One of my summer home projects was to finally do some serious de-cluttering of my compact, one-car garage. I succeeded in getting rid of a pile of grocery cartons containing old drapes, clothing, a set of World Book encyclopedias from 1967, and junk that had long ceased to be used.
At the bottom of the pile, tucked in a corner of the garage, was a 50-year-old wooden toy chest containing some toys and other keepsakes from my childhood. I was excited that I had gotten rid of the cartons on top of it, so I could actually open the chest and revisit its contents. The sturdy wooden lid, however, wouldn't budge. Several years ago, I inherited my neighbor's garage "storage system," consisting of cinderblocks and pressed wood shelving. Without thinking, I had positioned the shelving right next to the toy chest, so that the lower shelves were flush with one side of the chest. Only now -- years later -- did I discover that the shelf was positioned so tightly that it left no clearance whatsoever to raise the chest lid. Drat!
I didn't want to move the shelf, for that would require me to first remove all of its contents. Fortunately, I was able to jam a large screwdriver in between the shelf and the chest and gently pry/shove the chest just a smidge, which was amazing, given that it was already in a tight corner. I could tell that the lid now had just enough clearance for maneuvering.
Standing over the chest (which had been gathering dust and cobwebs for the past 17 years), I excitedly tried raising the lid. There was still a lot of resistance, as the shelf still did not fully clear the lid -- but I didn't mind the lid rubbing tightly against the shelf, for at least I could raise it. What I also noticed, however, was that all that resistance was (1) making the lid seem heavy, and (2) creating a continuous, loud creaking sound as I raised the lid and it rubbed against the shelf.
I thought to myself, "This is the closest I will ever experience to channelling Willie opening Barnabas' coffin!" Such a crazy thought (and I apologize that this took so long to set up), but only we DS fans could readily recognize and appreciate the sound of strange creaking while raising a heavy, wooden lid. That happened all the time on DS, but how often does it happen in your own garage??!
Fortunately, no hand from within the toy chest reached up to clutch my throat . . .
Ben
