Leroy at Dragon Ash Forge

We met Leroy at the local cafe this morning.  The kids and I were looking for things to do and with winds too high for the Sandia Tram, too late  to be on time for the Old Town ABQ tour, we opted for another day closer to home.

We weren't disappointed.

First stop: Alpine Alley Coffee Shop.  There was some rumor going around that I
had eaten there without the kids.  This is not true.  I had gone there on a recon mission a few days earlier, trying to find out more about the area, but there was no eating involved.  Nevertheless, there would be no rest until we all went there for breakfast.

The inside -- and the people --are as colorful and
warm as this sign suggests.

This is a place where everybody really does know your name.  Okay, not ours yet, but we're working on it!  While we were there we talked with  a writer, two ladies who invited us to play badminton with them next week, heard about the Park Ranger from Maine and her husband who is an honorary chief, got tips on yoga and art classes, and met Leroy.

We filled our little piece of paper with names, emails, and notes -- clay class, yoga, blacksmith.  Before you knew it, we'd scrapped our plans to visit ruins (it was pretty cold out anyway) in favor of a new agenda with a more local flavor.

Second stop:  Leroy's.  No answer except the ruckus of dogs barking.

Third stop:  Celeste's for a peek at her gallery and a chat about yoga.  Bright, clear, calm, and colorful.  We came away with more notes and plans to return to make rust prints with her and get a private family yoga class.

Fourth stop:  Leroy's.  He said the great thing about being self-employed was that you only had to work half-a-day, and you could decide which 12 hours you wanted to work.  Must have been part of the 12 hours ON shift because he was there this time.

We followed Leroy around his very full warehouse,
watching him make a Calla Lily and leaf hook for us.

As is always the case in moments like these, it is the person, much more than the craft itself, that makes the experience rich.  

Leroy is a man who knows a lot about blacksmithing and a lot about life.  The Gospel according to Leroy, he calls it, and he is willing to share freely.  It is an education in and of itself, and I hoped the kids were listening.

"Money isn't success for me.  For me, success is getting up in the morning and doing the work I want to do."

Or

"We are a microcosm of a macrocosm," he says, "Everything that is out there exists in you.  You have everything you need.  And if you listen and just let your brain work, you will know what to do -- and be able to do it."

I'm paraphrasing here, of course, doing my best to remember without the benefit of paper and pen. I think he'd say I did pretty good on the 'test' which he kept saying he'd give us.

He was full of jokes, too.

At one point, Leroy was asked what the heap of ash near the 'chimney' was.  He said it was the spent ash that would otherwise fly around.  He said the chimney was designed to capture the ash so it wouldn't fly around because otherwise it lands on your arm, burns a hole in your shirt, and hurts besides.

He looked at me and said, "Cover your ears, Mom," and then looked at the kids.  "Do you know what it is called when a piece of ash flies out and burns a hole in your shirt?"

"A flying ash-hole."

The kids will remember that one for a long time.