I had breakfast with a fine friend named Maurie yesterday at Chick-Fil-A. He is a wonderful listener and asks the best questions. Conversations like that make me feel alive.
Afterwards I stopped by my favorite hardware store, Butters Ace Hardware, to hang out in their grill section. They have a wonderful selection of Big Green Eggs, Traeger pellet grills, flat top griddles, Weber Kettle charcoal grills, and propane grills. They also have the best selection of grilling tools and accessories in our area. And they keep a generous inventory of premium lump charcoals, wood chips, and wood chunks for smoking meat. Well, I happened to see an acacia wood side table for a Big Green Egg. It was beautiful. I have a small size Big Green Egg with plastic side tables. The acacia wood feels so much warmer and is simply a beautiful addition to the Kamado style smoker grill. However, they cost $150 new. I only paid $250 for my entire egg used. So that would not work for me.
I went home and looked at the underside of the plastic side tables. They had a nice metal structure. I began thinking, “What if I just put my own wood on this frame?” I wondered if I could find some wood on Facebook Marketplace. Turns out there was a man in my town that was selling some hardwood scraps from his woodworking business. We talked on the phone and I gave him the dimensions of 12X24 inches for each shelf. He asked me several more questions about my proposed design and needs. I asked him about how much it would cost for the wood. He calculated about $32. And he added, “I will need to charge tax because of my business.” OK that was impressive. He insisted on being honest and doing the right thing. He added, "I will do right by you."
We made arrangements to meet that night and I drove to his home and his detached two-story garage wood shop. He met me in the driveway. He was 60-ish and strikingly tall, about a foot taller than me. I did not say anything about that because I bet everyone that meets him asks him how tall he is.
He already had some nice-looking white oaks boards in mind. One was 9 inches wide and the other 3 inches. We could put them together to get the 12-inch width.
We went into John’s workshop and it was extraordinary. He was still using tools from his grandfather and father. Many of the heirloom hand tools hung on the wall with a framed picture of his grandfather when he was a young boy. All of the saws had custom bases on them that he made himself. He said that none of the woodworking gear was tall enough for him to work on comfortably, so he just made his own stands. That is the sign of most guys that are real craftsmen; they build their own stuff, like cabinets and work benches. The garage of a man that actually works in the garage looks has a certain feel and appearance. A man’s garage is an intensely personal thing that reflects his temperament and style. This one was 100% functional with a nice touch of nostalgia from the tools that he inherited. He had grandpa’s six foot long steel saw with handles on each end that men use for cutting down big trees. It hung above the window.
He talked about his professional career. He worked for Saturn for part of that. He said that when Saturn was disbanded in America that they re-branded and kept making those same cars in Canada and Mexico. Well that was a fascinating story. I am a car guy and did not know that story! He said that the re-branded Saturn factories very cost-conscious and in 2017 were still using computers with 3.5 inch floppy drives!
He asked me about what I do and we talked a bit about helping couples with marriage issues. We agreed that a lot of couples needed help these days.
John very carefully cut the boards to exactly the same length with a giant DeWalt sliding rotary saw while wearing safety glasses and earmuffs. I was fascinated as I watched him work. He precisely marked the wood and then made a very light cut across the top, then backed up and took the deep cut completely through. I have never seen a man cut a board like that. Then he put the boards in his table saw and shaved off the sides to make them perfectly square. He had me feel the edge and it was sharp as a knife. He said that it was very easy to cut yourself on white oak. Then he got out his router and rounded off the sharp edges. I asked him if I could take a picture of him cutting a board. He said, “Now that will cost you!” He let me take a picture and then said, “That’s good.” Photo time was over.
The shelves were cut and ready to take home and attach to my grill.
Then we talked for about another 10 minutes about how to finish the wood. He recommended Odie’s, an expensive food-grade penetrating oil that is used on furniture, hardwood floors, and cutting boards. He gave me instructions about how to rub the oil in using a soft non-scratching Scotch-brite pad. Then you let it sit for about two hours, and finally rub it out with a terry cloth towel. He rubbed some of the Odie's oil into one of the scraps to show me what it would look like. Stunning!
As we began to wrap up I thanked the kind man for helping me and for the wonderful conversation. I pulled out my wallet and asked him how much that I owed him.
He said, “This is my gift for you. It’s what I do. You just keep helping people with their marriages. And if you ever need anything, please call.” It was clear that he meant it.
I thanked him for his kind generosity then we put the boards in the front floor of my truck.
I shook his hand and thanked him again.
He went into his home through the garage entrance.
I sat in my truck and some tears got in my eyes. This fine man that I just met had expressed deep love and kindness to me. That moved my heart. It felt like the love of God.
My Big Green Egg is going to get an aesthetic upgrade with some unique wood shelves.
It is going to be a great thing to have those hand-cut by John white oak side shelves for my small Big Green Egg. Nice looking shelves that make me feel good. Shelves that have their kind story.