The Zip-Strip incident of 1976

 

Good morning, 

I pray that the day is finding you well.  

Talking about Tinker has my memory in overdrive. 

When I was a kid growing up in Kansas, my dad would take on projects that I initially thought had a low chance of success. 

Here is a short list of things my dad tackled: 

• Red; no, not the color but an old Appaloosa horse that had been foundered. Foundered is a term used to describe a horse that had become lame because their hooves had grown so long that they actually walked on the frogs of their feet. Needless to say, without going into what frogs are, Red could not walk. Dad bought him, and we carried him into the trailer and brought him home. I thought dad was nuts. Changing a duplex into one large home. Stucco; is a term that describes a lath and plaster system of ceilings and walls. If you ever wondered what people used before drywall was invented, they  used  “stucco.” 
• Installing a hot water heating system all by himself. 

One day dad was stripping paint off one of the window sills of this duplex turned into a huge house, and I walked in. 

He turns to me and says, “Do me a favor and go to Milton’s and get some Zip-Strip.”

Milton’s was the name of the lumber yard in town; it was named after Milton Lampe, the guy who owned it. Otherwise known as Lampe hardware. As I reflect on my little town, most shops had people’s names. I had learned to ask clarifying questions over time, mostly from the red-handled screwdriver incident of 1974. 

I asked, “How much Zip-Strip do you need?” 

Dad, obviously frustrated, said, “You know how much I need. Just go get me some blankety-blank Zip-Strip.” 

So I did. 

I drove the pickup to Milton’s. I walked into the office and said, “I need all the Zip-Strip you can spare.” 

Milton looked at me, seeing that I was more than just a little tweaked said, “What’s going on Roger?” 

I recounted the story and told him my plan. 

Milton laughed and said, “Let’s go to the warehouse.” 

We loaded all the Zip-Strip that he had, everything from pint cans to 5-gallon buckets.

Milton said, “Just bring back what you don’t need, and tell me how it goes.” 

I return to the house and walk in with a little pint of Zip-Strip. Dad, who had cooled off while I was gone, said, “Thank you.” 

I said, “No problem.” And went back to the pickup to unload the rest. 

Dad watched in fascination as I proceeded to unload into the house enough Zip-Strip to strip the paint on every home in our little town. 

A smile came to his face, and he said he was sorry for overreacting to a simple question, especially since the red-handled screwdriver incident of 1974. 

Dad even went back to Lampe Hardware to help me return the Zip-Strip. Milton had a good laugh. Dad thought it was pretty funny too.  

I am much older now and have hopefully learned a little during my life. One of the benefits of memorizing scripture is it tends to come to mind when you are faced with things. This scripture came to mind. “A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble on himself.”(Proverbs 11:17).  

The ZipStrip incident of 1976 has left an impression on me. No matter how busy I am, no matter how frazzled, I try to be patient and answer the question that is asked. 

You know, the "Y" does a great job of not responding negatively to the question, no matter the tone. That is one of the best things that I love about our "Y." Of all the things we do, the one thing we are really good at is loving on people. 

Have you ever had a ZipStrip incident in your life? How did you handle it?

Something to ponder

Blessings,

Roger