Główne pojęcia
My grandfather possessed an exceptional talent for understanding and repairing mechanical devices, which he used to support his modest shop on the outskirts of El Paso, Texas, a border town with a unique character.
Streszczenie
The content describes the author's grandfather, who was known for his exceptional mechanical abilities and talent for understanding how things worked. He owned a modest shop on the outskirts of El Paso, Texas, a border town that was situated near the Rio Grande and the Chihuahuan desert.
The grandfather was able to take apart and reassemble various mechanical devices, including diesel engines, with ease. He was said to have the ability to "talk to machines" and understand their inner workings. The author recalls how his grandfather would often reach into his pockets and give him ballbearings, demonstrating his constant access to useful mechanical parts.
The shop was located in a desolate area on the fringes of El Paso, which at the time was a unique border town, with El Paso being a "lonely outpost" and the neighboring Juarez, Mexico being a "feral metropolis." The author describes the surrounding Chihuahuan desert as a place that is both "dead and alive."
Occasionally, the grandfather would encounter something "lost" that had emerged from the wide-open nothingness of the desert, suggesting that his shop served as a hub for those in need of mechanical repairs in the remote border region.
Statystyki
My grandfather was handsome, with jet-black hair and skin like caramel.
He fixed diesel engines at his shop, primarily for truckers and, now and again, for the U.S. government.
Cytaty
"Legend had it that he could talk to machines, which is how he could take things apart and put them together. They told him what to do."
"He'd reach into his work pants and sprinkle ballbearings into my palm."