Nearly Ten Fingers

When people see Jeff’s thumb, they begin wondering which woodworking tool redefined its shape. It is true that two pieces of wood are the cause, but the story has nothing to do with woodworking.

When Jeff was a young child, he was left at home with his older brother. During a game of indoor chase, Jeff ran through the house to get away from his brother slamming shut a door behind him to slow the chase. The door closed and his brother ran into the door with his head. While Brother was checking out the fresh cut above his eye, Jeff felt his thumb throbbing. He looked down and the top of his thumb was missing. The two boys ran through the yards to a neighbor’s house. The young neighbors (apparently all adults were missing this day) called the fire department just a few doors down. The medics told the bloody head brother to go back to the house and retrieve Jeff’s thumb. Brother found the tip of the thumb in the hall where it fell after being pinched off by the slammed door and the door jam. Thankful that their dog did not eat the thumb top, Brother used a pencil to scoop the part into a ziploc.

Jeff’s thumb was sewn back on but the thumb nail and pad were never the same. To this day,  Jeff blames his game controller mess ups on the fact that, “I can't feel the end of my thumb!”.