Of leather tooling and love
Here’s my story for @tagminibang. I want to thank @tracybirds for their amazing art and working with me. Also, I thank them being extremely patient with learning about leather tooling and for adapting to the time zone difference to get this put together.
(I added my own art piece - “John’s” astronomy cuff… mark I, and will link directly to tracybirds’s art when I can fully figure this out).
John Tracy was mad... so mad he was making an indelible mark that would take forever for someone to wipe away or cover up.
Fortunately it was leather, and he was tooling a design so no one would really want to cover it up, but he still was at points surprised he wasn't punching holes in the design… or the table.
A chirp however made him question the latter.
“John, please do not hit the table so hard. You are making my processors overload,” gently scolded EOS as the man was swinging the rawhide mallet.
While fortunately her interruption didn’t make him miss, allowing him to add to the octopus design, John set the leather tools down and sighed. “I’m sorry EOS,” he said gently.
“I accept your apology, but I do not understand why stamping cowhide will help your anger,” said the AI.
“As I said, it’s leather tooling, and it’s better to use my anger for something creative,” John said quietly.
He looked at the cuff he was working on again and gave a half smile. “Even this wallet,” the astronaut chuckled.
After giving EOS a task to do, reminding her not to adjust the gravity back to zero to avoid any spills from his work, John looked at the project again.
He sighed, understanding his curious “data child’s” curiosity. Leather tooling, while a bit outdated in some people's eyes, was one of the few learned talents and gifts he still had from his Grandfather as well as his Dad.
And - it reminded him of Gordon, in good and bad times.
Gordon… his brother with the wacky sense of dress.
The aquanaut preferred to wear on average two leather bands and then a woven smaller band with the first two oyster pearls he found.
That's why he stopped - at the moment, it felt as though if he took out more anger on the mallet and metal stamping tool, he was hurting Gordon. Triple if he managed to hit it so hard it tore through the damp leather.
Who knew Gordon’s penchant for being the only one to wear leather wrist bands would save his life?
A week and a half prior... he chose to wear two broader bands on one arm and his usual one on his other.
They were nearly the width of a cuff, with designs that took forever to explain to EOS. It was an unusual decision, but one that the brothers were thankful Gordon made.
They had been called out to a rescue - a skyscraper fire in Houston, and all land based brothers had been called as it required high rise rescue.
Gordon had been on level 70 of the building, rescuing an unconscious woman. He had secured the victim in with his harness and started to use the pulley to get them to the top of the building for Thunderbird to lift them to safety.
An explosion had knocked them for a loop, smashing Gordon into the building.
Gordon took the brunt of the hit, slamming into the frame.
In spite of the helmet, he too was knocked out. Worse, the grapple slipped, and glass shards, still stuck in their mounts, sliced down his forearms.
It cut the neoprene... and through part of his thick leather cuffs.
When they recovered both victims, Virgil and John immediately triaged the two. She had a minor concussion and smoke inhalation.
Gordon however not only too had the bump on the head - thanks to the helmet taking the brunt, he also a dislocated shoulder, and a few cracked and broken ribs.
But what was the immediate concern at the time of the rescue was his arms, particularly the wrists. They took the brunt of the damage.
The leather bands however, saved his life. They made what would've been life threatening - if not fatal, slashes on his wrist to mostly superficial cuts.
The bands though were completely destroyed as far as wearability. Virgil would have to apologize for cutting them completely off - but not why - later.
Gordon was taken to a hospital in Houston's esteemed Medical Center, where he went through multiple surgeries, a few pints of blood, and lots of rest.
That was a week ago, as Gordon had a healing rib rebreak, nicking his lung. It was repaired, the bleeder stopped, but Gordon had to be put under sedation for a couple of days to ensure the site healed.
Though they had lifted the sedation the day prior and were waiting for Gordon to come out of it, the family would have to wait couple of days before he could return to Tracy Island.
That lead to where he was today.
John sighed, and looked around Thunderbird Five.
He had been practicing some leather tooling at University of Houston's art department.
That was before a space rescue needed both him and Alan, and afterword, he stayed on Five to keep apprised of a possible hurricane.
Well that and have an excuse to decline another lecture invite from NASA.
John was thankful that U of H understood his need for privacy, and that having a PhD in Aeronautics and Space allowed him some special favors.
The positive it included the use of one of the art studios to leather tool...
The negative? The trade off was as long as he also donated one of his famous astronomy tooled leather cuffs for a fundraiser.
He had already finished the band for the auction two days prior, complete with the antique leather dye, golden paint accents in the star constellations, and steampunk like swing hinge cuff. Not the easiest to make, especially setting the rivets for the cuff.
Worth it to John - small price to pay, but would reap rewards for U of H’s generosity. He’d bring it to them when he visited Gordon again.
The astronaut then looked at the octopus carved and stamped on the wallet. "It was too damn close," he said out loud, but at the same time, he was thankful. This was for Gordon later on.
John then smiled at the thought. It was indeed for his aquanaut brother, one they could’ve lost in that fire.
He was about to stamp the leather again... when a beep startled him.
The astronaut asked EOS to answer it, and the image of Virgil came out of the monitor.
"Gordon's come to," said Virgil.
The older brother shrugged. "Mostly, but he should be fully alert by the time you get to the hospital," he said, then frowned. "He's asking about the leather bands... especially the one that was 'Mom's belt'."
Fortunately the one bracelet Gordon hadn't worn that day.
Unfortunately, the one Gordon duplicated - with varying degrees of success, he did wear nearly daily.
John could imagine Gordon’s initial reaction… he’d feel the same way.
"Virgil, Gordon didn't wear that cuff that day," he said. "He intentionally put a small Thunderbird stamp on his so he didn't confuse the two."
Virgil nodded. "I know, but you know him and anesthetics... gives him the wrong memory if he's not goofy from it," he said, then chuckled. “Last time he was trying to feed Parker poster pancakes on the USS Lexington.”
John scoffed at the memory. "That one still has Parker perplexed," he said, then stood, stretching. "Try to talk him down from his confusion. I'll be there in a few minutes. I need to get something."
Virgil noticed John’s labors on the table and quirked an eyebrow. "What about the wallet you're working on?"
"It'll be fine. The leather can be dampened again to finish it up. I expected it to be a longer project over the bracelets I made at U of H,” he said, putting the stamping tool and mallet down.
The artist noticed John’s attempt to deflect, and his eyes twinkled in mischief. "So… how many projects did the University ‘con’ you out of for the auction this time?" said the artist with a teasing smirk.
He wasn't going to give his younger brother too much grief - he still owed the University at least one hand blown glass vase.
"Just the one - the astronomy cuff."
Virgil gave a soft whistle. "That one? You won't even make that one for me."
"Then bid on the one they're selling," snarked John as he cleaned up the rest of the leather tooling supplies.
Virgil merely laughed - yeah, he was going to bid if anything to help a department who helped his brother cope through this.
John then picked up a box wrapped in sea turtle wrapping paper. "I'll be there shortly,” he said walking to the space elevator.
Gordon Tracy looked out the windows of his hospital room from his hovering hospital bed and signed.
He was thankful he wasn't stuck with a view of the generators. The hospital still hadn't gotten over teasing him - gently - about calling them "Donald Duck" in a post-anesthesia comment the other time he was there for an injury.
Here, it was a view of one of the garden parks the area had.
What he wasn't thankful for was the fact he lost the leather band that was made from his mother's belt.
He looked at the long bandages wrapped on his wrists and lower arms and sighed.
Sure, Virgil kept insisting it was not the band, but he knew his bracelets.
Yes, he had to admit they had to be fully cut off too keep him from bleeding out through his wrists - he knew one cut was still too close.
Still though... he had to concede if it was gone, it was his mother protecting him.
Even Scott had told him point blank it was the only time he was thankful Gordon had forgotten to take the bands off.
Rumor had it Scott was even considering consulting with Brains to create leather arm bracers.
His theory was if it worked for the cowboys in the 1800s and 1900s, why not the technological cowboys of today?
Gordon looked at the sky and smiled. "Thanks Mom for watching over both that woman and me," he said, then looked at the bands.
There were blood stains on them, which were not going to come out.
Sure, they could be dyed dark before being stored, most likely black, and he could have John help him there. That said, it was not going to matter when they had been made unwearable when Virgil cut them off.
There were the button and hole fixtures sure... but the aquanaut understood Virgil was going to slice first, apologize for saving Gordon's life later.
Blood loss didn’t wait for bracelets.
A knock at the door shook him out of his thoughts. "Come in," he said, adjusting the bed to where it floated back to connect with the main vitals scanner.
John entered and smiled at seeing his alert brother, the first time he'd been fully awake since before the accident.
"Hi Gordon, how are you feeling," he said, wincing slightly at the cliche.
His fish loving brother just smiled, but the astronaut didn't miss the sadness in the cinnamon colored eyes. "I'm having a whale of a time... too bad the lake below probably only has ducks," he said, chuckling slightly.
“Must be going ‘quackers’ then,” joked John, only to watch as Gordon fiddled with the remains of the bracelets. John coughed. "Gordon..."
"I know. They had to be cut off in order to save my life," the aquanaut said, sighing. "It's just... this was mom's - look at the paisley here..."
John put his hand over both his younger brother's and smiled. "It isn't the one made with Mom's belt, trust me,” he said, smiling, then pointing to a detail. "See? Here's the thunderbird stamp you used for yours."
Gordon took a closer look, and his eyes widened slightly.
John was right... it was indeed there, just had been cut in half by the cutting tools. Well he hoped so and not the glass, but that was a story left unsaid at the time.
"It's not mom's," the aquanaut whispered instead, tears of happiness flooding his eyes.
The astronaut smiled and gave his brother a gentle hug. "No it isn't. I made sure the one with Mom's was in the fire safe - just in case, on the Island before Alan brought me to the hospital," he said gently.
The two hugged gently for a while, the mix of hospital bluster and soothing sounds from the Muzak in the hallways mingling between the brother's hushed tones.
After a few minutes, Gordon sat up, and noticed the sea turtle box his brother was holding. "Funny looking NASA paper," the aquanaut teased, chuckling softly when John rolled his eyes.
He knew John tried to avoid the facility if possible.
Not because he didn't enjoy it, but because the last time he visited the center, Mission Control crowded him the point he fainted from the social claustrophobia.
EOS found it amusing to force Alan to eat freeze dried brussel sprouts and liver with onions meals every day his last rotation on Thunderbird Five for his "rude behavior."
Both men chuckled in the memory, and John handed his brother the box. "Nope, this is for you, a get well soon present," said he said.
Gordon carefully opened up the box, which John had purposely wrapped the two parts separately due to the shoulder being strapped, and gasped.
Inside were two bracelets.
One was similar to his mother's belt, but the paisley and flower design that was in his mom's band was adjusted slightly to include southwestern printed sea turtles and a squid stamp John had custom made. Like his mother's, it was dyed a medium brown.
The other... took Gordon's breath away.
The edges were done in a simple border - scalloped with the occasional octopus and sea turtle stamp in between the scallops. It was dyed mahogany.
It was mostly just border stamped... because the concho fastened in the center was the showstopper.
It was a golden sea turtle, swimming in the middle of a pewter center. “How?…”
Seeing Gordon's eyes water, John chuckled. "Yes, I remembered that concho. Had trouble finding it, but fortunately the store on the Sam Houston Tollway found one and put it aside for me," he said as he put a hand on his brother's uninjured shoulder.
Gordon put the box down and wiped away the tears with his good hand. "Got a bit of hand sanitizer in my eyes. Strong stuff," he said, and John scoffed.
"Yeah, sure... you want me to help put it on your … good wrist?" John said, and coughed when Gordon shot the arm out. "Whew... you weren't kidding on the hand sanitizer,” he laughed, waving the fumes away.
"Yeah... apparently it's 'essense of moonshine' I think. It probably kills germs 10 years before they’re born," Gordon smirked.
The bands fit perfectly, and had a simple button and hole fastener so the doctors or even Gordon could take it off with a push if needed.
John watched his brother admire the bracelet, even taking a few photos of the laughs and chuckles his brother made as he showed it off.
Gordon then paused and looked at John. "You made these right?" he inquired, looking at the antiqued looking band.
The astronaut nodded, and Gordon continued, grinning slightly in memory. "How many bands did the University get you to make in exchange for the use of the studio this time?"
"One - and before you ask, the astronomy one,” John said, touching a button on his baldric to ensure EOS didn’t talk about the wallet. She still had a proclivity to ruin surprises - especially if it was one of John’s younger siblings.
Gordon, knowing how much money usually got raised to but one of these bands, looked at the bands and then John. "Worth every cent," he said, smiling warmly as the nurse came in to check Gordon's vitals and bring dinner.
John took this as a note to head out, but before he left, he looked at his brother, who was bragging about the bracelet his older brother made.
And making it very clear how to take it on and off so this one was not cut off.
The astronaut gave a gentle wave to his brother. "I'll be back later," he said, and headed out.
Hearing the chuckles Gordon made again, John's smile broadened. "Yes, it was worth every single minute and cent to hear that laughter," John murmured, but it was priceless to have his brother saved by those other bands.
Now... how he was going to steal the remnants of the old bands to repurpose into a hippie cuff for Gordon was another story
