A time to build

My grandfather went to France in 1944. He wasn't a soldier, he was an engineer and it was his job to prepare the roads and bridges for the Army. He said "we were there before the real soldiers, which meant the Germans would shoot at us, and we would shoot at them, but we weren't technically "fighting."
When he got back from the war, like many of his military brothers he wouldn't talk about it. It was a much more serious version of "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." He felt that what happened to him and his comrades during the war needed to stay far away in France.

Growing up, WW2 was a mystery to me until I married my husband. Suddenly my grandfather opened up like a water spout, and the stories just flowed. Of course, you had to be where he was to hear the stories: rewiring the washing machine, changing the oil of the Buick or tending his beloved vegetable garden. He never made a fuss, there was simply a sense of importance to his stories that made us hang on every word.

My grandfather isn't with us anymore but I think he would like the idea that this post would encourage people to build something constructive. Sears has a great sale happening during Veteran's Day as does LandscapeUSA. Buy yourself, or your grandfather, some new tools and go out and make something!