Ask for volunteers for each chore. This may produce surprises. Nobody really likes ironing, they said. But I do, I said, because I can stand for 20 or 30 minutes and think quietly. Arnie stares around the garage, making little sucking noises with his teeth.
Bikes go on racks on the back wall.
Put up a piece of Pegboard, he says. Screw it into the studs. This catalogue of what can be done already starts to thaw the unspoken belief that nothing can be done. Before they leave, Arnie gives me two last pieces of advice. One, put up that shelf that just came down in the living room and is leaning there with its brackets exposed.