Ratchets

After the ice cream let down, I left Brent in charge, and took off for a visit downtown. On the way I picked up my 72 year old visiting teaching partner, Janice Snyder. She is a cayuga indian, blind, on dialysis, and just had a heart attack and surgery three weeks ago.

She was happy to join me in freezing weather for a night downtown visiting. And although she is blind she gives me constant directions at every turn. She had me going around a roundabout twice tonight before she would let me turn. With everything that she has to complain about you think She Would, but she is one of the most pleasant people I know and I love being around her. As far as we could figure out tonight - she has been a member of the Buffalo Ward longer than any other member now attending. She joined in 1942.

After we got to the house, of course, my lights wouldn't shut off- Gotta love those Automated Lights. I popped the hood and unhooked the battery cable without any problems and the lights shut off. After the visit though I tried to hook up again with no luck. I am such a dummy, And I've never been shown how to even use a ratchet. I kept turning the ratchet back and forth with no idea if I was actually loosening or tightening for at least 5 min AND It didn't help that it was pitch black under the hood. I started praying that a nice gentleman with a solid understanding of tools would come by.

My prayers were answered quickly in the form of young man strolling by with a jug of milk. He quickly flipped the switch on the ratchet for tightening and I had everything hooked up in a couple seconds after that. (This has happened several times before with this car, btw - a nice man just when I needed him)

I came home though mad about the inconviences of my car. Then I had to endure a long instructional session to help me understand ratchet basics. When Brent is teaching, you are not allowed to make a peep, ask questions, or utter objections. Just zip it and listen to the teacher. And then we had to play the ratchet game. He turns his back on me and starts clicking the ratchet back and forth several times to confuse me. Then he hands it over, and I have to be able to tell if it is in the loosening or tightening position. I think I got it now. But I wish he was a more patient teacher. He actually called me Kennon a couple times, so I know he was pretty frusterated at my lack of teachability.



First of all.....I have tried several times to teach ratchetology to Kashann with no luck. I know exactly why my eldest daughter is about as teachable as a 50 year old mutt. Kashann actually has a long history with ratchets. My mom still has laughs about the first time I told Kashann to tighten a bolt on the farm. She turned and turned a bolt with a wrench without it tightening (There was a rusted-on nut on the bolt turning just as fast). My mom finally told her she needed to put a socket on the nut, so Kashann pulled a socket out of the box (without a ratchet attached) and stuck it on the nut, held onto it for dear life and kept turning the bolt with the wrench. Of course the socket just slipped around in her fingers which Joan really got a hoot out of, and thus began Kashann's history with ratchets.


Brent