Do

thinking that I would finally have real use for it. It turned out we were over the thickness of ice a hand auger eats up. And a hand auger always works and weighs very little, too.

On the other hand, my power auger could be used as a weight in an Olympic-level deadlift event. Also, it requires 75 pulls to start and a 5-minute wait after I flood it, which it turns out is one of my God-given talents.

But forget all that. The real disappointment is after you start it and then start drilling and milli- seconds later realize that you are through the ice.It’s hardly fun at all. Heck, my power auger is so effective at eliminating ice that I am thinking of placing my frozen turkey beside it next Thanksgiving.

I have begun to wonder why I bought one at all. But I also know deep down that if I did not have one I would be drilling with a hand auger through 47 inches of hard ice next time I went out. If I have learned anything in my 60 years, it is this.

It is one of those darned if you do, darned if you