Servo 10:3
Servo 10:3
I left Jimmy’s that afternoon with a backpack full of parts. I couldn’t wait to get home and show Rory. He’d probably be mad at me for leaving him out of the excursion, but I didn’t care. Dagwood was kind enough to give me loan of his sister’s bicycle. Perhaps I could get Grandpa to buy us some with the money provided for our maintenance.After dinner, Rory and I went to the barn. In my absence, my little brother had done some cleaning up in the old place. The workbench was now cleared, save for the bot parts on it. I felt exhilarated as I approached. My backpack weighed heavy with parts and wires. “So what did you get?” Rory asked as he flicked on the lights.“Quite a few of the boards the mice chewed, some wiring, and a couple of small actuation motors.”“Cool!”I placed the pack on the bench and opened it, carefully removing each piece. As I laid them down, Rory picked up each one, inspecting it. When the bag was empty, I took a step back and surveyed the wreckage of bot strewn all over. This was going to be a lot of work. “Oh,” I sighed, “where to start?”“Start at the top.”“I suppose that would be logical.” I went to the bot’s head. Leaning over, I looked to see what kind of tools would be needed to disassemble it. “Rory?”“Yes?”“In your cleaning up, did you find some hand tools?”“Lots.”“Where are they?”He wandered over to a large shelf. “I organized them here. Hope Grandpa won’t be mad.”“Can you find me a small screwdriver?”“Flat?”“Yes.”A moment later, one was thrust at my face. I took it, giving him a look of displeasure in regards to his somewhat rude actions. “Thanks.”“You’re welcome…I figure you can do the fixing, and I’ll give you the tools.”“That’s fine.” With screwdriver in hand, I commenced to removing the bot’s front facial cover. The memory core that we previously removed was still tucked under my bed. I had yet to find a way to charge the small batteries enough to get it to work. There had to be a way, I just hadn’t figured it out.“So, how does it look?” Rory pestered, looking over my shoulder.“Broken,” I replied with irritation. Evidently more mice had moved in and set up housekeeping in the space just below the bot’s eye sockets. There was pink and yellow fluff crammed everywhere. I began picking it out. “What is this stuff?”My brother roamed around the barn trying to find the source of the mysterious fluffy material. Several minutes went by and he reappeared with a handful of pink fluff. “Look.”“Where did you find that?”“Stuck between the walls over there.”“What is it?”“Perhaps some sort of insulation. What do you think?”I took the handful and examined it. The fluff was stuck to a brown paper backing. Turning it over, I read: R-15 residential insulation. “You’re right. It’s insulation. But I’ve never seen any like this.”“We’re out in the old world now,” Rory replied. “They don’t have all the nice new stuff we have.”“True.” I set it aside and continued probing for more that found its way into the bot’s head. These country mice were certainly industrious. When I thought I had all of it out, I picked up the screwdriver and began working my way farther inside. Once in a while I’d require another tool. Rory was always quick to bring it to me. As each part was removed, Rory took it upon himself to clean and organize them. I have to admit, he was good at that. Time must have escaped us, because no sooner had I emptied the bot’s head of parts, Grandpa came into the barn. “Hey, time for bed!”I glanced out the dirty window and indeed, it was dark—quite dark. “Sorry,” I said, putting down my work and giving Rory a nudge.“You can start on that bright and early tomorrow.”“Thank you.” I shuffled past him. “Grandpa?”“Yes?”“Would it be possible to use some of our money to get us bicycles?”“Bicycles?”“So we can get around without you having to take us everywhere.”“Can you even ride one of those contraptions?”“Yes, Dagwood let me borrow his sister’s bike. After a few incidents, I did quite well.”He rubbed his chin. I soon learned that he did this when he was in deep contemplation. “Well, I need to go into town tomorrow. I suppose you boys could ride along and we can stop at the store and find you some.”I smiled broadly. “Thank you.”“Do you think Suzette will want one?” Rory and I burst into laughter. “Not on her life!”
I left Jimmy’s that afternoon with a backpack full of parts. I couldn’t wait to get home and show Rory. He’d probably be mad at me for leaving him out of the excursion, but I didn’t care. Dagwood was kind enough to give me loan of his sister’s bicycle. Perhaps I could get Grandpa to buy us some with the money provided for our maintenance.After dinner, Rory and I went to the barn. In my absence, my little brother had done some cleaning up in the old place. The workbench was now cleared, save for the bot parts on it. I felt exhilarated as I approached. My backpack weighed heavy with parts and wires. “So what did you get?” Rory asked as he flicked on the lights.“Quite a few of the boards the mice chewed, some wiring, and a couple of small actuation motors.”“Cool!”I placed the pack on the bench and opened it, carefully removing each piece. As I laid them down, Rory picked up each one, inspecting it. When the bag was empty, I took a step back and surveyed the wreckage of bot strewn all over. This was going to be a lot of work. “Oh,” I sighed, “where to start?”“Start at the top.”“I suppose that would be logical.” I went to the bot’s head. Leaning over, I looked to see what kind of tools would be needed to disassemble it. “Rory?”“Yes?”“In your cleaning up, did you find some hand tools?”“Lots.”“Where are they?”He wandered over to a large shelf. “I organized them here. Hope Grandpa won’t be mad.”“Can you find me a small screwdriver?”“Flat?”“Yes.”A moment later, one was thrust at my face. I took it, giving him a look of displeasure in regards to his somewhat rude actions. “Thanks.”“You’re welcome…I figure you can do the fixing, and I’ll give you the tools.”“That’s fine.” With screwdriver in hand, I commenced to removing the bot’s front facial cover. The memory core that we previously removed was still tucked under my bed. I had yet to find a way to charge the small batteries enough to get it to work. There had to be a way, I just hadn’t figured it out.“So, how does it look?” Rory pestered, looking over my shoulder.“Broken,” I replied with irritation. Evidently more mice had moved in and set up housekeeping in the space just below the bot’s eye sockets. There was pink and yellow fluff crammed everywhere. I began picking it out. “What is this stuff?”My brother roamed around the barn trying to find the source of the mysterious fluffy material. Several minutes went by and he reappeared with a handful of pink fluff. “Look.”“Where did you find that?”“Stuck between the walls over there.”“What is it?”“Perhaps some sort of insulation. What do you think?”I took the handful and examined it. The fluff was stuck to a brown paper backing. Turning it over, I read: R-15 residential insulation. “You’re right. It’s insulation. But I’ve never seen any like this.”“We’re out in the old world now,” Rory replied. “They don’t have all the nice new stuff we have.”“True.” I set it aside and continued probing for more that found its way into the bot’s head. These country mice were certainly industrious. When I thought I had all of it out, I picked up the screwdriver and began working my way farther inside. Once in a while I’d require another tool. Rory was always quick to bring it to me. As each part was removed, Rory took it upon himself to clean and organize them. I have to admit, he was good at that. Time must have escaped us, because no sooner had I emptied the bot’s head of parts, Grandpa came into the barn. “Hey, time for bed!”I glanced out the dirty window and indeed, it was dark—quite dark. “Sorry,” I said, putting down my work and giving Rory a nudge.“You can start on that bright and early tomorrow.”“Thank you.” I shuffled past him. “Grandpa?”“Yes?”“Would it be possible to use some of our money to get us bicycles?”“Bicycles?”“So we can get around without you having to take us everywhere.”“Can you even ride one of those contraptions?”“Yes, Dagwood let me borrow his sister’s bike. After a few incidents, I did quite well.”He rubbed his chin. I soon learned that he did this when he was in deep contemplation. “Well, I need to go into town tomorrow. I suppose you boys could ride along and we can stop at the store and find you some.”I smiled broadly. “Thank you.”“Do you think Suzette will want one?” Rory and I burst into laughter. “Not on her life!”
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