Pluggers by Rick McKee for January 16, 2024

The Challenge !

“Men remember, if the women don’t find you handsome, they should at least find you handy” Red Green

If it involves a ladder over say, 4ft tall, Yep! Too old!

If you try that with me, I’ll tell you how to do it, and I’ll supervise.

I had a wood burning stove installed. Two story house, fairly steep roof. The installer was 76 years old and he climb up the ladder, got on the roof and installed the chimney stack. No helper, no safety rope. I was silently praying….

Double entendre – put a comma after ‘plugger’

My parents were like that. Most extremely non-technical household repairs they did themselves. When my father died, my mother had assisted him and retained most of the skills she learned through him — but couldn’t bend underneath appliances or get up on a ladder (at least, SHOULDN’T have!) It irritated her to pay to have simple repairs done by tradesmen. (She was convinced the guy who advertised as a handyman through her church way overcharged her. I wish she had called me first to help.)

I think it’s worse if you’re a Mechanical Engineer Plugger.

I’ve always tried to fix things that were not outside of my general skill-set. Took 2-years of electronics in high school (50+ years ago) and used to repair TV’s by going to the nearby 7-11 store and using their vacuum tube tester and buying replacements from their “most commonly used” tubes stock! Now I watch YouTube videos to show me how to replace my cars headlights!

He’s not too old. Just too fat.

The day I can’t fix it, just throw me in an old pine box and bury me in the cold, cold ground next to Granny Clampett.

Plugger doesn’t like being told he’s too old.

Depends on what it is. If it’s plumbing and I have to get down on my hands and knees, it is problematic. Getting down is easy, all I have to do is fall. Getting back up again requires some forethought.

When we wanted something fixed, we’d just take it to Dad and tell him it couldn’t be done. Usually, he would get it fixed up. :) Until he hit 90 that is, he did slow down then.

yup! just "let me at it " then call a handyman to come fix what he screwed up

Four inches on the ground, I’m told “at your age you can’t go out and shovel that heavy snow”, forty minutes later I am back inside with the porch, sidewalk, double driveway and auto all cleared of the white menace and de-icer pellets spread on all concrete surfaces. I still can…my achy joints remind me perhaps I shouldn’t.

And start getting professional estimates.

…just make sure ya got the plumber on speed dial!

I used to work in a local hardware store. One day one of our local contractors came in and I asked him, “Do you hate taking over a botched DIY job?” He said, “Oh no, you can justify almost any charge on one of those!! They’ll pay it just to end the embarrassment.”

I think our church’s #1 volunteer handyman, Bill, may have only been in his 70s when our then new pastor posted on Facebook about all the little jobs he had done and closed with “Every church needs a Bill.” Still #1 in his 80s except if it involves climbing.

“But if I fixed it for you, how would you young-uns learn how to fix things yourself? Now fetch Grandpa another bourbon.”