The Helpful Hardware Man

To manage all this, we rely on the unsung hero of any operation: the two-wheel dolly. My dad taught me early on that if you have a dolly, you’re halfway to being a professional.

But lately, my trusty dolly has been losing steam. Or more accurately—air. For weeks I’ve been refilling one of its tires, the intervals between fill-ups getting shorter and shorter, like a balloon at a toddler’s birthday party. This week, it gave up altogether. The tire wouldn’t hold air. The tube inside was shot.

So I did what any self-respecting Dexterite would do. I walked down the street to Hackney Ace Hardware.

I love that place. It smells like paint and possibility. There’s something about a hardware store in a small town—it’s the last remaining place where someone still knows how to fix something, and isn’t afraid to show you.

I walked in and found Andy, the store manager, who looks like he could probably rebuild a carburetor blindfolded while discussing Big Ten football. I asked him if they carried innertubes for dolly tires.

Without missing a beat, he asked, “Is that a four ten three fifty”? 

Now, I didn’t know dolly tires came with model numbers. I thought you just… guessed. Turns out, they have size codes like car tires. Andy spotted the faded numbers on my flat tire and led me straight to a little box containing the correct tube, like it was on muscle memory.

As we approached the register, I mentioned I was in a hurry. Andy looked at the tire, then looked at me. “Let’s just see how hard this is,” he said.

And right there in the store, he got to work. No fuss. No swearing (that I heard). Just a few tools, a little elbow grease, and a whole lot of good will. In minutes, he had the tire off, the tube swapped, and everything inflated and ready to roll.

“Andy,” I said, “I owe you some libations.”

He waved me off. “That’s what friends are for. Glad to help.”

And that’s the thing. That is what friends are for.

We live in a world that can feel increasingly distant and impersonal. Everything is “Add to Cart” and “Expected Delivery: 5–7 Business Days.” But sometimes, right around the corner, there’s a guy with a wrench and a good heart who doesn’t need anything from you except the chance to lend a hand.

We need more of that.

So thank you, Andy. And thank you to all the other handy Andys out there. The ones who fix your tire, your faucet, or your day—just because they can.

And maybe next time you see someone who looks like they’re dragging a box instead of wheeling it… ask if they need a hand.

That’s what friends are for.