Ever have one of those days that You wish you had just stayed in bed?

[dirtlooter]

Actually it started a while back, the 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo had been having issues (putting it nicely). I got a new computer for it, was told it needed one badly. Wasn't charging the battery, the computer was supposed to fix that but didn't. So it died last night at the daughter's only about six miles away, pretty sure it is the starter. Had a friend help me prove that the starter was dead, okay need to pull it out.

Go home and get everything including floor jack and stand. It is cold, heavy frost this morning and those tools are cold. I get everything ready, open my heavy duty tool bag and spread my tools on the tailgate of the truck. Now I have over the years, acquired some decent tools, all with lifetime warranties. I have 1/2" drive, 3/8" drive and 1/4" drive sockets etc. Of course Standard and Metric sockets as well as wrenches. In fact, just bought a new set of Husky Metric wrenches two weeks ago. all of the supporting tools plus extras, pliers, screwdrivers, vise-grips, channelocks etc.

So, I get the starter out finally and I am cold, the ole fat boy was doing good to get it out with the torn rotary cuff and being half blind. Jump in the truck and head back to the house, got the heater on high and I am planning my next move. Get to the house and am busy working on other stuff when I go outside and see that the tailgate is still down! I hurry around to see that the bag is still there (somehow) but most of the tools are gone! Now we have been home for 30 minutes or longer but we hurry back to see what we can recover. We found a lot....okay one 3/8 extension, a small wire brush and a now broken screwdriver. The once mighty and heavy tool bag is now 1/3 of its weight. To say that it made me sick was and is an understatement. And the jeep is still sitting there broke.

I guess I made several people very happy as they picked craftsman and other tools up. For some reason the wife has been walking wide of me. I am the maddest at myself, this is something that I had always avoided but did it today. After the strokes ended, I have worked very hard not to be as forgetful and things like this make you question yourself. But on the brighter side, didn't lose everything so it could have been worse. Deep Breath, Sigh

 

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[Professor of Engineering]

Thank you for sharing the life story!

 

[releventchair]

Oh , the times I've spotted the open tailgate.....And did not have a stroke or age to blame it on.

Had a flat pocket sized metal ice fishing tackle box ride 50 miles to work on the rear bumper once.
I never would have known how it got lost.

When the daughter was young I ran my beater truck in one stormy/rainy night.
When parked and walking past the front of the truck I glimpsed a cat running.
Where the kids wet cat had rode underneath that near 50 miles at that other place of employment ,remains a mystery.

Then there are items that blew or fell out with the tailgate up....
And the nice wool fedora hat along the highway out in the weeds I stopped for about day three after spotting it. Around thirty years later it's still decent.


Sorry about your losses. It happens.
Be safe and don't build a better mousetrap out of your Jeep!

 

[sandchip]

I feel badly for you, man. Losing tools is about as bad as it gets when it comes to stuff, especially if it's old ones that can't be replaced. I've got a prybar about 4' long that my granddaddy made from some automobile part. It's probably my favorite tool because it's one of the few connections I have with my grandfathers, both of whom died years before I was born. Daddy told me that he never would use it because he wanted a store bought one. I can understand that mindset because he grew up during the Depression where everything was made on the farm. He told me he always felt bad about that, so I try to make it up for him by using it regularly. At the same time though, I protect it like it's made out of gold. Dumb sounding, I guess but that's just how it is with me. I may throw a picture on in hopes that one of you might be able to tell what it came off of.

 

[Red James Cash]

Not on the same page but similar.I went to a house that I was painting to finish up the job,a couple of hours of work.I had a big travel mug of coffee with me.I got out of my van,got my tools out of the side door,put my coffee mug on the rear bumper and got to work.it took a couple of hours longer than expected,I finished and headed to my next job a few miles away.Half way there I remembered my coffee (Don't mess with my coffee now or I'll kill ya)I'm thinking there goes my coffee mug and coffee.I got to my next job,got out and walk behind my van and my coffee is somehow still sitting on the bumper.I couldn't and still can't understand how.The coffee gods were looking out for me.

 

[dts52]

When I was living in Nebraska, my friend showed up (very hung over) one Saturday morning to go pheasant hunting but couldn't find his shotgun anywhere. At some point he realized he had put it on the roof of the car when he left his house. He hadn't gotten home until just before dawn and only had time to change his clothes and grab some coffee before heading out. We drove around looking but never found it. We assumed he drove away with it on the roof. Someone found a nice gun in a case and never made an effort to return it. The other part of the story is that he also forgot to take the receipt from the motel room he stayed in briefly (read between the lines) on Friday night out of his pocket. When his wife went to do the laundry, she discovered it. You can guess the final outcome.

I guess the moral of the story is that we can all be forgetful, especially when we are thinking about something else.... where was I headed with this? I forget now.

HH
dts

 

[sandchip]

Not on the same page but similar.I went to a house that I was painting to finish up the job,a couple of hours of work.I had a big travel mug of coffee with me.I got out of my van,got my tools out of the side door,put my coffee mug on the rear bumper and got to work.it took a couple of hours longer than expected,I finished and headed to my next job a few miles away.Half way there I remembered my coffee (Don't mess with my coffee now or I'll kill ya)I'm thinking there goes my coffee mug and coffee.I got to my next job,got out and walk behind my van and my coffee is somehow still sitting on the bumper.I couldn't and still can't understand how.The coffee gods were looking out for me.

I did that with a Coke from McDonald's. Railroad tracks, curves, you name it. Got back to the shop and there it sat. If it had been something valuable, it would've been long gone.