Every superhero has their lair where they can escape the pressures of doing their daily duties of saving the world from evil aliens while destroying large swathes of major cities (New York never does well in these scenarios. Surprised it still shows up on maps). Superman has his Fortress of Solitude. Batman heads down to his bat cave under Wayne manor. Iron Man jets to his house and labs on a cliff overlooking Malibu. Spider-Man has a bedroom upstairs at his Aunt May’s. I agree, not as glamorous but still a place for him to hide…while doing his calculus homework.
For us every day superhero dads and husbands we have our special cave to get away from the real world and to accomplish the manly things our hormones require of us. It’s called the garage.
If guys had our way, we would drag out those signs we hung on our makeshift clubhouses as kids that said “Boys only, no girls allowed,” but a friend of mine, who is a Human Resources lawyer, recommended against it…and said he would not defend me if I got sued because it would jeopardize his career. So, I have accepted the fact that the wife will be going in and out of “my” garage, carving out areas to store her extra comforters, old china, never to be used again countertop appliances and tablecloths. Don’t tell her but those tablecloths make great drop clothes.
The first thing I did to create more space in the garage was to buy a tool box twice the size of the one I already had. I am now the proud owner of a giant, red rolling tool box that could contain every craftsman tool ever made, and I still don’t have enough tool storage space. Why so many tools? I don’t know what you did when you were at the mall shopping, but while my wife was trying on dresses somewhere, I headed to the tool section at the Sears. It was like an adult toy store. I never left without buying something. Yea, I might need to seek help but it is not really hoarding. Who knows when I’ll need a socket wrench extension that has two different swivel-joints to access the most stubborn spot under the hood of my car. It could happen tomorrow…or not. It looks good though in the tool box.
I know I should trash my old toolbox but I have converted the bottom half into a rolling workbench while the top part will be in my storage shed holding tools I rarely use, like a socket wrench extension that has two different swivel-joints to access the most stubborn spot under the hood of my car.
This addiction began at a job I had when I was in college. I worked at a transmission shop and I was required to have my own tools. I bought my first socket set off the back of a tool truck and I haven’t been able to stop. I still have that set and I think I use it on almost everything I work on. Maybe I didn’t need to buy that chromed set of 1,000 sockets with accessories in its beautiful plastic travel case years back. Don’t think I’ve cracked that one open yet.
My first project in the hopes of reducing clutter and creating more space in the garage is removing the old workbench. I learned that the oversize workbench was designed and built by my wife’s father, a civil engineer. This piece of garage furniture was so over engineered, that it could be used as a freeway overpass…after being retrofitted for earthquakes. After Armageddon, the only thing left standing will be this workbench. If it was designed by an electrical engineer, that would be another story. I would not load it with anything heavier than, let’s say, a feather.
Dismantling this work bench was quite the job. I first had to remove the hundreds of screws that attached it to the garage wall and then use a circular saw to cut it into pieces. It took hours and a section of skin from my right shin but I got the job done. I have a new workbench that is much lighter, smaller, mobile and much more practical. It will create an open area…which would be a perfect spot for another tool box, just saying.
My garage project is coming along nicely. I have moved items we use more often to more accessible spots, moved the less used items to those higher shelves rarely seen, and swept up dust that was in place since the early 1970s. My personal sanctuary is coming along nicely but I feel that I have forgotten something. My shop vac is in it’s correct spot. My rolling workbench is a nice touch and will be practical. The new work bench is clear for the time being but I know it will be the landing spot for anything we don’t want in the house but what is missing? Oh yea, my car. That is what garages are supposed to house but this is California, who parks in their garage?
Since I’m thinking about my car, maybe I’ll pop the hood and do some fine tuning. Where did I put that socket wrench extension that has two different swivel-joints to access the most stubborn spot under the hood of my car?
©2020 BBRiley.net
bbriley.net 