The Family *roll

The tool box

I’ve already had my bar mitzvah but, really, that counts for nothing. This year, however, has been more significant manhood-wise than any other to this point. To wit: I got a job, I finished my dissertation, we bought a station wagon, we’re buying a house, we’re having a baby. I am diving headlong into middle age. At least I still have my hair (go Godfrey genes!!)

Nonetheless, I lack a number of manly attributes. Perhaps the most notable is my complete lack of technical skill with regards to…well anything practical. Anything that results in something tangible, something someone might want to use. This is a, perhaps the, Groll male curse. Sadly, I have constant reminders of my incompetence: all three of my brothers-in-law have technical expertise up the wazoo. One is actually a contractor and the other two easily could be. I, on the other hand, do not even own a drill. My toolbox is literally a box, a cardboard box to be exact, filled with various odds and ends, a hammer, a screwdriver and whatever else I’ve had occasion to purchase over the past 7 years.

But, with an eye to being a homeowner, and as a veteran car owner, I am trying to rectify that. So, I have embarked on a mission to not run screaming from jobs I might actually be able to do myself. My greatest triumph until this past weekend had been replacing the sideview mirror on our old Civic. But this past weekend, with the help of P.’s drill (and P. himself), I hit new heights.

I decided we needed a net in the back of our station wagon that we could put groceries and the like into so that they wouldn’t go all over the back when we turned corners. What I didn’t realize was that the net would come with anchors that need to be drilled into the car. Me drilling into a car! What a ridiculous notion, sure to end in disaster. But, I remembered my mission and so called P. for the drill and his assistance.

The tricky part about the whole enterprise was that I needed to drill through the first layer of sheet metal but the not second (i.e. the car’s exterior). At this point, safe money would have bet against us having a car without holes drilled through the body. But I did it! The net is in place and it did a superb job holding our groceries this morning. I think my chest is harrier already.