Humility by rhoing

Humility

Strong magnet, $10.
Roll of duct tape, $5.
Cord, about $4.
Wife who brings these things to the lake to recover your entire wad of keys from 9 feet of water, priceless. Thank you, sweetie!

I had just finished a 13+ km row. As I came to the dock, there was a fisherman spread-out on the end of the small dock, http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2012-09-23
He left me little space to place my water bottle, cell phone, P&S camera, keys and a couple small tools for making adjustments or repairs, so I had to place these items uncomfortably close to the edge. Then I had to climb up out of the shell onto the dock from about 2 feet below dock-level (that’s how much the lake’s water level has fallen with this summer’s drought). As I climbed up-and-out, ker-plunk went my keys. It seemed like slow motion as I helplessly watched them hit the water and disappear…

I texted Clare that I would be “delayed,” hoping I might get some help from the several fishermen who were launching or recovering their boats at the nearby ramp. When no one had any ideas or tools, I paused to consider what items might be in our garage. I texted Clare again and asked that she bring the magnet, duct tape and some twine from the garage. My hope was that my large, thick campus keys had enough iron that they would be attracted to the magnet.

Clare arrived; I slapped together what you see above and snagged my keys with the first drop of the magnet into the water. Whew!

What worked? The only keys with iron are the two that unlock the Dodge cross bars of my car-top roof rack. (One is above the duct-tape-covered magnet and rightward-pointing in the image.) The key rings themselves seem to have iron in them as well, but what a lot of money and hassle were saved by this “save”; thank you, St. Jude … and St. Clare!

Oh, and after 25 minutes in the water? Both car remotes still work!

[This is another shot under the Ott-Lite — http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2012-09-22 !]

Fast forward five years, “Humility”: https://365project.org/rhoing/365/2017-09-24

A year ago (“Scullers’ paradise!”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2011-09-24
Chuckle chuckle, and wow, what a woman! You have yourself a winner Thom.
September 25th, 2012  
Oh my goodness, this is a great story for a commercial. Fantastic. Hats off to your wife.
September 25th, 2012  
Sue
haha! love it. how innovative she is. brilliant!
September 25th, 2012  
You go Clare!
September 25th, 2012  
Ha ha Very inventive!!!
September 25th, 2012  
Awesome story! 8)
September 25th, 2012  
Great story!!
September 25th, 2012  
Lol - now that is love :)
September 25th, 2012  
You can buy keyrings that float.. Christmas is coming, put one on your list.. Your wife will certainly buy one for you :)
September 25th, 2012  
What a story. I know my husband has lost things in the drink quite often.
September 26th, 2012  
The floating keychain is an excellent idea. For the record, I just brought the items--it was his idea and he constructed it. We were just so relieved it worked!
September 26th, 2012  
Uh oh!! I can just imagine your face as you watched helplessly as they fell in slow-mo into the water!! Really glad you managed to retrieve them xx
September 26th, 2012  
Great shot and story! I can imagine that sinking feeling as you watched your keys disappear. So amazing your car remote still worked after all that time in the water.
September 26th, 2012  
Oh, what a nightmare. It made me laugh, and I'm happy it turned out okay in the end.
September 28th, 2012  
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