Gramps’ ranch was the perfect setting for two young boys with wild and
vivid imaginations. It was there that we
enjoyed our favorite pastime, playing cowboys and Indians. As long as we didn’t shoot arrows in the
house and set fire to the outbuildings, we were welcome to pretend.
I still love to pretend. For example, every New Year’s Day I will say,
“This year I’m going to get organized.”
“You’ve still got that wild
and vivid imagination,” my wife will say.
Of course, I’m pretending. It’s a
universal truth that you can’t be organized when chaos is your strength.
Even as a child, I was not
familiar with “organization.” I once
asked my mother about it, and she said it wasn’t included in our DNA. I thought DNA meant “Do Not Ask.” So I never
mentioned it again.
Although I witnessed numerous
UFO sightings growing up, encounters with organization were almost
non-existent. As kids, my cousins and I
would play a delightfully entertaining game called Hide and Seek. One of us would be given time to hide, then,
at the signal, everyone else would join in the hunt; like a fox hunt without
horses and hounds.
As an adult, I still enjoy a
rendition of that game. It’s called Lose
and Seek. The object of the game
is to use a tool, and then lay it in such a place that it will require several
days to find. It’s a much more difficult
game than Hide and Seek.
For me, it was much easier
finding kids than tools. Of course, we
really weren’t very smart as kids. I
suspect if we’d given each other tools’ names like “Screwdriver” or “Hammer,”
we would still be looking for each other.
I was using one of my prized
screwdrivers recently. When finished, I
laid it in such a place that it couldn’t be found. Finding it would probably require a
widespread tool hunt. After 24 hours, I
called the Missing Tools Hotline.
“I would like to file a missing tools report,” I stated.
“We’ll need a name,” the man
replied.
“Screwdriver,” I answered.
“Can you give us a
description?” he asked.
“Slender; nice handle; easy
to work with; always shows up for work.”
“We’ll need a picture of your
screwdriver. Also, before we organize a
nationwide tool hunt and put your screwdriver on billboards, we’d like to ask
you to do one thing,” he said.
“I’ll do anything to find my
screwdriver,” I answered.
“Try mowing your lawn,” he
suggested.
Thanks to his keen insight
and timely advice, I was able to locate my screwdriver almost immediately. I quickly learned that the lawnmower is an
excellent device for finding tools. Sure, you have to be alert for flying
shrapnel, but you always find your tool.
To be continued...check back soon
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