My First Meeting With Eagle

I joined IAP in March of 2006 and very quickly came to realize that Eagle was someone I needed to meet. I was inspired by the work he posted and stared at his photos and scratching my head trying to figure out he did that. He often said that all his work was based on basic woodworking techniques. The problem is, I jumped into turning with a very basic knowledge of other woodworking skills. So, I pondered how could I meet this guy that would not share how he made the amazing pens. How could I ask him to be a mentor?

At this point I have to interject into this story something that has affected my life outside of penturning. In October 2006 the anniversary of my son’s death in Iraq was posted by a good friend at IAP. Many thoughtful people posted their sympathy. Eagle as well.

Back to the story. In November a thread was started wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. All the messages were about eating, football, penturning, and how people would spend their day. I posted as well but also asked everyone to keep in mind the military serving away from home. Eagle noticed.

Within a few days I received a call from Eagle out of the blue. Wow, Eagle called me, I was stunned. He wanted to know if he could come visit me, he was delivering to a client in a nearby town and could come by afterward. Again, I was stunned.

Eagle came in early December and we had a great visit. We showed each other our pens. I was amazed and he made some nice comments on mine. I tried to ask questions and interject but Eagle dominated the conversation. Then he showed me a pen he posted on IAP. It was a deer antler and rifle casing pen. I recalled seeing it on IAP. He then proceeded to tell me that what I had posted on IAP during Thanksgiving had really touched him, especially since my son had recently died in Iraq. Eagle then explained that this pen was a gift for me. He said that he would never have considered putting a rifle casing with an inlayed cross but in this instance it seemed to fit. He gave me that pen in the memory of my son. (pic below)

He also told me something that night that touched my heart. He said that when he is in town at a restaurant he would carry pens in his pocket. If he saw a serviceman or woman in uniform he would give them a pen and thank them for their service.

Eagle kept hinting that he needed to get back on the road but I did everything I could to keep him a little longer. I dragged him through the workshop and talked about everything I could, when I could get a word in. Eagle usually dominated our conversations. I hope I didn’t get him in trouble getting home so late.

I’ll cherish my pen forever. I use it whenever I have business to conduct with the scholarship I set up in my son’s memory. I’m sure Eagle would be happy to know that. I will always call him my friend.