Although this blog is about the three younger Atkins boys, there is one very important Atkins boy who needs to be immortalized. That would be Asa Carl Atkins, Sr.
The younger Atkins boys received many of their traits from him. He was quiet, reserved, and very deliberate. In fact, he sometimes deliberated so long before beginning a task that his nickname was Speedy. Before he could start something new, he had to first go through all of the reasons it could not work – something the current oldest Atkins boy also does. This sometimes drives his wife a little bit nuts.
Once something was worked out, however, he never wavered from his task. He is probably the only person to ever hand dig and finish an entire basement under his existing home after recovering from a heart attack at age 64. After that, he dug and finished a 10-foot-deep cistern to provide the first running water they ever had. He could do wiring, plumbing, and just about every other task associated with building. Nothing that he built ever came apart. It was a family joke that he never used anything smaller than a 16-penny nail.
Asa Atkins, Sr., loved puzzles and riddles. Although he had only an elementary school education, he spent hours solving complicated math equations. He liked nothing better than to be able to stump his friends and relatives with questions they could not answer and problems they could not solve. The younger Atkins boys definitely did NOT inherit his love of math!
The younger Atkins boys received many of their traits from him. He was quiet, reserved, and very deliberate. In fact, he sometimes deliberated so long before beginning a task that his nickname was Speedy. Before he could start something new, he had to first go through all of the reasons it could not work – something the current oldest Atkins boy also does. This sometimes drives his wife a little bit nuts.
Once something was worked out, however, he never wavered from his task. He is probably the only person to ever hand dig and finish an entire basement under his existing home after recovering from a heart attack at age 64. After that, he dug and finished a 10-foot-deep cistern to provide the first running water they ever had. He could do wiring, plumbing, and just about every other task associated with building. Nothing that he built ever came apart. It was a family joke that he never used anything smaller than a 16-penny nail.
Asa Atkins, Sr., loved puzzles and riddles. Although he had only an elementary school education, he spent hours solving complicated math equations. He liked nothing better than to be able to stump his friends and relatives with questions they could not answer and problems they could not solve. The younger Atkins boys definitely did NOT inherit his love of math!
What we remember long after someone's life has ended is sometimes unexpected. The writer of this blog feels that she was endowed with the highest praise a father-in-law could have given when, during his last illness, he told her parents they had raised a fine daughter. The feeling was mutual – Asa Carl Atkins, Sr., was a fine man. He raised a fine son who raised a fine grandson and now that grandson has raised a fine great-grandson. Asa Carl Atkins, Sr., would be proud of the kind of men they are today – those three Atkins boys who came after him.
The lone female of the family is allowed to say this.
The lone female of the family is allowed to say this.
