The butterfly valve and the 20c coin

Last year I had a noteworthy error of judgment. I knew it was a risk but somehow I still thought it would work. I placed four eggs in a Pyrex bowl and put them in the microwave. The resulting explosion blew the door open and spattered the entire kitchen with egg debris � from floor to ceiling. Everything reeked of sulphur.

When I posed the picture on Facebook a friend wrote to me: �Did you clean this or just throw it away and buy a new one�?�

I must say, throwing it away did cross my mind. But I came from a generation that did not throw things away so easily. I was the last generation to be brought up with some of the lessons that were learnt during the Great Depression. We were taught to salvage things.

I was reminded of this fact one day when I visited my grandfather. He was seated on the veranda, patiently filing away at a 20c coin.

�What are you making Grandpa?� I asked.

�A butterfly valve,� he said.

I was perplexed and wanted to know why he didn�t buy one.

I will never forget his slow answer: �Son, where I come from you could not buy things like that. And even if they were available � you could not afford them. I have the time. So I am making a butterfly valve.�

Grandpa filed at that coin for two days. And when he fitted it to the carburettor of his lawnmower it worked perfectly.

Last week a friend of mine behaved badly and thought I would never talk to him again. He asked me if I could forgive him. I just smiled. I grew up in an age when we fixed things that were broken. We do not throw them away so easily.