Getting Started

On September 10, 2012, I received a phone call from my father's doctor, informing me that my father appeared to have suffered a minor stroke and was at the hospital. My life changed in that moment, although it would be many months before I realized just how much it had changed.

By February of 2013, it looked like my father would make a full recovery from his stroke. During one of several hospital visits, an ultrasound scan revealed that his arteries were severely, dangerously, clogged with plaque. Surgery to remove to plaque was scheduled for the first week in March. We were looking forward to a fresh start for my dad, a new lease on life, as they say: recovery from the stroke, plus improved blood flow after removing the plaque.

On February 19, my father asked me to take him to see his doctor, complaining of indigestion so severe it was causing him chest pain. I suggested going to the ER, since it sounded like a possible heart attack. Since he'd had several bad experiences at the ER, he said he preferred to go to his doctor's office. The doctor decided it was probably just indigestion and sent us on our way. A day later, my father was dead.

During the course of his recovery from the stroke, we talked about logistical matters such as advanced health directives and wills. Somewhere in there, he said he would like me to be the Executor of his estate. We never got around to having a will drawn up. My sister and I agreed that I should take on the role of Administratrix (when there is no will, everything goes through the probate court, and the Executor/Executrix role is termed Administrator/Administratrix).

For the past year, all of my free time has been spent handling various aspects of my father's estate. I've been very fortunate to find a highly talented young woman to take over the liquidation of his horological workshop. You can see more about that on her blog, Mechanical Curios.

Meanwhile, I've been overseeing what needs to be done with the contents of my dad's home and the massive collection of antiques and other items left behind by my grandfather (more on that later!).

My dad, Dennis Harmon.

My father was an exceptional horologist, a genius in his field. He worked on many of the world's best watches, clocks, musical snuff boxes, and automaton. He was also an amazing parent. He met my mother when I was two years old and never treated me as anything other than his own child. He was a positive influence in my life, in more ways than I could possibly enumerate. (Side note: when I finally reconnected with my "other" father after three decades, it was great to see both of my dads hanging out together, swapping stories about being married to my mother, and generally having a good time.)

As was probably inevitable, growing up surrounded by magnificent timepieces and horological tools and machinery, I developed an interest in clocks and watches. I have no particular technical skill, so becoming a watchmaker was not a likely scenario. My skills, and my passions, are with words and with research.

As this blog progresses, I will post photographs and research about some of the many cool things left behind by my grandparents and my father. I expect there will be a fair amount of autobiography woven into what I post, since these cool things are what I grew up with. Eventually, I anticipate that this blog will focus on antique clocks and watches, something I have in abundance and enjoy writing about.

Life is a strange thing. I never imagined that I would be in the situation I'm currently in, but I can see how my entire professional career has been preparing me for this, and I can see how my grandparents' and my father's interests guided me into that career path. Nothing was planned, but everything has come together in perfect synchronicity. Life is strange.