Bustednuckles

I went down there because they are having a big sale and there was an item I wanted. One that I should have bought instead of cheaping out a couple visits ago that has caused me to spend more in the long run than if I hadn’t talked myself out of it the first time.

The story of my life…

Anyways.

A while back I went and bought this cheap 6 inch bench grinder.

I shoulda known better.

I can’t even tell you how many damn bench grinders I have bought in the last six or seven years but it’s at least 5.

I wind up giving the damn things away.

I’ve had a couple three 6 inchers and a couple of 8 inchers.

Like this 6 incher above, they always wind up being disappointing in the horse power department.

That one pictured also has the ridiculous battery powered LED lights over the wheels.

Seriously?

Batteries?

What the fuck was I thinking?

Junk accessory.

Big, bulky, I keep forgetting to turn the sonofabitch off when I turn off the grinder and notice it’s still on 45 minutes later so they are a pain in the ass on top of everything else.

But the horse power is my biggest gripe.

Not enough Oomph.

So I run over there originally to snag a couple of cheap tarps.

That’s what I told myself anyway, knowing damn good and well that ain’t why I’m going there at the same time.

A flimsy excuse but workable.

I snag a couple and some Bungy Cords because I don’t seem to have any of those either.

Then it’s the obligatory cruise through the aisles and back and forth through the power tools.

Because I’m a fucking guy, that’s why.

I will get back to this in a minute.

Pretty soon, there I am, staring at the grinders. Again.

They have a new one out I seriously considered but the shelf was empty, all they had was a display.

An 8 incher with a belt sanding attachment for $169.

Christmas is coming.

That looks handy as hell.

But since they didn’t have one of those, I got one of these.

A more traditional 8 inch bench grinder, with a freaking light that isn’t attached to the damn safety glass attachments.

It’s still out in the garage in the box.

I’ll get to it when I get done here.

Hopefully this one has quite a bit more stank than the littler one. We shall see,

So while I am waiting in this huge line to cash out, some clean cut looking guy in his early 40’s starts chatting at people. Nice enough guy.

Then he sees my hat and it’s on.

My “I Identify As A Pissed Off American” hat.

Oh yeah, this guy was one of us.

He says. I love your hat!

So I asked him, “Are You There Yet?”.

Then it was really on. The rotten government, gas prices, taxes, gun laws, the whole ball of wax within about three or four minutes while we waited.

Nice guy. Eventually he got to a cashier and we both said “Nice talking to you” then he was off.

Then I got up there, took care of business and rolled the cart out to the truck to load my prizes up.

As I’m getting ready to take the cart back, BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT DECENT PEOPLE DO, I hear this kind of ringing sound getting closer and closer.

Six months ago I wouldn’t have had a clue what it was but Old Chuck’s daughter bought some fucking hybrid Mini Van/ SUV a while back and that fucker makes the same ringing sound.

Sure as shit, I look up and here is some guy in some kind of TESLA SUV thing.

I didn’t even know they made one.

I get back from taking the cart back just in time to see this guy get out and start walking towards the Harbor Freight store.

The first thing that came to mind was there ain’t no Starbucks this away there Skippy.

Mid 30’s, what the wimmin’s would probably consider a decent looking guy, about 6 foot and 200 pounds.

Wearing greenish brown khaki shorts, one of those POLO type shirts and sporting those “I’m Cool and Trendy” expensive sunglasses.

Getting out of a TESLA.

‘Nuff said, right?

What that guy needed from Harbor Freight could be quite the conversation starter.

So I shake my head at Mr. Trendy, get in my Bomber of an Old Red Truck and head out of the huge parking lot.

I get out onto a “Kind Of” a road, that snakes around between a bunch of these giant parking lots and drive by one of those Electric Car charging stations.

Here sits some other Dink in the back of his open hatched electric SUV type thing, reading a book while he is waiting for the damn thing to charge up.

Mid 30’s, bald, the shorts again, whatever. The first thing I think to myself driving by this guy is that book he’s reading sure as shit isn’t The Art Of Being A Man.

So I am really starting to get the bigger picture of the parts of my local society and not only has a large portion of them drank The Kool Aid, they went back for seconds.

All these damn electric vehicles running around, right?

Has anyone bothered to look down the road and wonder what they are going to do with all of these giant freaking batteries when these vehicles come to the end of their life span?

No junk yard owner in his right mind is going to have anything to do with these ecological nightmares.

And what about the suckers who bought these things when it’s time to take them off the road permanently?

Did they think long enough to wonder how that was going to work?

Ain’t NOBODY going to be taking and storing those things for free.

I can see a whole bunch of shocked faces in the not too distant future when they find out that they are going to have to pay big money just to get rid of the battery.

First they are going to have to pay to have it removed, transported and THEN, properly disposed of.

But hey, they sure are cool, trendy and (cough cough) environmentally woke in the mean time.

Right?

These are the kind of people I am going to have a hard time feeling any sympathy for when it all turns to shit and that time is marching forward inexorably.