Every father should expect to lose a few tools along due to budding mechanics.  By the time Brian came along my toolboxes were somewhat depleted.  After he started using them it was sometimes impossible to finish a job without shaking him down for the missing tools.  Though he always claimed innoscence, I maintained that I could go through his room and find at least three of my tools anytime.

One day after he had cleaned up his room and I was grousing about something that was missing, he called me on it.  We started looking around and quickly found two he had not returned.  Sure enough, after further search the third was found stashed in a drawer!

From Sharon: Dale, you were long grown up & gone, but one year when Dad had been grousing about his amazing disappearing tools close to Christmastime, someone (probably Sandy) suggested we each choose a tool on Christmas Eve, wrap it, and give it to another family member.  We all sat around that Christmas Eve, the kids waiting for the parents to go to bed, and the parents waiting for the kids to go to bed.  Finally, Mom & Dad got up, said, “We give up!  We’re going to bed!”, and off they went.  (I was a teenager by then.)  We went into action.  I don’t remember the other presents, but in the morning Mom got a lovely chalk line/plumb bob, stylishly presented with the chalk line pulled out a few feet and the whole thing elegantly wrapped, hanging with the Christmas stockings.