A little rusty

Not me. 

The wee screwdriver was found almost buried in needles from a tree with branches hanging over Daughter C's fence. The tree is a large nuisance (species unknown) on the small triangle of Council land between the road and her property. It was in the area where the trampoline which the boys had had fun with until its metal parts were overwhelmed by the falling needles and became rusted to the extent it was unsafe, had been. Late last year it was removed by the Junk2Go people who have been very helpful to me and my whanau for a few years now.

They not only take away almost anything we don't want, they attempt to recycle or make available for reuse as much as possible of what they take away. That may mean that they get the fee they charge us, and then get some money from selling on what they can. I'm just delighted that (as long as its not too rusty - or equivalent) things aren't just wasted.

Anyway, perhaps because there was so much plant material in that area, the Junk2Go people must have missed seeing the screwdriver. They usually take away everything and leave the surface behind uncovered and tidy. Both boys denied ever seeing it before. Not surprising; which teenage or almost teenage boy sees anything he is not looking for; and he also tends not to see what he is looking for.

Young L showed no interest at all in using some steel wool to remove the surface rust. Below that it seems to be solid and perfectly useable. And a small Philips screwdriver with a chunky handle is actually very useful. Even for me. Once or twice only, but important at the time.

I didn't tell the lads that from personal experience I know that removing surface rust can reveal the obscured strength which lies below, and even muscles which have not been used in the way they once were, can regain tone, strength and even stamina. More to the point, the same applies to memory. Making it work hard again, not depending on one's list of contacts, trying to remember a journal reference rather than just copy it down, improves memory function, although nominal amnesia continues, and is a real nuisance. Especially when the forgotten name or word suddenly becomes consciously known again and leads to the apparently random announcement of the word or name quite out of context.

As I have just shown, a small blue screwdriver is very useful.