Where are my tools?

For the first few years that Jackie and I were married, I would purchase some type of tool almost every week. One week I might buy a pipe wrench, the next maybe a set of screwdrivers. On my birthday one year, my grandmother gave me a sizable check that I used to buy a two-piece stackable tool chest and a 315 piece tool set from Sears. I was set! I had everything I could posibly need to fix almost anything.

As the boys got older I would notice sockets or screwdrivers lying around on the garage floor. There were times that certain tools would just be missing. Other times I would find tools in the driveway or yard. Once, I even found one of my screwdrivers driven into a four by four post behind the shed.  My tools were one by one disappearing and I couldn’t stop it. I would lecture the boys about using them or demand they stay away from them. Once, I even grounded them from going into the garage, which worked for about eight minutes. Regardless of what I did, the tools kept disappearing. I finally gave up trying to save my tools and resigned myself to the fact that one day I could start collecting again after the boys have moved out.

A few years after the great Bermuda tool triangle mysteries had ended, my oldest son was about to turn 16 and would soon be driving. My wife and I purchased him his first vehicle. It was a one-owner vehicle and had 80,000 miles on it. The vehicle owner was an older lady who taught college locally. She had the routine maintenance done on the vehicle regularly. The only thing wrong with the car was she did not feel the need to clean it on a regular basis which was bad because she transported a large canine around with her.

Michael and I had a great time cleaning the vehicle. We used armoural on the dash, waxed the outside, and painted the wheels with that “magic in a can” called spray paint. When it came time for Michael to replace the boot around the gear shifter, he was in need of a specialized type of screwdriver. He searched and search for the proper tool only to come up empty handed. In his frustration he asked me for the screw driver. Finally, I was able to get some satisfaction for all those years of aggravation, due to tool loss, by replying: “Welcome to my world, and while you’re here, why don’t you go look for the tool you need  behind the shed, maybe in the driveway or out in the yard.” Michael very sheepishly said: “I understand, what comes around, goes around.”