I know things about myself and I can embrace them.  I’ve shared before that dating is a serious mystery to me.  The bond that people want to form is not always something I embrace.  I know this about myself and I try to work around this self-made obstacle.

But, today’s commitment crisis is not one of the human heart, but still daunting to me, none the less.  A guardian angel made a contribution to the weedwacker fund after the great windshield debacle.  I had been doing my research early on and had some idea of what I wanted and what I would be spending.  So after work on Wednesday evening, I went to pick up the mower from the machine shop (this story has come full circle) and then on to Home Depot and Sears to see what new toy I could bring home.

I made the mis-step as soon as I walked in to the machine shop.  the counter was full, so to wait my turn, I looked at their weedwackers.  $99 all the way to $400!  $400?!  This thing is a metal rod with a spinny thing on one end, were they also selling me the man to carry it around?  I did note, these metal rods looked reasonably solid and well made.  Not really wanting to spend $400, I didn’t bother to ask about them, but collected my mower and moved on down the road.

I wandered into Home Depot and saw a stunning array of flimsy weedwackers in the $30-$99 range, nothing that instilled the slightest confidence.  I was starting to get a bit of a knot in my stomach.  So off to Sears I went.  Again, I didn’t see anything that was more robust than a flyswatter.  The knot was getting tighter and I was in need of fresh air.  I left the store and decided to put off this purchase for another day.

I have decided that I am going back to my neighborhood machine shop and seek their professional counsel.  I’ll do a little more research and ask a few friends what they use.  I really thought long and hard about asking some guy friend to help me out with this, but didn’t want to be the damsel in distress.  I just want to buy a weedwacker and I want one that will last more than midway through my first use.  I’d also like to not have to sell an organ to do all this.

So dear friends, what’s your weedwacker of choice?  I’m seeking your honest opinion.  Give it to me straight.