ABSTRACT
One day while roofi ng a house, I applied black tar paper in preparation for shingles that would go on top. For nearly an hour, I nailed down small orange wafers every few inches to keep the paper in place against the wind. For all my labor, I was only able to complete a small section of the roof. The process was tedious and long. Then my father drove up. He smiled and then proceeded to attach a power-tool to an air compressor. Once on the roof, he unceremoniously grinned, “Step aside, son.” Bam, bam, bam, bam! As fast as he could move, my father used this gun-like mechanism to shoot those little orange wafers onto the roof. I watched in awe. In minutes he fi nished almost the entire project, minus my very humbling contribution, forever reminding me that I was still very much a student. Now, was there anything wrong with my hammer? No. A hammer is a good tool. But this lesson taught me one very important principle: the right tool-a better tool-can make a process a whole lot easier.
