Screwnailed

By Jim Hagarty

I know I live in a small town but this is ridiculous.

I went to a hardware store one morning looking for some screwnails. A man about my age elbowed his way in front of me and conducted his own search for the same things.

I waited him out, went back to my search and left the store without the screws.

I went to another hardware store just down the road and started the same investigation. Not long after, guess who is moving me out of the way of his all-important search again?

As I did before, I stood back and when he apparently found what he needed, I moved in. Picking up the package of nails I needed, I headed for the cashier. I will give you three guesses as to who was in line in front of me and your first two are wrong. It was Dog the Screwnail Hunter again. And as there was some discrepancy in the price of the FOUR screws he had chosen to buy, there was a hold up. The price was eventually established at 15 cents and the transaction was made.

Finally, he disappeared out the door and I made my purchase.

I stepped out into the sun and stopped short as a big old sedan went zooming by too fast for a parking lot and threatened to run over my feet. Yes, it was that same guy driving and I will admit, I had one of the worst cases of Screwnail Rage yet seen in these parts.

I’m not proud of it, I’ll admit, but that guy is a complete Old Fart Menace and needs a good talkin’ to.

Author: Jim Hagarty

I am a 72-year-old retired journalist, busy recovering from a lifelong career as an unretired journalist. This year marks a half century of my scratching out little fables about life. My interests include genealogy, humour and music. I live in a little blue shack in Canada and spend most of my time trying to stay out of trouble. I am not that good at it. I also spent years teaching journalism. Poor state of journalism today: My fault. I have a family I don't deserve, a dog that adores me, and two cars the junk yard refuses to accept. My prized possessions include my old guitar and a razor my Dad gave me when I was 14 and which I still use when I bother to shave. Oh, and my great-great-grandfather's blackthorn stick he brought from Ireland in the 1850s. I have only one opinion but it is a good one: People take too many showers.