Shinybass Journal Entry 03/28/25

 

 

 

 

Shims.

 

Behold, the lowly toothpick. That tiny, pointed bit of compressed wood has been around in some form or another for probably as long as humans with teeth or 5th grade science projects magically DUE TOMORROW have been around. The toothpick is not a difficult instrument, truly simple and elegant in design, yet disposable and used once then tossed out. That is, unless you are my Grandpa, who actually preferred the squared toothpick to the rounded ones (Easier to hold? We’re really talking about this?), and had a stash of 2-3 gently used extras tucked in the visor of each of his 60s and 70s cars, which of course he just called ‘cars’.

 

After an intense search (.38 seconds), I found that one Charles Freeman patented the rounded toothpick in 1891. The application was submitted some 6 years prior, then Chuck had to renew the application in 1890, waiting one more year for his patent to be approved. I bring this up because Charles could have given up after the first few years. I mean, it’s a toothpick,, for Pete’s sake. Or Chuck’s sake. But Chcuk was determined, and I am happy he did.

 

I also learned that another gentleman, one Charles Forster was the one who ‘discovered’ the toothpick being used by a tribe in Brazil, and set his mind to figuring out how to get this untapped goldmine to production. He partnered with Charles Freeman to get this pick on the road. They figured out they needed trees (move production to Maine – check ✅) and needed to invent a new machine to manufacture the toothpick. Enter two entrepreneurs names Silas Noble and J.P. Cooley, who were savvy woodworkers that figured it out. For my musician friends, if the names sound familiar, yes, it’s the same Noble and Cooley who make exceptional drums to this very day.

 

Let’s get back to the the ‘why’ of this entry. Recently I undertook the ambitious and some would say unnecessary endeavor of replacing the kids’ bedroom furniture. Honestly, I labored over this decision for a while and as a newly single parent making all the calls, I miss having the common sense of my wife to talk me out of such projects. Alas, here we are. The massive loft bed crates arrived, and I had to get to work.

 

The ‘old’ room had bunk beds and a big dresser. The ‘new room’ has two loft beds. In just under 37 hours, I managed to build the first loft bed, with the kids helping with the finishing touches. There may or may not be two bolts and an Allen wrench inside the damn frame of said ‘bed 1’, but I digress.

 

In disassembling the bunk beds, I pulled out one of the long bolts, and out with it came 2 toothpicks. Instantly my mind went back to when we moved in to our new house and bought the new beds, with our friends assembling as we carted boxes upstairs. You may be wondering why there were toothpicks falling out of the bolthole. I SAID BOLTHOLE, DOCTOR.

 

In the guitar world, the innocent, humble toothpick can save the show. Most guitars are made of wood. Sometimes the screws in these guitars can wiggle themselves bigger, especially strap buttons. The wood can be filled, but not 20 minutes before a show. If you place a toothpick alongside the screw as you insert, then the screw has a little more traction, and can fit more securely in the body of the guitar. Sometimes those fixes work forever, and sometimes a more professional fix is needed.

 

Armed with this old-world luthier tech, I helped my bunk bed assembly team get the bed more secure, and it held up until a couple of days ago, which was my undoing. Had I let them, those toothpicks could have stayed shimming and shimmering forever.

 

When those little wooden missiles popped out, I suddenly had a flood of memories hit. Like a fast-motion movie scrub, I saw a thousand images flash in my head in a rapid-fire timeline of the family from the last 4 years. I walked downstairs, opened my computer, and wrote ‘shims’ and walked back upstairs to my seemingly never-ending project. The metaphor of a little help was too much not to share.

 

What if our words or actions were the toothpick? Not the teeth-cleaning type of course, but the shimming kind. What if we offered just a small nudge to someone that helps shore up a loose situation? Do we know how far a couple of kind words or one nice action carries someone? Pull it back to you: Is there something somewhere along the way that was done for you or said to you that hasn’t left your head?

 

I have a few of these nuggets of wisdom and kindness that have been given to me, as we all do I am sure. Lately my tribe has been shimming the hell out of our lives; heck, there’s an invisible toothpick mountain on our house, and so many of the kind words and actions will shore up the loose screws for years to come. Just because we can’t see the kindness (kinda hard to see thoughts), doesn’t mean they aren’t doing their job, silently and valiantly doing the grunt work, hidden away for no one to notice.

 

Well, I notice. I see it all. I hear it all. I feel it. I want to give it back. Wouldn’t it be great if we all did? I am really trying to be more deliberate in my words and actions, although it’s not easy. I want to be the shim. I think the world would be much better if we all helped just one other person. Again, a romantic dream. That doesn’t mean I won’t stop trying.

 

Where you think your contribution or action is small, it may have long-lasting, far-reaching effect. My most recent tidbit: get a telescoping magnet in case you drop the screws. If only I had heard this sooner…

 

Do good things.