Monday, October 13, 2008

Irony

One of the pleasant surprises about our vacation to Branson a few weeks ago was Silver Dollar City.

I was expecting a sort of redneck version of the already-kind-of-rednecky Worlds of Fun. But instead, it was more like a fun version of the Renaissance Festival. There were enough kid rides to keep our fiver-year-old entertained, but also enough artisanal displays to keep the adults occupied.

We watched a glass blowing demonstration right after shooting bad guys in the Flooded Mine. A big hit for my dad was the blacksmith's shop. A craftsman was at work turning iron into useful tools and works of art.

Pops struck up a conversation with the gentleman and learned that, by working at Silver Dollar City for 12 weeks, he makes enough contacts that he gets jobs lined up for the entire year. Not a bad way to make a living doing something you think is fun.

The blacksmith's shop is where my dad got me this kickass birthday present:

I know you guys know what it is, so I won't waste time explaining its use. But I do want to point out a few details.

First, here's the business end of this useful little gadget...

But the coolest part is this...
That's right, rather than just the typical loop, dad had the blacksmith put in a monogram 'A' for me. This thing is a family heirloom now.

Sweet.
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4 comments:

  1. Is that one of those things that the ancient Egyptian embalmers used to shove up the nose of the corpse to snag the brains and pull them out through the nostril?

    I forget what it's called.

    ReplyDelete
  2. XO your way off.

    It's a brain scrubber for the dirty minded people who think it might be a ball scratcher.

    ReplyDelete
  3. XO,

    No, it's not that. I do have a replica of one of those, though obviously it's just a conversation piece. And I didn't get it from my dad. I got it from my mummy.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Branson is a great place for the family. There is a little of everything for everyone in the family.

    ReplyDelete

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