A hammer, a tape measure, a saw, a screwdriver, ….. a crescent wrench, pilers, a ratchet, a drill……Tools. The types and sizes of tools seem almost as numerous as the stars scattered in the sky. My husbands tool box looks like it could it tackle anything from a baby buggy to a Boeing 737. It’s mind boggling what he could possibly do with ALL those tools. Build a table, change my oil, change a flat, fix the chair leg, pull a dent out of a truck, replace a broken pipe, change a faucet, hang Christmas lights, build a nativity, repair the guttering, or fix the shower door. The list goes on and on for what he could do with all those tools.
In today’s American culture there’s a sense we must have the biggest and baddest of everything, from our 48 oz size mega cups, to our oversized chairs, to our mega volume eye lashes, and our super size fries. We all seem to want the bigger and larger and mega of everything. Men love to compare and brag at the size and kind of tools they have compared to other men. To be the envy of your friends is one more reason to puff your chest out in pride. I believe tool envy is the most common illness among men. If the big pharmaceuticals could make a pill to cure ‘tool envy’, I believe women in America would deplete the companies supply and hide the pills in the men’s mashed potatoes. Tool envy would then be as common as winning the lottery, if left up to a woman.
Even in the Truckin’ industry the biggest and baddest tools are a man’s dream. The most commonly used tool for a trucker is the adjustable wrench. A company recently took on the challenge to make what is known as the ‘world’s largest wrench’. It’s an adjustable wrench 30 inches in length, and weighs in at 12 pounds. To some it’s called a ‘beast’. They say with a wrench like this in a truckers toolbox you feel there’s no nut or bolt too big, and no obstacle in your way, that can stop you from completing the job at hand. What a monster of a tool. Every truckers dream is to have bigger and better tools than the trucker sitting next to you at the truck stop.
With all the tool selections and options it’s mind boggling. To get anything done it seems you need the right size or the right kind. It’s frustrating when all you need to do is change batteries in the remote control, and you have the wrong size or the wrong kind of screw driver. You have to go back to the tool box and rummage around to located the one needed for the job. Such a fiasco, in my opinion.
It seems however there’s one thing missing when considering all these tools. It’s a key. Yes a key. While in their tool boxes are instruments to build, construct, repair, fix or change something, I believe to have the ability to open something is more valuable than all mechanical good you will ever accomplish using all the tools in the world, including even the 30 inch adjustable beast.
You see the ‘task’ the tools do is only the beginning of the equation. For tools are nothing more than keys. A hammer and tape measure, used to perfectly hang a family portrait on the wall, is a key to opening stronger relationships. The saw, used to build a one of a kind coffee table, is a key that opens the opportunity to create a timeless family heirloom. A screwdriver, used to assemble children’s toys on Christmas morning, is a key to creating family memories that last. A crescent wrench, used to change out a dead battery on a car, is a key to open our new adventures to exciting destinations. Pliers, used for years until they are worn smooth, is a key to open the understanding of someone’s get ‘r done mentality. The ratchet, used to assemble shelves to store treasures collected for years, is a key to opening the acceptance of someone with all their quirkiness. A drill, used to create a hole in a door which a knob is inserted, is the key to opening up to new horizon’s each time someone passes through the door.
The massive amount of tools used as keys in a lifetime provide adventures, moments, opportunities into someone’s heart, a chance at fixing a broken relationship, building family memories, showing love, establishing new friendships, entering rooms and new horizon’s never gone before.
I do love all the task those tools can accomplish, and I am proud when my husband comes through to save the day on task I have for him to do. His big box of keys, which builds a stronger us, is perfect in my eyes.
