History Gremlins,not the car...

It's usually the pair. The phone rings or something and I take them off quickly. A few minutes pass and I have no idea where they are.

 

I misplace things, O.K. Just 'sometimes'. More often lately, but I'm still 'multi-tasking'. Lost a new in box Mallory Y-L last October, found the box but no new Mallory.
Looked in the large box of Mallories, 3 times at least. No new Y-L. Last Saturday, wife and I were moving some stuff in front garage, there was shiny new Mallory with its crab cap, standing right in the center of the Mallory box! (with all the lesser Mallories around it, as if they were 'kneeling'...)

Lost a deep Snap On 7/16" socket from an early '60s set, rolled under my giant duplex Snap On boxes (on a common chassis, 4" low to floor)
Lights, magnets, toy submarine...Nothing could find my socket! (it was the double-black ring series, just 'jewel-like!) Looked for it for months...off and on.
Finally found a used one (like new) on the 'Bay...$6 and free shipping!
Still haven't found the original...

I was born in '42, we lived in my Grandma's large Los Angeles bungalow, in Santa Clara. Grandma was a 'pioneer' in town, born there in 1876. She and Grandpa built the house from plans in 1900, with 3 hired carpenters.
She abounded with stories...many of which told of lost treasure, great and small...she told of 'pack rats', vermin that stole shiny objects, never to be seen again.
1952, I was 10. I was building a model airplane, a 'largish' scale kit model of a P40.
Working on the oak table in the dining room, I was anxious to get to the finishing touches: I had the cool aluminum hubbed rubber tired wheels, (Japanese) and a polished alum spinner, next day GONE! One of my 2" wheels, and my new polished spinner.
Asked everyone, nobody knew anything. Grandma said, "I bet it's that darned pack rat..." I scoffed.
Grandma went into the dining room, opened a sideboard drawer, (bottom one) and said, "Watch out, he might jump out..." I snuck up beside her, she lifted a stack of bed sheets...There in the corner of the bottom drawer was a pile of shredded paper, my wheel, spinner, and some control linkage I didn't even miss.
Grandma's wedding ring was there also, along with some broken glass shards.
I asked how she knew. She said that must be an old rat, he'd been hiding stuff there for years! (third time she found her ring there!)
I said she could trap him, now that she knew... She said no, if she did that she wouldn't know where to look next time! True story.
Grandma was 'Aces'.

 

Out West, there is a bird nick-named "Camp Robber", or "Whiskey Jack" iirc. I think it's a type of Jay. They like shiny things, and collect them and researchers find all sorts of things in their nests. Somebody, somewhere at some national forest campground probably watched their car keys flying away at some point, I'd bet money on it.

 

Have you seen that in the kids clothing store they sell pairs of socks as packages of THREE. Even the establishment is in on the problem feeding those gremlins.

 

I haven't seen that but it would be a good idea for adults also. HRP

 

I opened the fridge today looking for some thing to snack on...I looked inside then yelled to the wife, "I bet the next phone call will be a cool one"! She said, "why do you think that"? I just said I got a feeling; of coarse the fact that the phone was in the fridge gave me a clue...

 

Oh boy HRP
I'm gonna tell my wife the next time she buys a new cel phone to buy two.

 

Good advice to young folks - pick a single style and color of sock early in life, and stick with it.

 

Sage advice from someones
Birthday:
Aug 31, 1904 (Age: 111)...............HRP

 

White tube socks here for years. Always the same style. That way, you lose one, save it until you lose another [and you know you will]. Eventually they wear out or get lost so you have to buy replacements, same kind, same color. I usually buy the 12 pack, probably lose one a month....

 

I think this is the culprit

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Last week in our first northeast snowstorm I took my snowblower out for its first seasonal run and it ran like crap. Pulled it into garage and removed carb, cleaned gunk out, and proceeded to reassemble. Dropped the throttle rod (thin wire piece about 3" long) and couldn't find it for about an hour and quit from frustration. There simply was no place for it to disappear to because I was working in a clean open space.

Next day I found the throttle rod frozen to the tire chains sticking out like a needle poking out of a haystack. Proceeded to install it and dropped it again, and again it disappeared. Looked everywhere and even started disassembling body of machine to see if it possibly fell inside a tiny gap in the body. No luck. After an hour I quit again, this time for good. Later that day walked by and it was sitting right there on the floor behind the machine.

 

I moved 2+ years ago, and there are any number of things I can no longer find. So I keep accusing the girl friend and daughter of throwing my stuff away in order to thin out my possessions. Did they? Likely not, but it's better than admitting that I've mislaid them.

 

Gremlins have just struck again. Now they have taken the new trunk gasket for my 51 Chevy. I'm loading my shotgun in case I see one.

 

This is my usual gremlin...... Need a flat ...all I can find is a philips ... Need a 1/2 inch socket .. nope all are gone but plenty of 7/16.....next day ....need a philips all there is flats....need a 7/16 all there is 1/2 inch.... WTF really...,

 

Have had some strange occurrences similar to that myself, glad to hear (sort of) that it's not uncommon anyway.

 

Wait.... it gets worse. When the Gremlins get enough time in your shop, they start to watch you work..... and they LEARN! Soon, you will pull something apart, it will be a simple rebuild, saaayyy.... a wheel cylinder. You'll put it back together with your usual attention to detail and walk away for supper. Job well done. A newly rebuilt wheel cylinder. BUT!!! While you're having supper, a Gremlin will pull apart the wheel cylinder and botch something up for you.

 

YEP, ??????? Oooo hell I think the cat has it NO maybe the DOG or maybe I am just lusting my mine I call my buddy he said HHHHAAAAAa that SUCKSSS I know

 

I blame all the missing parts, tools and even my beer from the fridge on old man bones that sets up on top of one of my tool chest. I dropped a small spacer from my car the other day and have spent over 2 hours looking for it with no luck so far. Sure hope it is not laying somewhere that will cause problems when I fire this thing up.....

 

Some years back I was replacing the front bumper on a 1936 Ford(what else?!) and had new bumper bolts from Drake in the little plastic bag they come in. I tear open the bag and take one out and install it and move to the other side to do the other one and turn and reach down for the little bag with the other bolt. Nowhere to be seen!
My, at that time, about two year old dog that was a cross between a Rotweiler and a Newfoundland(he looked pretty much like an all black lab except about 50% bigger!) had been standing there next to me carefully observing the whole process and not bothering a thing. I looked at him standing there with his mouth closed, just like he pretty much always did; and thought that he might look a little different but thought, "Naw, he didn't bother the little bag with the other bolt."... BUT, I said, "Out." to the dog anyway and he then politely leaned over and neatly deposited the bag with the parts in it next to me and then resumed his pose of just standing there with his mouth shut.
From then on, I was a bit more careful about laying things down when my dog was "helping" but still I had to sometimes say, "Out." to find whatever was suddenly not visible. He didn't chew or try to eat anything; he would just hold it in his mouth.
I miss that dog.



I think the gremlins took over after the dog passed. I'd much prefer to still have the dog; even if all the gremlins in the world came with him. He's waiting at the Rainbow Bridge.

 

I bought 4 hubcaps and beauty ring from the Wheel Smith. When they showed up all boxed up I set them in the shop.
6 months later I was looking for them, at that point with all of the other boxes of parts around,
I couldn't even remember what the box looked like. Had to call Wheel Smith to find out what the looked like!