Excerpt
"My nick-name in the yard was 'The Monkey' ," he frequently bragged. "That's because I would climb anywhere and get through the tightest places."

When I and my siblings were growing up. we took for granted his remarkable talent for shaping pieces of wood into any form he conceived. Daddy could make or fix anything.

Now as suddenly as a magician had waved his wand, Alzheimer's disease had robbed him; slowing his movements and destroying his access to past lore.

Simple repairs around the house turned into long frustrating sessions, most time unfinished because the taken-for-granted knowledge wasn't there anymore.