LOWE'S HOME IMPROVEMENTS

I looked around at Lowe's for a sales clerk and the lucky winner was a really nice guy who didn't roll his eyes when I told him my plan, didn't walk away presumably to find help, and didn't laugh when I asked if the things that hold PVC pipe together are called couplings.

I drew him a picture. He pulled out nine 10-foot long 3/4" PVC pipes. I told what length to cut each one. You've been in Lowe's. You know how they have state-of-the-art cutting tools for everything, whether you need a length of chain, a set of blinds, or a board. This guy pulled out a hacksaw and laid the pipe across the shopping cart. He was good. Must have done it a thousand times. Another employee peeped through the shelving from the next aisle over and asked what he was doing. "Working on this lady's project."

He was cutting the ninth and last PVC pipe when I said, "You know. We should have written the length on each one." He looked at me. I said, "I guess I should have thought of that earlier." He put every pipe back across the shopping cart, measured, and wrote the length on it. And he smiled. I wonder if his wife sees this side of him.