up later tonight. My flight back home is tomorrow evening. I'm praying everything will be stable by then.
Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. We still need them.
George
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I'm glad to here your Pop is doing good. That's got to be rough at his age. If I can give him a hand or help in anyway after you go home, let me know.
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Thanks Eddie. You've already been a great help.
George
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That's a great report! Amen to that. We will continue to pray.
Cipriano
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Today has been a great day for Dad. He got his breathing tube out about 8am and got off the ventilator. He's talking now and giving the nurses a hard time. They've been taking tubes out of him all morning. But, the best thing of all was when they began to do breathing exercises with him. There are graduations on the tube and Dad's natural competitiveness came out. He'd seen a person doing the exercises on the video we watched and was determined to beat the woman in the video. The next hour they came back he doubled that level and the third hour he actually banged the little indicator off the top. Each time he would say to the therapist, is that OK for an 89 year old man? They're going to hear that a lot, along with his life story. They told me he's doing better than 90% of the patients they have no matter what age. I had to laugh. He's sitting up now, the bed morphs into a chair
For those of you that follow Dad's scroll saw work, I took a picture of the completed projects he has made and are ready to be delivered.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7259/7024019045_8713402ff8_z.jpg)
Thanks for the prayers, they're clearly helping. I head home tonight, hate to leave, but anxious to get back to Mary.
George
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Glad to hear it George! Their generation are some pretty tough folks. My family will continue to pray for his full recovery. Josh
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Glad to hear it George! Their generation are some pretty tough folks. My family will continue to pray for his full recovery. Josh
Diddo!!
Glad to hear it, nice scroll work too!!
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Yes Sir!
Glad to hear the good news indeed!
Switching back to Thanks And Praise!
:)
Love the Scroll Saw Work!
-gus
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im so glad he is doing well, i hope that trend continues ;D
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That's great news George! Kinda made me chuckle a little :).
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George, Im glad to hear that your dad is doing better! That is some amazing scroll work by the way.
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Happy to hear everything is going well. Sounds like he will back at that scrollsaw in no time.
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Thanks everybody. I'm back home now and Dad is still harassing the hospital staff. They're weaning him off the industrial pain meds so he isn't as comfortable anymore. My money's on him to succeed though. Hopefully the future stays bright for Dad. He's anxious to get back to his shop.
George
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George,
I'm Glad to hear that your Dad is full of fight and a desire to get back to work.
Hopefully that will aid him in a speedy recovery.
-gus