Bill wrote:

>I've begun purchasing things in my travels and then when I get home....
>I SNEAK THEM INTO THE HOUSE.
>
>There - I've said it. Whew - feels kinda good to get that out. I
>actually check to make sure that she's occupied with the baby and then
>quietly slip down to "get something from the car", and quickly (with
>furtive glances at the window to be sure she's not watching) grab
>whatever rusty/greasy/old/heavy/cast iron/steel/wood item(s) are in the
>trunk/floor of the car and run in that funny scurrying way that you have
>to when you're carrying something heavy that you don't want anyone to
>see, and you don't want the sawdust/grease/rust to get on your clothes.
>(Worse than lipstick on your collar, if'n ya know what I mean).

I applaud your willingness to share this with us. We here at the Support
Group From Hell are ready to listen and offer support at any time. The
only problem with such posts is that they are inevitably followed by smug
declarations from Galoots who announce that their SWMBO's are perfectly
OK with an increasing stream of rusty objects flowing down the basement
stairs. Puh-leeaase (finger down throat and gagging).

The time honored tradition of leaving tools in the car to 'age' a bit has
long been practiced by Galoots. It is well known that the environment in
a closed vehicle allows the process of patination to proceed at an
accelerated pace. Likewise, the 'sneaking in' of old tools can also be
viewed as a Galoot simply being considerate of a rust-averse SWMBO or SO.
I mean, it's not like you are going to take it back to the flea market
after its been 'aging' in the car for a few days. Nope, the article is
irrevocably yours and it's up to you to get this object down to the
basement with the least disturbance of the household karma. We just have
to face the fact that not everyone has the same fascination with well
oxidized metal/wood objects that we do. 'Sneaking in' has sort of a
guilty/furtive overtone which I dislike.  I prefer the term 'rust
ensconcement' which I believe adequately describes the same process but
in a more neutral and obscure fashion. Just in case you are discovered in
the act and asked what you are doing.

>Said item(s) then get quickly and quietly as possible deposited in the
>shop somewhere, usually in several somewheres - it's not a good idea to
>have them all appear in the same spot at the same time. If she does
>notice one or two at a later date (which, so far, she has not), then
>it's "What - that? No, I've had that for a while - it's been there for a
>long time. You didn't notice it before? Oh."

Ok, this is where chaos and a cluttered shop can work for you. The old
Zen koan. "If a tool appears in the basement and SWMBO did not see it in
transfer, then was it not always there?" is admittedly my favorite. I
also like the term 'hide in plain sight' which says so much with so few
words. The more your shop approaches a fractal pattern the less concerned
you have to be with a single tool being recognized in the overall scheme
of things. Of course you are not really trying to hide anything because
this would be dishonest. Everything is right out in the open. The fact
that SWMBO would need Salaman's tool dictionary and Walter's guide and
several other reference works, as well as several hours to make sense of
it all, is beside the point.

OTOH, the more devious SWMBO could keep track simply by marking your
tools with one of those markers that only shows up under a black-light.
Periodic shop tours with the light would quickly show the ratio of marked
vs non-marked tools. Now that I mention it, I have seen a black light in
the basement...
****************************
Tom Price (TomPrice@a...)
Rust Ensconcement A Specialty
The Galoots Progress:
http://members.aol.com/tomprice/galootp/galtprog.html