Hello, my name is Dan, and I’m a tool-aholic.
Thinking back, my dad had a problem, too. He couldn’t go to a hardware store and buy just one tool. One tool always led to another. He couldn’t stop with just one.
My own addiction started innocently enough, when some co-workers invited me onto a Snap-on truck at work. They encouraged me to buy just one ball-peen hammer. I woke up the next morning owning a new tool chest.
The next decade of my life as a mechanic is a blur. That original tool chest had empty drawers, so I filled them. Overfilled them, in fact, which led to a bigger tool chest, more empty drawers, and, inevitably, more tools.
Like my father, I couldn’t stop at just one screwdriver, I had to buy a full set.
The Snap-on and Mac tool guys recognized a tool addict when they saw one, and fed my obsession. My Snapon salesman named his new boat after me. My Mac salesman’s youngest kid sent me a “thank you” card after she graduated from college.
Fortunately, I’ve gotten things under control as I’ve grown older. I haven’t bought a toolbox since 9 a.m. on Dec. 14, 2001, and now stay off tool trucks to avoid temptation. To my wife’s delight, I cut up my Snap-on and Mac Tools credit cards.
Thank goodness she hasn’t found out about my Amazon account yet.