zachtfilms
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Like many of you, our “old man” is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to fixing things.
Whether it’s working on a busted pipe, remodeling a house or fixing the odds and ends on a project car, dads are there to fix.
Over the past few weeks, while my dad is remodeling my grandfather’s old house, I’ve enlisted his help with installing a few modifications to my truck.
Having grown up helping him work on CJ7 Jeeps, I’ve been in the garage with my dad enough times to know how this process goes.
After hearing the always familiar whine of a pneumatic impact gun or ratchet, his voice always seemed to say, “Alright, hold the light right here.”
Having grown up a bit since those times and not worked on a project with him in a while, I was enthused that the now 50-year-old and I work well together in the garage, installing a new grille and bumpers on my truck, including wiring the lights that came with the modifications.
Laughs, stories, and talks about life were shared in the moments of deciding whether to use spade connectors or solder the wires together – we settled on butt splicing most of the time, particularly the red ones, which we are now out of.
As the project went on, there was a moment of familiarity when he asked me where the Mag-Lite was.
Upon finding the light, which seemed dimmer than modern LED lights, I handed it to him. As he lay there, trying to figure out how to take off the old bumper in the dim light, I kept him laughing, saying there were only a few more bolts and that I had watched the right YouTube video on how to do it.
I didn’t.
However, about 40 minutes of knuckle-busting later, the old bumper was off, and it was time to put the new bumper back on.
Having 22-year-old hands played well to my advantage as we threaded the bolts through tight spaces, securing the new bumper onto the truck.
Then, I finally got to say it.
“Hey, can you hold that light?”
Almost instantly, there was a dim light illuminating the workspace, so I could cram my hands in and finger-tighten a bolt before wrenching it down.
As we wait for more parts to arrive, I look forward to more opportunities to hold the light, as the time spent in that garage is now among my favorites.
Recent column/opinion piece. Hope you enjoy.
Zach
Whether it’s working on a busted pipe, remodeling a house or fixing the odds and ends on a project car, dads are there to fix.
Over the past few weeks, while my dad is remodeling my grandfather’s old house, I’ve enlisted his help with installing a few modifications to my truck.
Having grown up helping him work on CJ7 Jeeps, I’ve been in the garage with my dad enough times to know how this process goes.
After hearing the always familiar whine of a pneumatic impact gun or ratchet, his voice always seemed to say, “Alright, hold the light right here.”
Having grown up a bit since those times and not worked on a project with him in a while, I was enthused that the now 50-year-old and I work well together in the garage, installing a new grille and bumpers on my truck, including wiring the lights that came with the modifications.
Laughs, stories, and talks about life were shared in the moments of deciding whether to use spade connectors or solder the wires together – we settled on butt splicing most of the time, particularly the red ones, which we are now out of.
As the project went on, there was a moment of familiarity when he asked me where the Mag-Lite was.
Upon finding the light, which seemed dimmer than modern LED lights, I handed it to him. As he lay there, trying to figure out how to take off the old bumper in the dim light, I kept him laughing, saying there were only a few more bolts and that I had watched the right YouTube video on how to do it.
I didn’t.
However, about 40 minutes of knuckle-busting later, the old bumper was off, and it was time to put the new bumper back on.
Having 22-year-old hands played well to my advantage as we threaded the bolts through tight spaces, securing the new bumper onto the truck.
Then, I finally got to say it.
“Hey, can you hold that light?”
Almost instantly, there was a dim light illuminating the workspace, so I could cram my hands in and finger-tighten a bolt before wrenching it down.
As we wait for more parts to arrive, I look forward to more opportunities to hold the light, as the time spent in that garage is now among my favorites.
Recent column/opinion piece. Hope you enjoy.
Zach
