Monday was raw and chilly, with a wicked wind. Most of that
could have been avoided if I had thought to grab a jacket on the way into work,
but I didn’t. So, walking outside in the morning was definitely challenging!
I went to Home Depot at lunch and picked up the two 2 x 4’s
I needed for the workbench. I also grabbed a small bag of grass seed and two 100-watt
CFL bulbs for the garage. I dropped them off at the house and ate a bowl of
that Spicy Tuscan soup.
I didn’t even try to walk outside in the afternoon. I walked
around back in the shop instead, much to the amusement of the mechanics.
Back at home after work, I went through the mail. Most of it
went into the trash, but one of the letters was from my doctor’s office. I
opened it up to learn that my doctor is “moving into another area of medicine
in her career.” There are two new doctors taking over her practice who would be
very happy to continue serving me…
I was so bummed. Jake and Carla have ragged on me for years
to get a doctor closer to my house, but there was a reason I drove 40 miles one-way to see her. I liked her. I trusted her! Now what the hell am I gonna do?
Well, what I did was to go out in the garage. I moved the
car outside and replaced the light bulbs. Then I got started on the bench. I
cut the two new boards to length and then cut the eight existing 2 x 4’s down. It
was easier than I thought, BTW. I started pre-drilling holes and screwing
everything back together. I got the bottom plywood screwed back in and then
started in the legs when more tragedy struck. All of a sudden, the 2 1/2-inch
deck screw stopped screwing in! I figured I had messed up the screw head when
I took them out, so I got another screw. But, when it kept happening, I checked
it out and discovered that my square-head bit (that I’ve used for years) was
worn almost round!!! I looked around to see if I had another one somewhere, but
couldn’t find one.
Since it was almost
7:30 p.m. and the outside light was fading, I just gave up. So, the workbench
I’d hoped to finish, put into place and take celebratory photos for you will
have to wait yet another day. I did take one photo, just to show you how close
I was…
I realized I hadn’t taken out the trash, so I did that next.
And that’s when I met the garbage fairies (or gremlins)! I was putting my old
sweeper out to the road when they drove by. It was an old guy in a pickup with
4-foot wood sides. There was a young girl and a guy sitting beside him. The
young guy jumped out and grabbed my sweeper, while the young girl (His wife?
His sister?) peeked out at us. I told him that it worked, except for the brush.
He said thanks and put it in the truck, next to a set of metal box springs. I
pointed out that he needed to take the charging stand as well and he grabbed
that, thanking me again. Then they drove on slowly down the road, checking out
the other garbage offerings.
I pulled the car back in, shut everything up and went inside
for the night.
I warmed up a bowl of the pasta dish I invented (that I
should have named, I suppose) for my dinner. It was still delicious, even
reheated.
I dozed off watching TV and woke back up just in time to
watch the 11:00 o’clock news. It was then I learned that the Tigers were in
trouble in the playoffs. Could this day get any better?
RE: "Jake and Carla have ragged on me for years" why is it that our kids are always right....perhaps we should listen when they speak!!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
ReplyDelete@GPF: Damn, man! See what you started? What the hell's wrong with you? You're not supposed to EVER let your kids know that they were right. Didn't you read that chapter in the handbook? Geesh....
ReplyDelete@ Jake: please ignore your Uncle Fish. He's getting up there in age and at times is, well, a little feeble...
No, I think he's right! Like when I told you that was way too wide to build a bench!
ReplyDelete(In all fairness, I don't think I said that but it works. Leave it alone.)
@ Jake: LOL, Okay, you win.
ReplyDelete