Wire Cloth Addiction

It all started on a beautiful warm sunny spring day, during a visit at the local hardware store.

Walking up and down the isles, checking out the nifty tools, car deodorizers and sandpaper,  I came upon a roll of woven wire material that would forever change my life.

The clerk was nearby when he noticed my hands carefully feeling the holes, gently fondling the wire...."Well I see you found our wire cloth assortment" then he moved up very close and in a whisper spoke "Wire Cloth comes in many varieties and has thousands of uses".

Within moments I was in the check out isle with my first bit of screen in hand, anxiously awaiting my turn in line to make that first wire cloth screen purchase.

After leaving the store and returning to my car, I had to open the bag and inspect the goods. My first small pieces of wire cloth, a good feeling just knowing it was all mine, although somehow I knew at that moment, my life would never be the same.

I pulled up in my driveway, gathered up the hardware store bag and headed for the garage as if driven by some higher power to finally experience my wonderful new discovery, woven wire cloth.

There it was, on my garage workbench, three pieces of wire mesh in three different specifications, 4 Mesh Hardware Cloth, 8 Mesh Hardware Cloth and 18 x 16 Mesh Insect Screen.

Before dark I had secured tomato plants with the 4 Mesh, built a compost sieve with the 8 Mesh and installed new screens on three windows and two doors with the 18 x 16 Mesh.

It was difficult sleeping that first night, I just couldn't quit thinking of all the wonderful things I could do with more woven wire.

Being the first customer to arrive at 6:00 am at the Hardware Store, my discovery was horrific, they did not open until 9:00 am., I waited.

When the store finally opened, my need was at fever pitch! I grabbed the largest cart they had, ran to the screen cloth isle and began to load up. The very same clerk that waited on me yesterday saw me grabbing one roll then another and another, "Well, I see you have learned to appreciate the many advantages of woven wire cloth", as if he had said it a million times before. Within seconds he was helping me push the overloaded cart to the check out stand.

While driving home I began to consider trading the car in on a pickup truck, it could carry a lot more wire cloth, saving trips back to the hardware store.

Day in and day out I worked fixing everything, literally from the ground up, with wire cloth.

The gophers that tunneled my yard were unhappy to find a 4 Mesh Hardware Cloth barrier installed vertically in a three foot deep trench surrounding my yard.

The squirrels could not chew their way through my new 8 Mesh Soffit vent screens.

Within a week my home was a wire cloth fortress, I had bought a small pick up truck and then traded it for a much larger one, hired a contractor to build a new garage with lots more space to store my marvelous woven wire cloth.

A few weeks later, considerable requirements led to volume purchases at wholesale prices, the more wire mesh I obtained, the more I needed.

Quite frankly, it was an obsession. The look, the feel, the touch of woven wire cloth was beyond any level of pleasure ever experienced.  

There are down sides to wire cloth addiction, my wife left when I insisted on 500 Mesh Stainless Steel Sheets, the kids were disappointed with the wire cloth toys.

Knowing I needed help, a wire cloth addiction counselor recommended a three week stay in a local "care" facility. Seemed like a good idea, until I noticed the wire cloth security screens covering all the windows.

Finally, a friend suggested I go to a wire cloth anonymous meeting. They were all nice people just like me, true lovers of wire cloth and screen mesh.

The meetings were held on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings, we were allowed to bring a small quantity (no more than 6 rolls) of wire cloth with us, although we had to leave it in the rear of the building.

We sat in a circle, taking turns discussing the multitude of uses for wire mesh. Slowly we all began to realize wire cloth was a good thing, but trying to hoard it was a bad thing.

Those were the old days, now after years of counseling, my life is back to normal with a healthy appreciation for wire mesh, in control and weaving my own......wire cloth.