Friday, June 29, 2007

Message from Down Under: It's a Smaller World Tonight for Farriers

I didn't understand the message at first, but now I get it.

There was a little blip on the world map of farriery. It shone brightly and then was gone.

Many of you knew Paul Mitchell because of the beautiful loop knives he made at his Pinehurst Forge in Tasmania. Others of you knew him because he travelled the world to fuel his love for farriery. He might have been sitting next to you on an airplane or in a hotel bar at a farriery competition or convention. He probably epitomizd what you always thought an Aussie would be like.

Get out the world atlas and look up Tasmania. Don't stop looking until you find it. It might not be where you think it is. Remember that a farrier came all the way from there...to take the world by storm. Put your finger on that little dot on the map and it might still be warm from the last fire in his forge.

Maybe some more details will find their way here, maybe not. The basic message is: Paul Mitchell died on Tuesday, June 26 in Tasmania, half a world away, or half a world closer, depending on how you look at a map.

Remember him. I will.