As I sit here on a warm crisp fall night, I hear a clock
chime 7 o’clock. This clock actually happens to be my grandfather’s clock. It
is a Herman Miller clock given to him for his retirement from the railroad. The
Durkee men were known to have immaculate degeneration, a disease that would affect
their eyesight. There was a time in my life where I would visit my grandfather
on a weekly bases as he lived in Schereville, IN. I would do odd jobs for him
and he would take me to lunch. I really only wanted to try and keep him
company. He eventually moved closer to my father in Mokena, IL. There was a
time when Rich and came home to visit during the holidays. Grandpa was upset
because he couldn’t hear his clock and wanted to get a new one.
We took him all
around to search for one he would like and then we haggled with the owner over
the price. Well it wasn’t long and Grandpa did not like the new clock. I Unfortunately,
he was unable to sit up or move around. The infection finally took over and he
passed away.
He was 92 when he died.
When I was little, I remember
playing with this wind up clock that was red and had a school house theme.
There was a song that played along with it and it wasn’t until recently that I
found out.
It is: My Grandfather’s Clock
My grandfather's clock was too large for the shelf,So it stood ninety years on the floor;
It was taller by half than the old man himself,
Though it weighed not a pennyweight more.
It was bought on the morn of the day that he was born,
And was always his treasure and pride;
But it stopp'd short — never to go again —
When the old man died.
CHORUS:
Ninety years without slumbering
(tick, tick, tick, tick),
His life seconds numbering,
(tick, tick, tick, tick),
It stopp'd short — never to go again —
When the old man died.
In watching its pendulum swing to and fro,
Many hours had he spent while a boy;
And in childhood and manhood the clock seemed to know
And to share both his grief and his joy.
For it struck twenty-four when he entered at the door,
With a blooming and beautiful bride;
But it stopped short — never to go again —
When the old man died.
CHORUS
My grandfather said that of those he could hire,
Not a servant so faithful he found;
For it wasted no time, and had but one desire —
At the close of each week to be wound.
And it kept in its place — not a frown upon its face,
And its hands never hung by its side.
But it stopp'd short — never to go again —
When the old man died.
CHORUS
It rang an alarm in the dead of the night —
An alarm that for years had been dumb;
And we knew that his spirit was pluming for flight —
That his hour of departure had come.
Still the clock kept the time, with a soft and muffled chime,
As we silently stood by his side;
But it stopp'd short — never to go again —
When the old man died.
CHORUS
Although Grandpa’s clock is one
that can sit on the shelf, the song still holds true. Some might say that my
Grandpa was a grouchy and grumpy old man. I saw a different side of him. If you
just take the time to get to know someone, you might be surprised.
He was a great man and provided
well for his family. He was a loving Grandfather as one could be. He loved
baseball, music, and boots.
So as the clock struck this
evening, I smile a bit because I know that is him chiming in to say hi.
