The knife sharpener

Yesterday I was walking in the street and I listened to a very characteristic melody. I turned around and there he was: the knife sharpener. A man in his early sixties, with his motorbike, his sharpener and playing this typical melody. In a way, I felt sorry for him. How many people will actually stop him to sharpen their knives or any other item they need? I thought that it will be very interesting to follow him a day and write something about him. Actually, I thought that it will be a good piece of news for a newspaper or magazine.

I thought that it was a job to disappear in the medium term. Maybe I am wrong, but I don’t really think these people earn much money and I would like to know how they manage. The knife sharpener will pass as the night watchman did. We can’t fight against progress, but I think that it is normal to feel a bit sentimental when you remember this kind of things.

In a way I felt really sad. I have to admit that I have never stopped a knife sharpener, but that melody is so special that I am sure I will miss it when, in a few years, there won’t be any of them. I also thought that it will be a shame for next generations that will never get to know this kind of jobs. I am sure that if I ever mentioned them, they would look at me as if I was mad.

I think that it is very important to go back in time and listen to our parents or grandparents. The stories they tell you help you to see how was life a few years ago. Now we have computers, laptops, internet, mobile phones, tablets, television, etc., but it hasn’t been always like these. I like to listen to my wife’s family when they explain to me how was life in their little village, how Jéssica’s grandfathers had to meet in Encarna’s window to pass some time together.

As I wrote before, it is stupid to fight against progress. Probably, we all live better now than fifty years ago, but we would have been able to get here without the effort and sacrifice of our grandparents or parents. I miss a lot talking to my grandparent Jaime even though I think I did well and I know a lot of things of his life. I also miss not having spoken more with my grandparent Ed, who died too early. Listening it is very important and indispensable to appreciate more what we have.