A Path Set in Stone

I didn’t set out to become a stonemason. In fact, I nearly became a carpenter. Back in tenth grade, I had just finished school in Germany and was looking to begin my Ausbildung . I’d planned to train as a Tischler (joiner/carpenter) at the Meisterschule für Handwerker in Kaiserslautern, but the class was full. I was told I could spend a year in another trade at the school and then transfer. So, one day soon after the bad news, I wandered the school halls, unsure where I was headed, just trying to find a direction, a Trade I could spend a year in passing time. That’s when I met Mr. G. He saw me walking around and stopped to ask what I was doing there. I told him the situation. He nodded, then smiled and said, “Come with me.” What followed was a tour — not just of rooms, but of a world I didn’t know existed: the Steinmetz Abteilung , the stonemasonry department. It was in a separate part of the school I hadn't even seen before. He showed me the chisel-scarred stones, the forged tool...