Culture | Tylers in Brazil

Interesting People

Posted on September 16, 2014 by admin Leave a comment

Recently I have spent quite a bit of time visiting with those who attend our church. It is hard to make a visit like this and not spend hours at someone’s house.

While visiting with Claudino, he began to expound upon a hobby he has. He showed me a few of the products he had made on a lathe. He personally built the lathe with a motor from a washing machine. Most of the rest is just a few little pieces he had picked up here and there.

Though a little rough looking, his work is absolutely beautiful. When I say this, it really means a lot more than what it sounds like. Maybe if I explain just a bit about Claudino, you can imagine what I am saying.

Claudino is a man who has been around for a good amount of time. He was a logger many years ago when our state of Rondônia was being cut out of the jungle. He would cut acres of forest in just a few days. He also cut wood for houses. The house he lives in was cut from some of these tress. Every piece of wood was cut with a chainsaw. It is pretty impressive when you think about it and see the house.

About seventeen years ago, his second wife (if I have that correct) poisoned a piece of cake she baked for him. Without knowing what had happened, but feeling sick, he took himself to the hospital. The doctor laughed and said, “You are crazy! You drink poison to kill yourself, then come to hospital for help.” The result was heart surgery, and many health complications since then. His wife left that day, but when he returned home, his son showed him the rat poison that she had placed in his cake.

We met Claudino several years ago while on door-to-door visitation and he has attended services since that time, though not regularly. He is well up in years, and just recently got married again. He decided if he married this lady, she would not commit suicide. It is humorous how some people think. She also has some very complicated health issues and he has been a big help to her though all of this.

Back to one of my recent visits…

We were discussing his work and he asked me if I would like a garlic crusher. I said sure, so he insisted that I stay and watch him make it. About twenty minutes later, he had cut out a garlic crusher from a piece of a log. Just about every one of his tools were home made. His health keeps him from working much, but each one of these garlic crushers is worth about $25-$50. He also makes flower pots and a few other things. Below are some pictures of his work and a video of him making the piece used to crush the garlic.

— Jeremy