Paul Merrill
So, our oven quit. It came with our house. Heather loves it. We thought about getting a new one – because, as you know, repair can often cost as much as much – or more – than buying a new whatever.
In this case, the repair costs $100 to 200 less than buying a “new” refurbished oven. We loved preventing our oven from ending up in a landfill. And Heather got to keep the oven she loves. But ouch! That part cost a massive amount!
(You know that.)
I wanted to remind you – and me – of what a beautiful thing it is how people can be so different.
Two of the very smartest people I know are not very good public speakers. It takes them both a full minute to spit out a good sentence. But when it comes to their areas of expertise, stand back!
Too often, I find myself judging another person for their weakness… “Why can’t that person just understand the basics of how to do this?” or “Why is that person so blind to how they are harming the situation?”
I am so blind to my weaknesses – most of the time. (This concept is not my own… see here.) And any healthy group has members that are weak in some areas and others who are strong in those same areas. (That is also not my concept!)
When this coin was minted in 1971, it could buy a lot more than it will today.
I will never understand world economies. Why does the price of petroleum go up and down? Why does the stock market dive when there is a the slightest whiff of a rumor about some economic change, even if it is fully unsubstantiated? Why do the supermarkets drop prices on staple foods all at the same time when if they kept the prices higher, they would profit more?
I think the real answer is that no one knows except God.
During the new year’s holidays, we broke away from normal life for a family overnight at a nearby hotel. It was a fitting way to see in the new year. We had a great time. The kids spent half the time swimming. Heather and I joined them some but enjoyed reading a bit by the side of the pool.
One of the times they were swimming, I did a little channel surfing in the room. I was shocked to see the way the default channel advertised “risque” movies. It basically said, “Rent whatever you like – it will not appear on your bill.” Implication – your spouse or boss will not know how you spent that lonely hour or two.
Reality (I hope) – your conscience will know how you spent that lonely hour or two. Or if your conscience is seared enough that it won’t bother you, the ripple effects later will. I’ve seen that secret habit destroy two marriages. It’s not worth it.
I dunno about you, but I haven’t seen much about the change of the decade. It seems like a bigger deal to me than what I’ve seen. In some ways, Friday is just another day – but in other ways, it’s good to remember that we are entering a new decade!
Happy new year.
I’m not a dancer.
Heather is much more open to such things than I am. Early in our marriage, she realized that my reluctance to do stuff that I am horrible at was strong enough that it wasn’t worth dragging me to things like Scottish dances. These days – twenty years after we said “I do” – we have found enough things that we both enjoy doing together. And she has accepted my complete lack of coordination in the area of dancing.
The lady I dated before meeting Heather was really into Scottish dancing. That might explain a little more of my fear of that form of art.
My oldest son, Jay, is quite a friendly kid. He was TP’ed a month or two ago.
I was never there when I was in high school.
It’s fun to see personality characteristics skip generations. He inherited my mom’s extroversion. He pegs the scale in that area – way beyond where Heather is or I am. He knows people in every grade at his large high school – and not just the kids in his strata – kids from every caste.
I guess there’s a little of that “wish the best for your kids” thing going on here… I’m very happy that he is so well-liked.
For the first time in my life, I was on a jury. It was for a man accused of unmentionable crimes. The evidence was truly shocking.
I learned that actual trials are not always like the TV shows. There were great stretches of extreme tedium. Their were graphic photographs. There were witnesses that contradicted themselves over and over. There was the defendant who did not speak a single word during the entire trial.
I feel like I took a bath in dirty water. The memories will take a while to wash away.
We ruled the defendant not guilty. Very reluctantly. There was not enough evidence to convict him. After the trial ended, the judge told us that defendant had been in prison for the last seven years – and that his case had come back to trial two other times resulting in hung juries! Aaaugh!
Though our judicial system is very flawed, I still feel like it is one of the best in the world.
The picture? I amused myself during some of the tedious stretches by sketching.
So it just died.
My oldest son is taking a level of math such that he needs a graphing calculator. Of course we bought one used on Amazon. It lasted roughly a year.
So for the next one, I bought a refurbished unit. At least that stands a chance of lasting a bit longer.
As it turned out, he needed a more powerful calculator for next year, anyhow.
Sigh.
Saturday, I spent a little time throwing things away.
But it is so hard to get rid of these things!
One is the iPod Remote. It died. But it was such a lovely piece of industrial design that I was compelled to hang onto it. But I just can’t keep everything. That one went to the landfill.
The other is this strange punk plastic doll that was a MacDonald’s Happy Meal toy. When you push his mohawk, he emits a bizarre electric guitar sound. A child left it behind one day as they were distracted on their way out of the restaurant – and I couldn’t bear for it to be thrown into the trash can. So a year or two later, I am giving it to the charity shop (in America, Savers or the Goodwill).
So what is it that you should get rid of?
