Son Brag!

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mark james

mark james

IAP Collection, Curator
Joined
Sep 6, 2012
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13,368
Location
Medina, Ohio
My eldest son (25 yrs) had a busy past 4 weeks...

- Graduated with his Master's degree in Education (Math and History - High School).
- Got hired for the teaching position he wanted this fall in Chicago.
- Starts a summer job tomorrow as the Supervisor of summer camps for the Field Museum in Chicago (his Undergrad was in Archeology).
- His 4-way Skydiving Team scored first in the world for a specific timed maneuver (last weekend).
- Today he finished his first 1/2 Ironman Competition (1.2 mile swim; 56 mile bike; 13. run. Took him 5.5 hours.
- He turned a segmented corian Atrax pen (pics will follow for the pen). :good:
- Oh... He had some tatoos colored in ...
 

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wood128 said:
A very motivated young man . How did he have time to make a pen ? Great accomplishments so far in his life. I wish him well .
Click to expand...

Hi Joe!

He has turned maybe 6 pens and 3-4 other objects - he comes in, and within 4-5 hours wants to play in the workshop. But he wants to do very complicated stuff, and will not accept that he will probably need 2-3+ failures before he gets his technique down (as if he has a technique).

So... this one was a corian segmented 2 barrel pen, with the school colors for the school where he has a job and is the Volleyball Coach. I had the 2" x 2" pieces, so we were good to go.

I showed him how to cut the corian on the table saw, and told him to make twice what he needed for the two blanks... "Why?" "You'll see..."

He started to drill the 1" x 1" segments; blew out the first 2 by drilling to aggressively (yes, he was told...). So he had me do the drilling, all went well with the rest of the setup. Waited 3 hrs for the CA to set. He turned one blank last night- it came out very nice. It was 9 PM, and he (and I) was up at 4:30 AM for the race, so he will do the second blank tonight...I think. He got back from the race at 4 PM, and is still asleep, so we'll see.

He and I fought bitterly from age 15-18... He finished Undergraduate, and went to the Republic of Georgia (Russia basically) for a one year teaching position. No electricity, little food, lost 25 lbs, taught at a school where most teachers started drinking alcohol at 10 AM, and did very little after that time.

He came back a very mature, responsible young man. He calls me (in Chicago at Graduate school at DePaul) about twice a month for advice :eek:!
And... He is actually my Nephew. Lived with my wife and I after his parents died in a plane crash at age 2. My sister-In-Law was a world class skydiver; represented the USA at the World Competition in Ankara, Turkey 1990 (I believe), so Chris gets his drive from his parents!

Oh... To add insult to injury - he picks up the skew and without no hesitation or use in 6 months, simple goes to town with no catches :mad::mad::mad:.
 
skiprat said:
Cool !!! You should be very proud of his accomplishments, ...........but where were you when he let someone draw pictures all over him......???:rolleyes::biggrin:
Click to expand...

How true!!! On his chest he has a sailboat - nice boat, be he has never sailed??? A trubute to his parents as skydivers - that makes sense, and a 6" long double helix :eek::eek::eek:... Which he has no recollection of when/where/why. Oh to be young...
 
WHAT? Did you feed him!!!:eek: :biggrin: Awesome accomplishments indeed. My youngest daughter is studying Phys-Ed and Volleyball coaching as well at IUPUI 3rd year coming up.

You and your wife are very proud no doubt. :wink: Good job!

Now...let's see the pen.:biggrin:
 
You might be able to capture a bit of that art work on a Panache , but a pepper mill or large bud vase would give you more scope . Don`t forget to record his thoughts when he hits 55 , with a son about his current age .
 
dalecamino said:
WHAT? Did you feed him!!!:eek: :biggrin: Awesome accomplishments indeed. My youngest daughter is studying Phys-Ed and Volleyball coaching as well at IUPUI 3rd year coming up.

You and your wife are very proud no doubt. :wink: Good job!

Now...let's see the pen.:biggrin:
Click to expand...

Well... No go on the pen :frown: He experienced everything we have all been through.

We went to the workshop after dinner to finish the last blank. 1 hr max... He got it all turned, sanded and polished to a final form - glue lines on the corian were excellent. He campered the tubed, cleaned them out and went right for the assembly... The black insert for the Atrax is "tight". I suggested taking it to the belt sander and getting a slip fit rather than a pressure fit. "No it will be fine"... Well, he split the outer corian segment and the night was done...

He was tired, rushing things, not being patient, too aggressive, inexperienced... and learns best as we all do by screwing up. A valuable lesson, but hard to watch as a parent. But he is fine, and ready to move on tomorrow!!! :smile-big:
 
dalecamino said:
WHAT? Did you feed him!!!:eek: :biggrin: Awesome accomplishments indeed. My youngest daughter is studying Phys-Ed and Volleyball coaching as well at IUPUI 3rd year coming up.
Click to expand...

Feed him... He does not STOP eating!!! We need a conveyor belt onto a plate!

IUPUI - An excellent school! When I was at IU for my Masters I had many contacts with the Nursing School at IUPUI. A great place. My Daughter is starting her third year at The University of Dayton. She also is a great kid who is a hard worker!

Shoot, kids are getting old...
 
Sounds like you've got a lot to be proud of. Don't be afraid to brag. You've waited a long time for this moment. Enjoy!!
 
Damn Mark, when does he get some to rest/sleep...???

OK, OK.. multi tasking is one thing but all that is plain crazy stuff achieved at such young age, I hope he manages to keep that energy up, I'm already exhausted just to think on the list you just gave us, wow that is something...!

Give him, my best regards...!

Cheers
George
 
Congratulations to you and Chris both - great accomplishments to be sure.

I know first hand what it's like to battle a strong-willed child during their teen years, so I also know how witnessing their adult achievements is all the more rewarding! Well done, my friend.
 
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