The Gunsmith

From the time David was a kid there wasn’t anything he would not take apart. The only problem was there wasn’t much he could put back together either. I lost track of the broken printers, VCRs, computers, toys, tools and appliances that David meticulously took apart in the dining room where they would sit until I threw them in the trash. David had a need to know how things worked because he was intensely curious. I used to tease him that “there’s no money in just taking things apart”.

When David was in second grade he was diagnosed with audio and aural learning disabilities. The experts said he was highly intelligent but would always struggle with processing thoughts into words or putting teacher’s words into actions and struggle he did. Nearly every night you would find David and Nancy at the dining room table as she patiently helped him finish his homework, taking hours with what others would finish quickly. Traditional school would never be easy but David always worked hard and never lost his optimism. He never complained.

After high school David had no idea what he wanted to do so we encouraged him to enroll in the local junior college which he did without much enthusiasm. He got decent grades but after one semester he said he did not want to go back. We wouldn’t force him to go but Nancy and I worried about David finding something that would make him happy in life. We talked about careers but nothing seemed to jump out at him.

David soon got a job as a security guard and for two years spent every day sitting in his car or a guard tower at the Chrysler plant. He was a model employee, never late and very conscientious of his responsibilities. The solitude suited him fine and it gave him a chance to tinker. I lost track of the odd things crafted of tape, glue, cardboard, scrap metal and pieces of scrap wire we would find in the car. They always made me laugh because it was so David.

One day I sat David down and I said “how do you like your job?” and he said he didn’t, it was boring. I said “do you want to be 50 years old still making 8 bucks an hour?” He gave me the David smile and said “no”. I then said it was time for him to find a career and I would get him into any trade he wanted all he needed to do was pick one. But, nothing jumped out at him until the day his grandmother came over with an idea.

David had been around guns since he was a baby and had been hunting since he was old enough to follow me into the fields. One day his grandmother said that she and grandpa wondered why he didn’t become a gunsmith. It combined everything David loved; hunting, guns, tinkering and sitting. I remember the response, it was immediate and heartwarming. David became very excited and asked if I would help him find out how to become a gunsmith. He knew immediately that this is what he was meant to do.

Together we researched gunsmith schools and David selected and was accepted into the Colorado School of Trades in Denver, considered the best gunsmith school in the country. Yet, as excited as David was, he delayed his entry six months when he found out I was going to Iraq again. Always selfless he wanted to spend the last few months with me.

In July 2006, just before I shipped off, his grandfather and I took him to school and set him up in his first apartment. I was anxious because he was so excited by the prospect of becoming a gunsmith I didn’t want him to struggle in school and be disappointed. Nancy told me to relax, David would be fine and rather than struggle he excelled.

I got periodic emails updating me on where they were in the school curriculum; tool making, metal working, stock refinishing, repair. He would send me pictures of his work in school and I was always grateful for his grandparent’s encouragement to pursue gunsmithing. David graduated in October 2007 with an enthusiasm we had not seen before.

I will never forget when he got his first job how proud he was when he sent me his new business card; David Lozano, Gunsmith. David’s work was beautiful and it was clear he not only loved what he did, he was destined to become an artisan. What more could parents want? He had found a vocation that brought him joy.