ALMetro360 June 19

eral cars parked in front of Petranka’s house at about 5 o’clock. Their owners are Montgomery businessmen going back to school — a special kind of school with only one teacher, Petranka. Like the teenagers on Monday, these men are learning how to work with fire and with sharp instruments and complicated tools and how to carve wood. One of them says it all, “I sit behind a desk all day,” he said. “This is the happiest time of my week because I never thought I’d be able to work with my hands. And look at this knife I’ve made.” Though Petranka has been teaching for years, there’s one lesson his students let slip by over and over. If he could just have the magic words tattooed on their forehead they might remember: SAFETY. BE CAREFUL. Keep inmind you’re dealing withmaterials that are not just hazardous but even potentially lethal: fire, molten metal, razor sharp tools. All the time you’re in this workshop, you have to be watching every move you make. And as a backdrop to working there, expect to get cuts, bruises, burns and scrapes. Pe- tranka sums it up: “I personally cut off the tip of my thumb, just the tip, not paying attention. In addition, I’ve been to the doctor thirty different times to be sewn up after a careless move.” n Find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter JUNE 2019 25