From The Storyteller
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Dec. 23, 2019Hello All: This year's Christmas story is about a gift that keeps on giving. Enjoy, Doug
Pencil I got mixed signals when I opened the Christmas present she gave me. Our first Christmas exchanging gifts, and my gift from her was a Sears toolbox? This suggested one of two things. Since I didn’t own one, maybe she thought it was time for a 30-year-old man to have one, or she had a “honey-do” list that she wanted me to be prepared for. This toolbox contained screw drivers, a hammer, a hand saw, a 25ft tape measure, pliers, and wrenches. It also had a pencil, and it was not just any old pencil. This one was a guy pencil that had to be sharpened with a knife. While the relationship didn’t last, that toolbox and the pencil are still around, as is my tool addiction. Yes, I am now a tool junkie. Over time, if I could think up a DYI project that needed a tool, it found a home in my garage. Of course, each of our cars should have a complete set of tools (just in case), so two more sets. My addiction found new ways to express itself when we bought Safari, our 36ft sailboat. If something broke while you were sailing, you had to have the tools with you to fix it. Thus for safety sake, another full set of tools, and because many were unique to sailboats, they were very expensive. My addiction intervention came one afternoon when Elaine and I were in Home Depot. I was looking at a buying yet another set of really cool sockets when Elaine quietly asked, “Do you really think you need another set?” Those 8 words changed my life. No tools were purchased that day. Dealing with my addiction requires positive steps, and that is why you’ll no longer find me roaming the tool section of Home Depot. Moral: A pencil can start many things. |