Chapter 1
Bing the master of the Ford Homestead of Hewitt, TX (my spouse of 45 years does not read these articles, I can say what I want without fear of retaliation) I thoroughly plan all my projects.
In order to remove my tiller or the generator from the shed I use two eight foot 2 X 8 boards with ramp hardware on the ends. I would like to have a permanent ramp in place, made of cement. That would allow for easy egress from, and entrance into the shed. Also I have stepped out of the shed a few times and kind of tripped over the cement stepping stones.
In the above photo there are two stepping stones remaining. The one closest to the shed is a flat rectangle shaped cement block while the other was a bag of cement that got wet and hardened. I have previously removed another cement bag step. As you may be able to envision, a retired person (aka senior citizen) living on a fixed income should not be stepping up and down on these type stepping stones.
For that one smarty out there, that has come up with the idea that I want to install a handicapped ramp, you are wrong, “there will be no hand rail, so it can’t be certified as handicapped” (at least not initially).
Back to my story after that rude interruption. I decided to build the ramp and I made plans on how to build the form using plywood, see below.
These are difficult to see.
They were done in pencil.
I bought the plywood and precisely cut the pieces. It helps to be a master wood butcher. I went to the shed and began the work first removing one of the cement bag stepping stones then excavating the dirt. After about 45 minutes of back breaking work, I discovered that the door would not close with part of the form in place.
You may be able to imagine how dishearten I was, all my planning and I had not considered the door may not operate properly.
Discouraged, I removed the incomplete form and replaced the dirt that I had excavated.
A lesser man would have had tears in his eyes and just gave up completely. Not me, I held my head high as I “sauntered” to the house. (I believe that is the first time I have ever written the word sauntered).
I decided to have my noon repast and think about my conundrum (I also like the word conundrum).
Chapter 2 “The best laid plans of mouse and man…”
After a light lunch and a few minutes of listening to Rush Limbaugh I decided to go to town and see if I could purchase a few items. I had a list of 4 items;
· Saw blade for a reciprocating saw
· A reel to wind an electrical cord on
· A DVR with 4 security camera for the Homestead
· A bottle for the occasional happy hour
I arrived at the store and observed that there were only two cars parked on the lot with a few cars parked in front of the store. I assumed that there would be few customers shopping which makes me happy as I do not like to shop in crowds.
I enter to store and there were people everywhere. The checkout lanes had people waiting in line. I continued on with my shopping experience walking swiftly to the saw blades. I reviewed the offerings and decided they were too expensive.
Moving on, I went into the electrical department but they did not have the reel I wanted.
Proceeding to the security camera aisle the bin for the DVR with cameras was empty. There were too many people at the checkouts and there were no other employees visible, so asking for help was out of the question.
I thought, possibly I would walk around and shop for a few minutes and some of the customers might leave. Everywhere I went there was someone trying to look at the items I was. There were even female customers in the hardware store, there should be a law…
I, discouraged for a second time in one day, decided to leave. Dishearten, I crawled into my pickup and started for home with the thought of stopping at the package store on the way. After a couple minutes the package store was in sight but my vehicle would not turn into the parking lot. I continued my trip home with nothing to show for the trip.
There may be additional chapters if I can get over all the discouraging events.
Don Ford
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