Posted a couple more Facebook stories and shook my head when I saw how many people watched it because I can’t imagine these are particularly interesting but maybe I am wrong.
Maybe people find some of it informative, educational or entertaining or maybe they don’t have anything better to do.
I often use them because they’re effective at expressing certain thoughts and offer a way to practice other skills. Those skills have a particular importance to me so there is value in doing what I can to keep them sharp.
And so we come to telling you about the toilet that seems to be leaking whenever a long shower is taken. Got me wondering if the wax ring is cracked or if there is a clog in the sewer line.
It is a bad time in Texas to need a plumber so I am playing around with whether I am going to try to fix it myself. I suspect I can do the job but I am not sure I want to take it on as there could be complications I am not prepared for.
Besides this is a rental, so there is a landlord that is ultimately responsible for such things. A landlord who has benefited from my willingness to fix some things myself because I don’t want to wait for them and because I take pleasure in working with my hands.
Looking For The Big O
Found myself puttering through the garage looking for the Big O to come back from the hardware store with the tools we need to finish the repair.
Laughed because I damn well know Dad isn’t going to show up and that now I am the guy that does it. I am the guy who waltzes down the aisle with the items I I need and six others just to see if there is anything else that might be of interest.
The guy who stops to stare at the Milwaukee display and thinks about whether I ought to buy another battery and or some additional accessories for projects I haven’t taken on because I am not equipped for it.
Laughs again thinking about how not equipped isn’t solely about owning the tools but includes knowledge and experience for how to do the job.
You can throw a steak in a cast iron skillet and cook it but it doesn’t mean you’ll end up with a steak you enjoy.
Can’t tell you how many times I have walked through homes where the doors don’t swing properly and the homeowner sheepishly confesses to having hung it themselves.
There is an art and skill required for some things and knowing how it is supposed to be done doesn’t always translate as being capable of doing it.
****
I am in the midst of Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford by Clint Hill and enjoying it very much.
Hill is a former Secret Service agent and shares his thoughts and memories of those presidents and the things that happened during their administrations.
Given the chaos caused by 45’s corruption and incompetence alongside a pandemic that hasn’t quite been tamed it is easy to forget the US has been through a few things and the book is a good reminder.
You can simplify it and talk about how Hill was there for the assassination of one president and the resignation of another or you can dig in and talk about the multitude of other events that took place during those years.
It provides some perspective on what is happening now and reminds us though things may feel dark now there is precedent for overcoming such things.
Dawn isn’t guaranteed but it is not an impossible dream either.
Redivivus
Some of the boys and I have been speaking about the impact of vaccinations and how long it will take before life begins to feel normal again.
I said one word comes to mind, Redivivus and they said define it.
redivivus adjective
red·i·vi·vus | \ ˌre-də-ˈvī-vəs
, -ˈvē-
\
Definition of redivivus: brought back to life : reborn —used postpositively
We’re not quite there but damn if it doesn’t feel a bit like we’re being reforged and reborn, it is kind of exciting.
Singing along with Bruce from one song to the next, looking out at a sky I share with those who mean most to me, though they be near or far I remember when the conversations about what happens when you get what you asked for.
The man in the moon smiles down at me and asks for my thoughts and I tell him I don’t chase those who don’t want to be caught and that I am not chased by those who I won’t let catch me.
He winks and tells me there is magic after midnight and I say “aye mate, there is.”
That last line makes me chuckle and I wonder why I said it like that. I work with Scots and Kiwis but hear y’all more than mate.
Shrug my shoulders, salute the guy in the rock and sing along with Bruce one last time, I am the last man standing now.
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