When my father passed away, there were some things from his business around the house which hadn’t yet to be disposed of in one way or another. Such as this 2″x2″x2 1/2″ copper tee. Pretty useless for most homeowners nowadays.
My dad was almost 84 when he died, and pretty much worked up until a few years or so before that, although someone was always trying to get a hold of him still the same. He tended to keep stuff like this around just in case a customer needed it. I can still hear him say “Oh sure, I have one of those!”
Naturally, some of his traits have been carried on through his children. My mother often said “You act just like your father!” Not wanting to think of all the possibilities of what she might mean, I mostly took those type of remarks in a positive light. After all, we all had a sense of humor growing up. Take for example, the time I wired up a new outlet in the cellar when I was 13. Well, when my dad came home from work he carefully listened to what a great job I did. He then flipped the breaker on. And POOF – sparks! One can’t exactly hide that type of thing, I thought. Nonchalantly, he said something like “Well, that wasn’t very smart, now was it?” Being 13 and wise for my age, I wasn’t sure if he meant himself turning the breaker on, or that he meant my less-than-perfect wiring job. But in conceding respect to the adult present, I snipped back the wiring from both ends a few feet and left it. And that’s the last I ever heard of it – that’s probably because there was always something else happening anyway. By the time I was out of high school, I had wired up several new circuits and replaced several others. The house is still there.
Well anyway, I guess I can hold onto this copper tee just a little longer, except hmmm wait a minute, I think I can hear him saying “Why in hell would you want to keep something like that for?” And that’s weird because that sounds like what my mother would say to him. Right. Anyone need one of these? I have 3!
