Library Notes
April 8, 2004
By Pansy Hundley, Librarian.
Do you see this smile on my face? Do you see this satisfied, "I did it." look on my face? I not only lived through the creeping crud, with the help of three bottles of medicine, I also got that late-lamented, waitin’-on-you mower going. Yeah, I did.
I got home from work the other afternoon, passed by the couch, with a longing eye, and took myself on out to the shed, where said mower awaited me. Finally had to move it out of my office, out to its’ new home. That day was cloudy, and got dark early, so I didn’t have much fiddlin’ time.
But I drug it over to the old mower, and started trying to affix that stinkin’ cable just like the one on the old mower.
I tell you, the life of a mechanic is hard. Those same tools do not fit a woman’s hand like they fit a man’s. Kinda like my daddy and the sheets on the bed. As I’ve told you before, he could flap that sheet 15 times, and almost get it wrapped around himself, and still not get it straight. He’d fuss the whole time that a woman could flop it once and it would settle down straight. It’s that way with tools.
Me and that cable did not see eye to eye on how it went on that handle, even looking at the old mower. I don’t know if I wasn’t holding my mouth right or what, but after trying everything for a long-g-g time, that little ‘ole thing just slipped where it was supposed to fit. As soon as I got that cable on there and attached, I tried carefully to pull on the rope and, lo and behold, I could pull it out farther than ten inches. Alright! Things were lookin’ up.
I’d already put gas in that mower. I added oil and it had finally come time to try and see if it would start. I had really been dreading that. I could just see me, pulling on that rope until all energy was completely gone and still it just sat there.
But, I persevered, or should say, I attached the rope to the other handle, as instructed, primed that thing eight times, just as the book instructed, pulled on that rope two or three times and that thing started! Wow! I couldn’t believe it. I struck out to the front yard to try it out.
It just mowed all over the place and if I had to kill it, it would start up again, with just a pull or two.
However, we had a wee problem develop. That problem was wobbly wheels. Yep! As I mowed along that front wheel began to wobble and had almost fallen off by the time I noticed it. I tightened that nut up, I thought as tight as I could and with a little more mowing, same thing again. After I finally got that one tight enough to stay on, the other front wheel caught the virus and it started wobbling too. I tell, you, life ain’t easy for a mechanic!
With all the wheel fiddling, it was smooth dark by then, but I got just about finished, I thought, by the light of the silvery moon, again. If it weren’t for the silvery moon, I wouldn’t get nearly as many things done.
I don’t know what I’m going to have to do to get those nuts tight enough. Prop my foot against that mower and tighten and tighten and tighten some more. Do you think that some bailing wire would help the situation? It might, because my daddy had baling wire on everything and some things just won’t work without it.
Now, aren’t we glad that mower is assembled and starting easily and only the wobbly wheels remain difficult. Might have to get Mr. Taylor to come on over and tighten them, do you think? We’ll see how this goes. While we wait, as usual, we will look at a new book. This week we’ll talk about Linda Barnes’ new one "Deep Pockets."
"Harvard Professor Wilson Chaney’s position in life is hanging by a thread: his marriage, his reputation, not to mention his tenure at Harvard, are in the hands of a blackmailer, someone threatening to sell Chaney’s secrets at very high prices. His enviable life could disappear into thin air should the blackmailer’s evidence – proof of his affair with a young student – become public knowledge.
So he hires Boston private investigator Carlotta Carlyle to track down the blackmailer and put a stop to the scheme. Can she do it? Of course. But should she? The professor doesn’t inspire much loyalty – after all, he did commit adultery with one of his own students – but Carlotta agrees to help him. Digging into the case nosing around Harvard and the possible suspects from the rest of Dr. Chaney’s life, she uncovers a suspicious death as part of the backstory to Dr. Chancy’s situation. Suddenly Carlotta’s sixth sense is telling her the case might be more complicated – and more dangerous – than it first seemed."