“Jim Class” is a feature that airs within The HomeFix Show. Writen by original charter show listener Jim Forrer from Caldwell Idaho, Jim shares his observations, life experiances, and lessons learned in life. Joe Prin reads these at various times in most of the HomeFix Shows. Here is the original written text.
The Lost Tool
Crawling around in an attic is not one of my favorite things to do, but here I was, in that hot, dark and suspected haunted conclave of spiders and strange occurrences. The home owners said the house must be possessed because of all the noises coming from ‘up there’.
The culprits were identified quickly when I found a cache of black walnuts by the gable end. While looking for the squirrels’ entry point, I placed my knee down onto something pointed and hard. My kneecap is not made for contacting sharp objects. I reached down and retrieved a pair of Channellock needle nose pliers. I gave a small, ‘well I’ll be’, and shoved them into my back pocket. Then I proceeded with the repair of the hole that the squirrels were using as access.
When I was done and out of that black hole and into the bright sunlight, I pulled the pliers out of my pocket. I turned them over in my hands for closer inspection, saw some writing, and looked closer. There, in very clear letters, the first two initials and the last name of my father-in-law. I found out later that he, as a long time general contractor, had rebuilt, refurbished and remodeled this same old farm house way back in 1960.
The bad thing about this whole business—I had to give the pliers back.