So I married MacGyver

“Give me enough PVC, hose clamps and bolts and I can fix anything.”

These are the words that will grace Jeff’s epitaph. Though he may likely choose to include a couple other raw materials like fiberglass, epoxy and 5200. I laughed when he first made this statement, but in the time that has passed since its utterance I’ve come to regard it as truth.

There have been many occasions where Jeff brings random pieces of s(crap) material onto the boat and I question its necessity. Or, rummaging through his sacred tool area I’ll come across a bag of string and some alien looking hardware and a mountain of PVC and, in the interest of space, ask “Do we really need to keep this around?” To which he replies: “Yup.” And within a week or two those pieces of scrap have inevitably solved some little problem that has arisen on the boat. I lucked out…turns out I married MacGyver 2.0 (he’s like the original, but with facial hair and a slightly incompetent sidekick who questions his every action).

So so very true. Source: http://roflrazzi.cheezburger.com/tag/macgyver

He has a Rube Goldbergesque brain. If you give the marble a nudge it sets in motion all of these other subsequent thoughts and actions, leading eventually to a grand display…or, the more likely outcome, a highly functional display.  When the marble starts rolling I wish it triggered a soundtrack to accompany the chain of events that follow. His creativity never ceases to astound.

I knew Jeff had the mind and spirit of an inventor when I met him; it’s one of the things I love about him. We would be walking along discussing politics or ethics or just generally trying to figure out how to solve all the world’s problems simultaneously and a light-bulb (LED of course) would illuminate his head and a smile would stretch across his face and his voice would quicken to keep pace with the thoughts zipping around in there. He’s always cogitating on a great new contraption or idea. Upon some cursory internet research he generally discovers that half of his ideas are already in the beta-testing phase. Just one year too late, he’d say. But the other half of those ideas, well, they’re still in the hopper. In contrast, my CV of potential inventions topped out in fourth grade with mint flavored whipped cream and peanut butter Oreos. They’ve already made an appearance on shelves, so…I’ve got nothing left.

Yup. Source: http://humorsection.blogspot.com/2006/08/funny-picture-macgyver.html

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen MacGyver (we should rectify that babe!) so it’s difficult for me to make direct comparisons. But Jeff is a master at solving complex problems with materials he finds at hand. If it came down to it, this man would find a way to use toothpaste, a cheese grater and epilating strips to get us out of a tight spot. Don’t worry though, there’s no toothpaste repairs on this boat.

I didn’t know the extent of his tinkering abilities before we shoved off, though I had my suspicions. Without a doubt we wouldn’t still be on this trip if Jeff wasn’t so industrious, resourceful and frugal. He never gives up on things. This is beneficial from both a material standpoint and an interpersonal one since I can be as stubborn, if not more so, than frozen engine mounts.

All of this is to say: Happy (Belated) Birthday Jeff! I love you to the moon and back. Let’s go someday, eh?