All my life, I’ve been known as the unhandy man. My reputation was etched into the memories of friends and family many years ago.
It happened when a seldom-used toilet kept running. I inspected the back tank and discovered when I pulled up on the little black bobber, the leaking stopped.
Then inspiration hit. I took my third place bowling trophy and set it down in the tank with the bowling arm strategically placed under the metal bar attached to the black bobber. The fit was perfect, the toilet was cocked for one good flush and the leaking noise was gone.
All I needed to do was reset my contraption after each flush.
It worked for weeks. Then a visiting friend, who happened to be a retired plumber, got an upset stomach and chose to double flush. My nosy friend opened the back tank and pulled out my bowling trophy. My ingenuity quickly spread throughout the neighborhood.
A big piece of aging is to remember and enjoy all the silly stuff you did in your younger days. For me, creative toilet repair remains toward the top of my long list.