My grandpa is 88 this year & worked in a factory in China his whole life. He gave me these last year, they’re his most prized possessions, tools he used at work for decades. He thought maybe my husband or I could use them. Didn’t have heart to tell him probably not. 
He started off in Shanghai as an apprentice in a workshop in the late 40s, volunteered to go to Harbin (very cold city in northern China) soon after. He said they started off w nothing, had to build all their own housing, but was exciting bc felt they were building a new country.
When Cultural Revolution came, he was locked up and beaten like many others. Has lasting back issues that I believe has him in pain everyday today. Actually 3 out of 4 of my grandparents were locked up. I’m very lucky they all survived the ordeal. I know others not so lucky.
Some of the earliest stories I heard from him tho were about horrors of war. 2nd Sino-Japanese war happened when he was a child, he still has scars from bombs dropped then. He said the gases made him sick all the time. So much death. A lot of his extended family didn’t make it.
I’ve heard this ever since I was a child. So I’ve always been terrified of war. I actually really love war movies, but mostly as a reminder of how terrible they are. It really alarms me how many ppl talk about it like it’s a video game. I haven’t experienced it; I hope never to.
My grandparents’ generation went through a lot in China. A good amount of it was horrific. I just hope we (the world, everywhere, not just China) have learned from it. I would love to have better stories for my grandkids. Actually, I already do, and I hope to keep it that way. 💖
Thanks for all the 💕 in the comments, ladies and gents! I like the idea of framing these, will look into it. Meanwhile, stay classy 😽
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