More about the Pleasures of Being a Dad, continued
In April 2002, my father passed away at the age of 89, almost 90. My son, Deron, bought Pap’s house, which Pap had built in 1944. It was OK for Mom, Dad, and us three boys, but in 2002 … ? Well, let’s just say it was OK for us. Deron, who got a degree as an electronics technician, and later began training as an electrician, bought Pap’s house as a ‘project’.
Pap was a lifetime carpenter, who would take the child, Deron, with him during school breaks and weekends, doing odd jobs for his friends.
As Deron proceeded with remodeling his house, I was amazed at how much he had learned about carpentry from hanging aroung with Pap. Deron started renovating the entire house, one room at a time, tearing all the walls off, re-wiring the entire house, replacing all the windows, putting insulation everywhere (because there was none or very little previously), then hanging drywall, doing the spackling and the painting. He even ended up doing some minor plumbing, which he’ll tell you, ‘I can do it but it’s not something I like to do’.
Anyway, when Deron was finished with his project, he had the house reappraised. When we three sons of Pap had it appraised for estate purposes, it was estimated at $50,000. You’ll never believe what Deron’s appraisal came to when it was done – $140,000!!! Not much in the scheme of things in today’s society. BUT, from $50,000 to $140,000, in just over a year, ought to give you some idea of the efforts he exerted.
Well, I’ve about exerted all the effort I’m going to for this article. So, you all come back now, hear?