THE SHOVEL

Mom and grandma were recently going through grandpa’s toolbox. It has been sitting in grandma's garage basically untouched since it was delivered to grandma's house from the company where grandpa used to work after he died years ago. Grandpa was a journeyman machinist. He made very precise things with metal, so his tool box wasn’t exactly full of screw drivers and hammers. When grandma and mom were down to the third drawer along with the calipers and micrometers there was this blue toy shovel. Grandma and mom were surprised by it.  Grandma didn’t recall whether it belonged to mom or mom’s brother.

Grandma sat in a lawn chair and mom leaned against grandma’s car and they wondered why grandpa chose that to keep in his tool box. It didn’t fit well. It had to have been in the way. From the color it was most likely his son’s toy.
For many years at that job grandpa had a boss that mom said made his life hard, so she thinks he kept it as an early reminder of why he was putting up with the um, bull…crap. It made me think about the fact that people are animals too and go through a lot to protect and provide for their young. 

I was having a hard time wrapping my head around most of what mom and grandma were talking about. I kept thinking about the shovel. It is a shovel. I’m a cat and if there is one thing cats know it’s toys! Shovel does not equal toy!!!! Balls filled with bells, feathers on strings, paper bags, boxes, lasers (oh yeah laaasers!) all great to play with. I've seen mom using shovels to dig up the yard, a different kind to move mulch and one that is shaped like this one to scoop snow. Shovels are all a lot of work. Mom wants to give me this one but no way. I've figured it out. This is a Starter Shovel. They must not have had child labor laws way back when mom was a kid. I'm not going to fall for it, when mom gives it to me I'll just bat it around on the floor like I have no idea what to do with it. Then nonchalantly, no one looking, behind the dryer and bloop!  Gone!  Out of sight, out of mind!

The only digging I like to do is in my sandbox and yeah sometimes I go a little crazy and kick sand all over.  But I'm not the only one. Makama’e does it too. That is a pleasure. No, I’d never have a use for a shovel. Nope, not me.