One Step Closer

I took a small, but significant, step closer to true manhood yesterday when I took the time to learn how to properly re-string a weed-whacker.

For 2 years I have haphazardly coiled the plastic cord around the spindle. Neighbors would pull up a lawn chair and a cooler full of beer to watch the intricate dance that is me edging the lawn.

Cue The Blue Danube:
Open garage door. Find weed-whacker and extension cord. Spend 20 minutes untangling cord. Plug everything in and away we go. Start edging. Walk 3 steps. Stop. Flip weed-whacker. Cuss. Re-string. Walk 5 steps. Stop. Flip weed-whacker. Cuss. Re-string. Repeat for another 90 minutes.

Sometimes the cord is too short. Sometimes it is too long and wraps around itself. Sometimes I leave parts out and I don't know why. Every now and then the cord unravels itself and flies like a catapulted viper through the air.

Not any more.

In 5 minutes last night, I had successfully wound the cord. All it took was opening the instruction booklet and following the diagrams. I'm trying not to think how much time I would have saved had I done that in the first place.

The only entertainment my neighbors get now comes from watching me pathetically maneuver the push-mower around the yard.