"I bought a drill. It is yellow. It is my first drill. I bought it because I'm 59 next month and thought it was about time. It's nearly a half a century since I joined the rest of the world in giving up on myself when it came to practical skills. My brother, who is younger, was good at that stuff, which I wasn't."
"He was also very good at Lego, which I wasn't. What I was good at was unclear. Reading, possibly. Anyway, he was the practical one and I wasn't and that was the end of it. And, in the way of these things, this truth got truer as time went on. And I've got sick of it, not in the sense of feeling emasculated or anything, just bored by my hopelessness, bored of bothering and/or paying people to do things."
"What do you want to use it for? asked the bloke in the shop. I told him that underneath it all I wanted to address lifelong self-esteem issues, but in the short term I'd settle for being able to drill a hole. He looked at me a bit funny but sold me the yellow drill and a case with no fewer than a hundred bits in it. A hundred! My place is going to resemble a Swiss cheese."
A 59-year-old buys a yellow drill to address decades of avoiding practical tasks and low self-esteem about hands-on skills. The buyer doubts personal practical ability due to a younger brother's aptitude and years of resignation. The drill purchase and accessory case symbolize a desire to change. The purchaser hesitates but seeks to perform simple tasks like drilling a hole rather than advanced projects. An experienced friend, Gary, teaches wall-anchoring techniques and provides special screws for hollow walls. Initial successes include installing and removing plates, revealing small triumphs and ongoing learning.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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