Other Way
My Dad was a
big believer in having his children help out around the house. We had chores, not many, truth be told, but I
did a lot of yard work, and we all always set and cleared the table along with
doing an occasional dish. What I
disliked the most was helping Dad when he was working on a project.
“I’m building a cabinet Joe, come
help me in the basement.”
Oh I hated
hearing that. I did learn a lot helping
pop, but generally helping meant watching him and being at the ready to fetch a
tool or hold something steady. He
probably would have let me do more, but I was and am still incompetent with
carpentry, plumbing and electrical stuff.
I think my incompetence
frustrated him, and his watching me mess up frustrated me.
The thing
that stands out to me the most, was my inability to loosen or tighten a screw
or nut, or drill a hole. I think my
problem is I am left- handed and have trouble using a right-handed screwdriver
or wrench or drill.
“Clockwise to tighten, counter to
loosen.”
Yeah, I know
but for some reason I have trouble visualizing the clock. “Righty
tighty, lefty loosey.”
I know, I
know, but I still have to stop and think.
Instead of stopping and thinking, it is always faster for me to just
turn.
If I turn
the wrong way to loosen it is usually immediately apparent and I know to turn
the other way…hey, it works for me.
Except that when working with Pop, he would be watching over my
shoulder.
As soon as I
turned the screwdriver (almost always the wrong way because
of the 50/50/90 rule*) Pop would instruct me,
“Other way!”
When I
turned a wrench to tighten a nut,
“Other way!”
Drill a
hole, and push the drill button to the right,
“Other way!”
I know this
frustrated him as it should be so simple to learn. What can I tell you, I am mechanically dyslexic.
Even today,
years after Dad has passed, when I turn a screw, work a wrench or drill a hole,
I have the same pattern. Just turn and
then adjust if it is not working, and when the screw does not go in, the nut
will not loosen, or the drill starts to smoke, I hear a voice in my head.
“Other way!”
*The 50/50/90
rule states that “Any time you need to make
a decision where you have a 50/50 chance of making the correct decision, you
will be wrong 90% of the time.”
A note on my previous post about a GPS golf gadget that was defective. I ran the battery to zip, recharged it, and it was an effective reboot. It now is finding GPS signals again.
A note on my previous post about a GPS golf gadget that was defective. I ran the battery to zip, recharged it, and it was an effective reboot. It now is finding GPS signals again.
I like what you've done with your space here.
ReplyDeleteI, too, am a mechanical klutz.
I do believe it's a left handed issue. I have the same problem.
ReplyDeleteSigh. Dad was a great teacher, Mom was a great jealouser. She made sure we weren't 'available' when Dad came looking to teach because, well, she couldn't teach but didn't want someone 'beating' her by doing it when she was unable.
ReplyDeleteIt did teach me one thing, after Dad passed I made it a life's mission to learn AND to teach. You know, so I could beat Mom. ;-)
I've destroyed more than I've created, by creation is gaining every day!
At least your dad tried, you have to give him that. You even carry some of his words around with you! Good enough, Father Hagy!
ReplyDeleteSorry, I'm not giving you a pass on the left-handed thing! The mechanical dyslexia, sure. But not the left-handed thing.
ReplyDeleteMy son Genius is left-handed. He's got his father's aptitude for fixing things and inventing gadgets and looking with scorn upon those of us who find it difficult. I think it's like math. You're either born with the ability to JUST GET IT, or you're not. No amount of tutoring will make it come easy, though it may make you a bit more competent.
We all have the things we find hard to do that others find to be easy. It's so that everyone doesn't want to be a plumber, because then we wouldn't have any electricians.
ReplyDeleteRight-handed screwdriver? Ha ha.
ReplyDeleteI know a few people who still don't remember left to loosen right to tighten.
I"m still trying to learn the difference between a regular screwdriver and a Phillips one so I'm clueless on screws tightening, etc. Though it does fascinate me when I'm typing medical reports and the orthopedic doctors are inserting screws to fix fractures or drilling with a drill. Bet they have conquered the way to make a left handed surgeon function in a right sided world.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy working on projects with hubby (actually I'm the one that is watching and fetching) except when he wants me to fetch something I have no idea what it is. Takes me 2-3 attempts to get the right one.
betty
I'm inly proficient with a glue gun or a hammer.
ReplyDeleteLearned a lot of new things here. I hope that you had a happy fathers day.
ReplyDeleteOther way! I get that. I do some things backwards too. Sounds like you had a great dad though.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ☺
At least you know which end of the screwdriver to use lol......I have a guy who tries to fix things by tapping on them with the handle end of the screwdriver. 100% of the time it doesn't work
ReplyDeleteHaha! But you made it to successful adulthood anyway.
ReplyDeleteIn my "yout" it was just the opposite...while I wasn't all that handy, my dad had 0 mechanical aptitude.
Once we had a table tamp that wouldn't work so my dad disassembled it, then reassembled it (sort of), and it still wouldn't work. Pissed, he grabbed up all the parts and threw it in the garbage can. I fished it all out, put all the parts back where they logically should be, CHANGED THE BULB, and it worked fine. But he was a great man in many other ways. :)
Hey your way is better. I'm sure it takes you all of one, maybe two seconds to realize the error then reverse. Saying "lefty loosey, righty tighty takes 4 sec. Stick with what works and add time to your life.
ReplyDeleteI still need (& use) “Righty tighty, lefty loosey.”
ReplyDeleteI've been working on things all my life and I still have to stop and think. My father-in-law was a plumber and he had a say that he used all his life- Hot on the left, cold on the right, and shit rolls down hill. You wouldn't believe how handy this ones been.
ReplyDeleteMy day was extremely mechanical and, like your dad, he'd ask me to give him a hand. I'm also left handed and dumb as dirt when it comes to tools, but my dad never made me feel bad about it.
ReplyDeleteOh my word...my father was the same way with me, except it wasn't my father, it was my mother, and it wasn't working on a project, it was sewing and knitting... She told me if I didn't learn those womanly skills, I might never find a husband. Sometimes, in a sassy moment, I want to tell her that I even found two.
ReplyDeleteYour story reminded me of learning how to sew. My mother tried, but it just didn't work. Grandma, on the other hand, had a way of making me want to create. I'm trying to recapture her skill and pass it on to my own grandchildren.
ReplyDeleteThat "lefty-righty" stuff didn't make sense to me until a few years ago - up until then I also just starting turning a screwdriver and hoping for the best - unless there was a man in the house at the moment who could do it for me!
I always have to pause and repeat the "righty tighty, lefty loosey" in my head. Sort of like having to sing the alphabet song in your head to get the letters in order. :)
ReplyDelete