Search for Screwdriver Turns Farm Upside Down

By Denise Anderson First Published March 14, 1997 “Can I borrow a screwdriver?” Mabel asked her husband Alvin“A screwdriver, hmmm?” he replied. “Phillips or straight?”“Straight,” Mabel replied.“I think I have a pair of pliers,” Alvin offered.Mabel assured him she didn't need a pair of pliers, just a screwdriver.“Well,” he said. “I have a Vice Grips you can borrow.”Mabel didn't want a Vice Grips, either. She just wanted a screwdriver.Alvin thought for a minute, then offered to go out to the shop and see if he could locate a screwdriver.Two hours later, Mabel was still waiting for a screwdriver.Alvin came into the house carrying a wooden box. It looked heavy.“I found some tools,” he said. “Are you sure you can't use a Vice Grips? I have 14 of them.”No, Mabel replied, a Vice Grips wasn't going to work.“And a pliers wouldn't do the job?” he asked. “I found seven of those.”Nope, pliers wouldn't work. What else did he have?He pulled tools out of the box. He had an odd assortment of crescent wrenches, a ratchet and odds and end heads, an oil filter wrench, two hammers with broken claws and a pair of tin snips.“None of those will do,” Mabel said. “I supposed I'll have to go to town and get one.”“No, no, don't do that,” Alvin said. “I know I've got a screwdriver in the tractor over on the west place. I'll just run and get it.”Mabel was almost certain by this time that going to town for a screwdriver would be faster and easier, but she agreed.Another two hours later, Alvin returned. To Mabel's surprise, he had a screwdriver in hand.She thanked him and went off to unscrew the screw she needed out of a shelf. It was only as she was finishing up that she noticed something odd about the screwdriver. Not only was there no grease on it anywhere, there was still a price tag on it. A clean price tag. Hmmm?

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