My father was cleaning up from the chaos that the finished Nissan and unfinished Chevy left when I called him over, proud of my welding. I wanted to show off a particularly nice part.

The reaction was immediate when he saw the neatly pooled rings of metal.

“WOW. Keep it up.” And then, quieter, more to himself, “Bugger. You make mine look bad.”

That’s a special joy. I wouldn’t say that the student is surpassing the teacher, but I’m making progress. Now I’ve gotta get better than him at aluminum.