One weekend, months before my daughter and I went on our Alaskan cruise, Tammie insisted we sit down and schedule our onshore activities. She urgently informed me, “We can’t put this off! Some of the activities have limited enrollment. I’ve checked and found some shore excursions with only a few openings left!”

Frowning, I exclaimed, “But the cruise is months away yet!”

Nodding, Tammie pointed out, “Some people plan their trips a year or more ahead,”

Ruefully, I admitted, “Your daddy’s habit of making last minute plans must have rubbed off on me! I thought we had plenty of time yet.” For the following hour my daughter and I went over all the shore excursions offered at each port and discussed the pros and cons of each one. One of the more unusual options described was in Sitka where each person could make a metal wall decoration under the supervision of a metal shop teacher.

Without hesitation, Tammie announced, “I want to do this! The decoration we could make would be a great souvenir! Also, going to a metal workshop makes me think of how I used to visit Daddy in his workshop.”

I approved, “Arnie would have loved visiting Alaska. Taking this workshop is a nice way for us to remember him in a special way.”

When our ship, the Eurodam docked in Sitka, Tammie and I quickly left the ship. The metal workshop class was scheduled early. An old school bus shuttled us, and about eight others, from our ship to an industrial section on the outskirts of Sitka. Stepping into the building, the familiar scent that goes with metal work made us pause and glance at each other. Although the shop was clean and neat as a pin, there was a faint smell of smoke, burned metal, and oily cleaning rags.

Proud of his shop, the first thing the teacher did was demonstrate how his CNC (computer numerical control) machine was able to laser-cut figures from thick sheets of metal. Sparks flew as the computer precisely directed each cut.

After everyone was provided with a leather apron, ear protection, and eye shields, we were told to pick one of the metal animal figures in stock. These animal metal figures were flat, two-dimensional silhouettes of animals commonly found in Alaska. I chose a bear, and Tammie chose an octopus. There were ten workstations, and each was supplied with leather gloves, and all the tools we would need. Pulling on the gloves, I started to have doubts. Burdened down by such heavy protective equipment, would Tammie and I be able to do what the shop teacher demonstrated? 

Our first job was to grind off imperfections in the metal and the raised lip of metal around the cuts made by the CNC machine. For this we used a Ryobi power drill with a metal buffing wheel. There were so many edges! This was probably the hardest step. Tammie and I were able to do this, but our progress was slow. The teacher smoothly stepped in with a larger buffing tool to quickly finish this step for us.

Our next job was to strategically buff the metal animal lightly in places to give it the appearance of texture. I made my bear look like he had a hairy coat. Tammie made her octopus look like it was moving its tentacles. People who had chosen fish gave them scales.

Our flat animal figures sorely needed an additional dimension to look nice. For this we were told to use a rubber mallet and a wooden block. Turning my bear over and leaning it against the block, I pounded a belly into it.

The final step in the workshop was to add color to our animal figures by applying concentrated heat. Blowtorches in hand, we directed the flame onto the metal. A short blast of the heat made lighter colors; if held in one place, it produced a dark blue shine. To my surprise some of the metal on my bear turned blue after I directed the flame away from it.  

Putting down her blowtorch and taking off her protective equipment, Tammie confided, “I enjoyed using the blowtorch the most today!”

All our animal figures were hung on a line and sprayed with a fixative so they wouldn’t rust. Drying quickly, everyone had their picture taken holding their creation. The final assignment at the workshop was to bubble wrap the figures, which made traveling with them much safer!

Tammie and I sometimes wonder if Arnie would have enjoyed going on a cruise. I know he would have loved seeing the glaciers. But the metal workshop class might have been too basic for him! After all, he was a man who did things during his free time, like design and weld together things such as outdoor furnaces and heavy-duty trailers.

When Arnie died, we had been married for 37 years, so you would think I knew him well. But the truth is, my husband often surprised me. That made life with him interesting! Even though I think he probably would have never taken a metal class like Tammie and I did, I find that I’m remembering him each time I look at the bear I made while in Sitka.