missing car parts... genetics

The other day I drove to Mason to get my brakes fixed.  My dad is my mechanic so I met him at his house and then we took the car across the street to the garage.  When we talked about fixing my brakes he said he could show me how to do it and I could do it myself.  Instead, I just decided to take a seat on the lawn mower while he worked.


He took the tire off.


Then took some parts off.


Then he went out to his car to get a tool.


Then he went to the other garage to get some other tool.


Then he took some more parts off.


He got the new parts out of the boxes.


Then he started grumbling.


I said, "What's the matter?"


He said, "I don't know what I did with the damn part."


I said, "What part?"


He said, "A bracket."


I said, "What does it look like?"


He said, "Like this but a little bigger maybe."


He pointed to the piece to the right in this photo.

Pay attention to the rest of the story.


After we both spent about a half hour looking around the garage and looking in the trunk of his car and looking in the other garage he left everything and started working on the other brake pad.  


I said, "What the heck did you do with it?"


He said, "I dunno you'll have to find it, I'm busy!"


hmmm.


I texted my mother who gave me some advice I could have used before this whole project started.


After I told her that he couldn't find the part she proceeded to give me the following information.


"Well you are supposed to watch him keep track of stuff.  That's what I always did.  Then if he starts acting weird you say oh what's wrong and then you can say oh I think maybe it's over there."


Anyways, I went over to the other side where he was working and stood over him watching to see if I could figure out which part he was looking for.  When he looked at me I said, "I just need to know what the part looks like so I know when I find it."


"It looks just like that."


"And there is only one?"


"Yeah."


"Come here please."


We walk to the other side of the car where we "lost" the piece.


I point to the piece you see at the bottom right of this photo.

And I say, "That piece?"


__________________________________


Ladies and gentlemen that is the end of the story.  


I am still laughing.


__________________________


While trying to help him find the "missing piece" I chose not to say anything like, "well it's got to be around here somewhere" or "where did you last see it" because I lose things all the time and have no idea what I did with them and get even more frustrated when people ask such dumb questions.


This must be hereditary. 
I have to go look for my keys now.