I remember well one of our very earliest theme projects. It was a space themed arcade. We were to build the space ship and its hanger - complete with a partially open hanger door to the cosmos above. At that point in my career I had never built anything like it. Just where would one buy parts for a space fighter? I went down to the local hardware store and started cruising the isles - looking for suitable parts. I gathered plumbing pipes and various fittings, dryer hose and vents, bits of wire, chain, boxes of screws, moldings, paint, and a whole lot more. My friend and the owner of the store of course was curious just what I was building. I deadpanned that I was building a space ship. He had trouble believing it of course - even when I insisted it was true. After work he just had to come down and see for himself. Sure enough I was telling the truth!

On subsequent projects I would go back to the hardware store gathering more pieces and each time my friend would try to guess what the current venture might be. Up to that point he had no idea he stocked parts for the wide variety of projects we would build in those years. The list included submarines, castles, planes, ships and a assortment of things that simply defied description.

As word spread, my small workshop in my garage became a destination for many folks to come and see the latest creations we were working on. Although we live in a different town now, and my workshop is much larger its still an interesting place. When friends drop in they never know just what might be in the shop.

It sure beats actually working for a living...

-grampa dan