Mechanic

I had some glitches with Blogspot the last 2 days. I couldn't access my account. But I had typed up a nice post and saved it to my drafts recently. I returned to it today only to find that it hadn't saved at all! Dang! Now I have to start over.

Dad was a machinist in the Navy. What he learned there carried him through many challenges in this life. He could figure out why things weren't working and fix them. He could schluge things together that were broken. He was a very handy man. Anyway, maybe I take after him in that way because in the past few days I sort of feel like a mechanic.

First - someone jammed and burned up our paper shredder. Someone jammed a bunch of folded papers in the shredder. The person clearly disregarded the caution on how many papers the shredder could handle. I won't name the guilty party - but if I was writing a poem about the incident I would have lots of words to rhyme with his name (hot, not, shot, dot, lot, you get the picture). I do give him credit for telling me that he jammed the shredder and it coughed, and chugged, and started smelling like smoke when he did it. So the other day I got my tools and took a look at the shredder. I found the screws and removed the top of the shredder so I could have access to the jammed papers. With some needle nose pliers I carefully started removing the bits and chunks of paper. I worked from the top of the shredder and the bottom of the shredder and eventually got all the paper out. I screwed the top back on, plugged it in, turned the switch on - and voila - the green light turned on. So I found a small dainty scrap of paper and put it in. The shredder ate it up. Yes! I used my mechanic skills and fixed the shredder.

Again - a problem. The grass was getting long and Doug wanted to mow the lawn. He tried to start the mower with no success. He pulled and tugged and pulled some more but nothing. The mower refused to cooperate. We both talked about how old the mower was. We also talked about the cost of having it repaired. I mean if it costs $100 to fix it (which it would - probably more) then I would probably be worth it to get a new one for just a little more. But Doug got out his laptop and began searching some ways to trouble-shoot the mower problems. Air filter clogged? Spark plug sparking? Etc. Etc. Anyway the day slipped away with no solution and the grass just kept growing longer. So on Thursday I went out and tended to my garden and saw the mower. I decided to give it a try. I checked the air filter. I peeked in the gas tank. I primed the motor. Then I talked kindly to the aging mower and gave it a few pulls. About 6 pulls was all it took when the motor roared into action. A little rough at first but after a minute the engine smoothed out and sounded just right. I fixed the lawn mower too. I must be a mechanic.

Needless to say, I immediately changed into my lawn mowing clothes and got the lawns cut while I knew I could get the mower started again. During that time I began to wonder if Doug really couldn't start the mower or if he just didn't start the mower. Maybe he just didn't want to cut the grass himself. Maybe he was just dragging his feet so he wouldn't have to cut the grass. Man, did I fall for one of his tricks? I don't think he would do that - but it does make you think.

I don't think I'll become a full-time mechanic. But I have the knack. Maybe I can pick up a side job now and then. Only time will tell.

P.S. Can I figure out the money I "saved" and go on a spending spree? Just thought I'd ask what you all think.