August 2008
Wrapped Around the Axle
Back in the days before you needed to ask "which Leatherman?" I bought a PST from the General Store in Goldendale. Summers, I worked on a neighbor's cattle ranch, which gave me plenty of opportunity to use it- with enough baling wire and my Leatherman, I could fix anything.
In the summer of 1994, there were fires in Klickitat County. It was a hot summer, and part of working on the ranch was fighting fires if they strayed too close to ours or a neighbor's property. I'll never forget the first time it happened. Me and another guy wound up on the back of a truck driven by Jimmy Mulroney, and Jimmy drove the thing right over a nest of chicken wire, which got wrapped around the u-joint and stopped us cold. Did I mention we were in the middle of a fire? The other guy and I hopped off the truck and climbed underneath to see what the problem was. Without a second thought, I pulled out my Leatherman, and this other guy pulled out a knock-off. I started snipping this real heavy gage wire, and he started hurting his hands without making very much progress. We weren't going to be consumed by fire or anything, but the truck definitely would have sustained serious damage if we hadn't gotten it out of there. And if I hadn't had my Leatherman on me, we wouldn't have. I still have that original Leatherman, and it's as useful for a software developer as it was for a ranch hand. Thanks, Tim Leatherman!
David B.
Washington, DC
OK, you voyeur, you. Enough of reading other people's stories. It's time you told your own tale of gripping heroism or even just neat DIY'ism. We know there's a Shakespeare in you somewhere. Don't make us use the Steens to find it.