Co-operation

First of all, Happy Cinco de Mayo.

Now, back to our program.

So there we were, #3 son and I, trying to figure out how to unjam the Troy-Bilt Tomahawk Junior Chipper Shredder we rescued from the shed.  Last week, the shredder ate a vine and got it all twisted up in its shorts and stopped the engine cold.  We had to unjam it.

I did NOT want to take that whole machine apart in order to get it going again.  #3 son had the bright idea to loosen the bolts holding the side panel (the vine had gotten itself wedged between the side panel and the shredding mechanism) along the bottom edge, which gave us just enough purchase to pull out the vines, re-tighten the bolts and start the engine.  The part of all of this that was a surprise, was that #3 son recognized the simple and elegant solution.  And executed it.  And it worked.

And I thought I was going to have to take it apart.  All it took was a little co-operative thinking and my son figured it out.

I think he's going to be alright.

Ndinombethe.