The Blind Woodsman

Essentially, a Rotomatic is a finely machined bolt which is flattened on both sides other than a tab every ½” along one side. Then it has a large rectangular-shaped nut, which is 1/16” for every full turn. It has extensions measuring 6”, 12”, and 18”. It’s much smaller than a click rule, which made it easier to navigate the smaller spaces of a piano.

I moved into a small apartment complex near the school six months after starting school. My criminal record made it challenging to find housing, but the place I found was a good fit.

I made some friends with people there right away, and since we were all relatively young men who were single, it could get a little rowdy. The apartment complex was basically like a frat house for that reason. After my school day and on weekends, we would spend time drinking, listening to music, and grilling food. That feeling of loneliness I had felt most of my life subsided. My new friends didn’t treat me differently because of my blindness; I felt like I belonged.

I was attending school full time, and things were going really well. I was progressing with my program, but tuning was still my biggest barrier.

Early on in my program, I met Rick Patten. We became good friends immediately. Rick had been a piano rebuilder for many years and was one of the best in the business. He had a shop near the school full of supplies and materials and would often partner with the school on jobs. He did all of their major rebuild jobs. We got to know each other though the school, and one day I showed him the table I built.

He saw potential in me and believed I would be able to learn advanced methods. This was how the table would eventually lead me to meet my wife.

My other closest friends at this time were Joe and TJ. They both lived in the same apartment complex that I did. The best way to describe Joe is crusty on the outside with a heart of gold on the inside. He was a 20-year veteran who had been a drill sergeant and combat engineer. Joe and I got along very well. We identified with each other in many ways. Just like most of my close relationships, Joe was about 20 years older than me. Sadly, Joe passed away in February of 2023.

TJ was one of the nicest people I’ve ever known. He and I formed a very close relationship, and he had an intuitive ability to know exactly how to help me. We went miniature golfing once, and that was an amazing experience. I was able to get par on almost every hole. When we got to each new hole, TJ would take his clubs and tap on the places that I needed to avoid so I would know how to hit my golf ball. It worked out well.

Something I felt that I had robbed myself of in my early 20s was my independence. I wished I’d had the freedom to explore and hop in my car on my own whenever I wanted. These feelings of regret were probably what fueled a lot of my drug use during those years as a young man. On the other hand, I believe blindness has brought out the bravery in me. I have done things as a blind person that took lots of courage.

This time in Washington felt like a do-over, a chance to live independently successfully. I was living on my own and cooking for myself. I upgraded from hard boiled eggs to frozen dinners and occasionally TJ and I cooked together. Most of what I was eating was just stuff I threw in the microwave, but this was accessible for me. It was a far cry from the cup of noodles I lived on in Craig.