My Grandfather had a tool shed and in it he stored his shovel, hoe, rake, axe, hammers, and the likes of any tool displayed at a local hardware store. He had many tools because his family owned a hardware store. When I was young and would visit my grandparents on my father’s side, I loved being out in the garden and was fascinated by my Grandfather’s Tool Shed. I think that is where I learned a lot about different tools and their purpose in life.
I carried that TOOL knowledge into my adulthood as I love to garden and perform yard work. I found I utilized Tools in my career as well. When I worked in the operating room and assisted in orthopedic surgery I grew efficient in operating pneumatic 3M drills and saws. It was there that I had the gift of memorizing drill bit sizes and millimeters of screw lengths. I never realized how TOOL knowledge could come in handy.
My father was a lawyer yet, he too had Tools other than the hammer of justice. His Tool Shed lived indoors and had it’s own private section in the garage. My father liked to tinker with tools. On what spare time he had he would build things with the assistance of a table saw that snarled at me whenever I entered the garage. I use to study the sawdust dangling from the teeth of that giant blade. His Tool Shed consisted of drawers full of nails, levels, wrenches, along with the latest power tools displayed on the wall like a specialized department at ACE Hardware.
When my son was young I bought him his first Tools. It was a Junior set from Home Depot. We never really built him a Tool Shed, because our lives were far too busy to bother. Like my father and Grandfather, my son enjoyed building with his tools. His Tool Box contained a mini hammer, a screw driver , a needle -nose pliers, a few non traumatic nails, and a retractable measuring tape, all of which carried the bright orange Logo representing the hardware giant.
I use to love seeing my son don his software apron loaded with his hardware as he would venture out into the garage and find something he could take apart and put back together again. He would remove his sisters roller blade wheels and nail them to a 2 by 4 remnant and adhere a large cardboard box on top and explain to me how he was going to use this on the road in the neighborhood.
I watched as he towed his Indy 500 Box down the driveway drag strip and pushed off and jumped in to race down the block. I watched a headless brown carton sail past me as he was on the down low.…..riding dirty…..because the box he emptied was the one I emptied my yard waste into………
Now my son has grown into an 18 year old young man and he has long since dumped his Tool box by the roadside and replaced it with a new and improved TOOL SHED that is up to his speed. A TOOL shed his Grandfather and Great Grandfather are now rolling over in their graves with delight……………………………………….
And please note the AXES in the front row……………minus the Hoe’s…
spread the humor. another generational mishap..
Charlywalker's Blog 