That line about the dirt moving a half inch a season is the part that stuck with me too, but not for the reason most folks would guess. Everyone hears that and thinks about fence posts or cracking slabs. What nobody talks about is what it does to the water. A half inch a year sounds tiny until you add it up over 20 or 30 years, and that slow shift changes how rain runs off your land and where it pools. I have watched whole yards in this town go from draining fine to flooding the back corner, and the owners never put it together because there was no big event, just years of quiet movement. That guy tearing his fence down twice was not unlucky or bad at building, he was reading the ground better than most contractors around here do. The thing that bugs me is how many people just keep rebuilding in the same spot instead of asking where the dirt is heading next.

The "whole tab snapped off in my hand with the lid still sealed shut" part got me, because that tiny ring of metal acts so tough right up until you actually need it. Mine did the same thing last month and I spent ten minutes prying at it with a butter knife while my soup went cold on the stove. A $6 can opener has outlived three of my last four pull tabs, which tells you something about progress. Best trick I know is flipping the can upside down and using the opener on the bottom, since nobody ever thinks to try that side.