The other night when I called the ToolMaster for dinner, he emerged from the basement in a flushed and agitated state. If he were female, I’d be tempted to say he was aflutter.
Take a peek at the photo below and you can see why.
The left orange holds his preliminary pipe-shaping efforts. See the kinks in the crook of the copper? They aren’t supposed to be there, at least not without severely affronting the pride of all male creatures in the vicinity.
Me: I know exactly the remedy for kinky piping.
TM, in an absent voice, staring forlornly at his handiwork: Really?
Me: I’m female, aren’t I? I write romance, don’t I? Really, you couldn’t have planned a better life partner if you tried.
TM looks up and catches me wrapping my hand around the pipe with an authoritative manner. “I don’t see the connection,” he says, though I notice his pupils are now dilated.
Me: Job requirement. I have to be familiar with all kinds of hard cylindrical objects.
TM, smiling and leaning in: Uh-huh…
Me: Though I have to say my expertise runs more to steel than to copper…
TM: Hey, that copper is a half-decade old!
I sent him to the computer to YouTube, which is a haven for all stubbornly self-reliant people, like the two of us. Instructional videos and websites allow us to keep the “Y” alive in the DIY ethos while minimizing time and frustration.
YouTube didn’t disappoint. One video and ten minutes later, he filled the pipe with salt, taped the ends closed, applied his bending mechanism, and voilà. You get the smooth, shiny pipe as demonstrated in the middle. (The one on the right was overkill. It’s the plumber’s version of a well-endowed man padding his crotch with a sock.)
Now, I’m using the ToolMaster to make a point, which is that there are times when it pays to take advantage of another’s expertise and shave hours, if not years, off the learning curve.
Want to see how that theme connects to writing, and learn more about my med school days while you’re at it? Here’s my latest post on Writer Unboxed: The Cadaver Wore Text (aka the Case for Plot Dissection)
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That’s admirable teamwork! And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with flexing one’s newly found expertise to demonstrate a well-established mastery.
Just to be clear, it’s a lesson learned long ago for me. I happened to have married a very capable partner. Happily, she long ago disencumbered me of the notion that I need look any further for my kink-straightening. 😉
Loved the WU post. And I am going to write that Gladiator post. Thanks for the idea!
I can’t imagine Mo tolerating any plumber subcontracting, even if you were the sort, which you’re not.
Huzzah re the post. Now I’ll have to see the movie so it will make sense to me. YES, I’m behind in my movie viewing.
LOL–thanks for the chuckle.
While working with silver (not as soft as copper, but still very malleable), I coat my tools with a protective agent, and use only enough force as necessary to create change. Love how tricks of the trade have practical application for reformation in RL.
God bless Google, collective resources, and individuals willing to share their talent for the benefit of others. I had to learn to make some complicated knots to suspend a decorative ladder about my table. A YouTube video kept me from getting tangled in my ineptitude. 😛
Love the way you think. 😀
We learn differently these days, don’t we? We aren’t limited to what our social circle knows, or what we can learn through experience alone.
Sometime I’d love to see pictures of your jewelry. The last time I attempted such a feat, it was an Indian-bead necklace in middle school. 🙂
Is this industrial porn? I found it…well, never mind.
Is that a genre? Hee. It’s definitely silly and par for the course around here. 😉
Hilarious — thank you!
Cheers, Lisa. Thanks for reading. 🙂