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He plied his trade for three years before dropping anchor on Long Island, where he bought a house — a handyman’s special — and took a job with Con Edison, working at a power plant on the East River.

By then the home was rundown, he said, calling it a “a handyman’s special.”

Ms. Williamson chose TLC over other phrases that some might have thought more apropos, like “handyman’s special,” “needs renovation” or “Bring your shrink, your contractor and a bottle of Scotch.”