Predisposition To Be "A Tool"

Tools & "He's a Tool"
Our water heater has been making a lot of noise.  That's a good warning that household cooling is imminent.  Never did I "drain the water heater annually" and I'm not going to get out the wrenches and impact things and "change the anode rods to get more time."  The last time I replaced a water heater (with this one) I vowed to buy two and and just leave one waiting for this day to occur.  I think that would mean muscling them around would be cut in half or at least occur only one half as often.  Of course it's highly likely that I'd move the dead one about three feet and it would sit there for seven years.

I squeezed behind some life debris to look at the inevitable and saw a Vice Grip on a copper pipe.  Long, long ago when Vice Grips were still made in the US I read that 75% of all Vice Grips were in static applications simply holding things together as a temporary fix or when nothing else would do.  It's possible that Vice Grips are banned from aircraft carriers and A-10 Warthog tank killer airplanes.  When we moved into this house about 20 years ago we inherited a refrigerator with an ice maker.  The refrigerator died about three months after we moved in.  We saw no need for an ice maker.  The copper feed-in was connected to a water pipe with one of those silly t-valves which, of course, would not turn off completely.  Rather than dealing with it properly I broke off the copper and clamped it shut with a Vice Grip...about 20 years ago.

Over time I've found value in keeping a Vice Grip in vehicles, tool boxes, etc., for the inevitable.  The big ones are substantive and work well if you simply have to beat on something.  In my world, like the larger Vice Grip world most are static.  They have a lot of potential.  People have a lot of potential, too.  I worked with a really bright VP of Architecture in the 27-year gig.  When someone could not see his view of a situation or problem he'd refer to them as a "tool."  I'd heard my kids use that but I did not really get it but I tried to not pick up on every passing word trend of my children.  So the guy explained to me that while the person might be bright or useful they just sat, stood or laid there until someone else put them into action, into usefulness.  They were tools.  So standing behind the radiator I stared and the Vice Grip and made a list of former co-workers who were tools, people who, with some assistance, mentoring and guidance could be leveraged into better production.

Nerves & Productivity

Other than about seven years of hard core blue collar factory employment after high school my jobs have been white collar.  All of them involved writing, more often typing (now lamely referred to as keyboarding [certainly iPads and tablets will lead to classes in 'swiping']).  This "bled like a pig."  Unfortunately it also seems to be the finger that has the highest hits while typing (a.k.a. keyboarding).  Every 'y,' 'h,' 'n,' 'u,' and 'j' is a reminder to not put my finger again at the pre-incision location. It's one of those simple cuts that will not leave a scar and magically be all good w/i 72 hours.

I have to abandon my classical guitar performances for a few days.

For whatever reason I use my right had to clear the infrequent printer paper jams.  I'm left handed but I felt like my left had was a Vice Grip when reaching into the printer.  There are other things, too, that will have to wait.  One can only imagine.

© John F. Leeper "I Don't Even Have a Dumb Job" 2014