Tools

Dad always was a tool guy, even before he went into the tool business. There were always tools at home to fix bicycles, minibikes, plumbing, whatever. He probably didn't know (or didn't acknowledge) that half the kids in the neighborhood would come to our garage when something needed fixing.
Dad kept a separate set of tools for his job, they were on the jobsite or in his truck, out of sight, we didn't dare use them. There was just that one time when we borrowed a pair of pliers from his toolbox, he got to work and they were gone. To make matters worse, he found them laying in the yard. After that, the special "work tools" were kept out of our reach.
I was about 8 years old when Dad took me to Sears, to the tool section of the store. Because he tended to use screwdrivers as chisels, prybars, or mallets, they had to be replaced periodically. On this day, he replaced about half of his tools with shiny new ones, and I, too, was hooked. There is something about the discovery of a new tool that makes it a necessity. There was a day when I was frustrated because I had one of everything from the tool department and couldn't find a reason to shop.