Sunday, October 02, 2011

An Encounter Down to the Hardware Store


Tom Roberts pulled up in front of Sunnyvale Hardware. His mind was hard into figuring what pieces and parts he needed to fix that antique lamp his wife had been pestering him about. He almost walked right over Jedidiah Ridley who was bent over by the shovels stacked up carelessly near the front door.

"Jeezum Jed, ferchrisakes what the Hell?"

Jedidiah straightened up. In his hand was a True American #12 feed shovel. Shiny new aluminum, light as a feather and it had one of those new gee whiz poly carbonate grips. Jedidiah turned and squinted in Tom's direction. "Just pickin up a new shovel. Thought I'd try this one..... Seems plenty rugged"......He turned the #12 shovel over and looked at the back side, "Um, I don't know though, wish it were straight out flat." He spun it back to view the top. "She is a light one though."

Tom looked at the shovel and nodded. "Yep, got one of those last Spring. The ole steel one Pepe used in the barn finally shit the bed. They's nice, but they wear out quick. Guess it's the aluminum.... jes don't hold up to real shovelin."

Jedidiah set the shovel blade on the ground and leaned on the handle. "Well sir, I ain't gonna use it in the barn. Need a new road kill scoop. That old flat snow shovel I bought a month ago jes ain't working out."

"Why's that Jed? Not rugged enough for that occasional moose you sometimes run over?" Tom grinned and shook his head.

Jedidiah snorted. "Funny man. No, the flat shovel was fine for scoopin, but not so good for cookin."

"Cookin?" Tom's eyes opened some as his mind created an image of Jed holding a shovel full of dead possum or squirrel over an open fire.

"Yes sir, cookin. Seems they don't make a straight clean shovel no more. All of them are either plastic or the metal ones come with some kinda anti stick coatin that bubbles all up and sends up a real stench when I hold it over the fire........Makes the meat taste funny."

2 comments:

BBC said...

So a hardware store owner was told to put a shovel on the customers account as he walked out the door with it. The owner was busy at the time and later couldn't remember who took the shovel so put it on everyone's account that month.

Twenty three people paid for that shovel.

okjimm said...

the real trick using a shovel for cooking is too use enough WD40 so it does stick....