Main Street Adjustable Wrench Sighting

Traffic on the way to work today was horrendous. The back up on Main street was all the way back to South Post Oak. In addition, I was stuck behind a woman putting on make-up all the way through the Medical Center. She was slow to react to traffic starting or stopping. Heavy traffic prevented me from being able to pass. She finally turned off at Rice University.

During my trip I spotted an adjustable wrench on the interior shoulder of Main Street just north of the Holmes Road intersection. The wrench appeared to be an 8 inch adjustable wrench. It was very shiny and appeared to be new.

Hwy 288 Offset Boxend Wrench Sighting

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is in town. I believe this is the last weekend. Due to the increased traffic on Main Street I decided to use a different route to go home. The new route takes me down part of Hwy 288. This time of year the blue bells are growing in the median. The sight is inspiring to see. Here are wild flowers growing in the middle of one of the largest cities in the U.S. It makes me believe that Earth is a resilient place.

Friday, on my way home, I spotted what appears to be an offset box end wrench. The wrench is located on 288 south of downtown near the Cleburne Street overpass on the southbound inside median.

The wrench appears to be one of the larger sizes. Probably a 3/4 or possible a 13/16. If the wrench is there Monday I may stop to get it depending upon the rules.

Cedar Bend Road Crescent Adjustable Wrench

This is one of the first tools I found. The year was around 1978. I found this Crescent adjustable wrench on Cedar Bend Road in front of the Routon Dairy. I was driving a 1968 Pontiac Catalina. I was on my way to school or work, probably school. I spotted the wrench and stopped to pick it up. I spotted a 12 inch heavy duty screwdriver down the road another 50 feet and picked it up also. I believe the screwdriver was lost in the fire that destroyed my father's garage. The wrench needs to be cleaned. I don't use it often because I have the Armstong adjustable wrench that is much heavier.

This wrench reminds me of how my hometown has changed. The dairy no longer exists. The Routon family lost the dairy and the property was sold. Houses now dot much of the property and eventually the silos that mark the dairy will be destroyed. The Catalina was sold a year or two later and I started driving my first car, a yellow 1973 Chevy Nova with a 307 8-cylinder engine.

I believe we always look back at life as being simpler than it is now. In this case it probably was simpler, but I don't miss it. Complication makes life more interesting. Bring on life!

Armstrong 28-412 Adjustable Wrench

I found this Armstrong 28-412 Adjustable wrench sometime in August of 2005. The wrench was on the side of McHard Road 1 mile east of Turtle Creek Drive. I saw a glint of metal as I was driving home. I glanced over and saw the tool. I turned around and then u-turned to pull up beside the tool. I got out of the truck and picked up the tool then continued home. This is a really heavy industrial style 12 inch adjustable wrench. Another loss for someone and a gain for me.