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Scratch that

I love a local hardware store. This slowly disappearing breed of retail shop should be the heart of any functioning neighborhood. Nothing says "I'm interested in sustaining this" more than a place where regular people can walk in and get the advice and tools they need to maintain and repair their homes.

Selection will generally be limited in size compared to a big-box home improvement store, but you won't need most of that extra stuff on an average day anyway. You don't need to buy a twelve-foot-tall Halloween skeleton as often as you need to replace a 1/8" drill bit. Not if you're living right. 

I'm at my local shop often enough that the staff have come to know me - at least by sight if not name. Greetings range from friendly nods to boisterous "hellos" depending on who's on duty. Occasionally I'll march in with purpose, a recent hire will try to help me, and one of the familiar women behind the counter will shout "don't bother, he knows where everything is!"

It's cute, but I must admit to not knowing where everything is. In my defense, sometimes it's because they just don't have what I'm after. 

A couple years ago I was perusing the hand tools, looking for a scratch awl- a sort of heavy duty needle with a bulb-shaped handle at the end. A handsome, youngish employee with an impressive mustache approached me. 

"What are we looking for today, bud?"

"An awl. I don't seem to see any"

"What do you want an awl for?" he asked, more puzzled than I thought a guy at a hardware store ought to be. 

"Well you know. Awl stuff. Scribing lines. Marking precision drill holes..."

"In wood?"

I nodded.

"You know you could just use the pointy end of a long screw. Even if you needed to hammer it, the screw head would work fine. Wouldn't cost you nothin'. I know you've got some."

It was true. I had plenty of long, leftover deck screws that would absolutely suffice. 

"I mean I could special order one for you, but it seems pointless..."

"No, you're right. I didn't think of that." I was disappointed. Not just in my lack of ingenuity, but also because I didn't get to buy an elegant, overly specific tool for my clumsy woodworking that day. 

"Well, there are a couple other things I need" I lied. "I'm going to look around and grab 'em. Thanks for your help"

He did a casual salute and moseyed off to help another customer. 

How unusual for a store to discourage me from wasting money, I thought. I hope that's not why they keep going out of business. Good thing for them I planned on coming back tomorrow anyway.



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