Good morning! I hope your day is off to a great start.
It was another busy weekend. I spent three hours Saturday doing what would have taken a normal person an hour – wiring the taillights on our car so they work with the RV’s lights. It’s simple. Pop out the taillights, connect the new harness, and put everything back in place. Oh, and then you have to run the wires to the front of the car. That’s when Murphy stopped by.
For those who don’t know, I’m referring to Murphy’s Law, which simply states that whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and at the absolute worst time. Anybody who has ever picked up a screwdriver has met Murphy. I know him on a first-name basis, but I can’t print that here. It’s Christmas week, and I’m sure Santa Claus is watching.
Yesterday I brought the RV home and hooked it all up. The good news is all the lights did exactly what they’re supposed to do. I guess there is at least some value in reading the instructions. On the other hand, when I went to connect the towbar I found out the hitch on the RV is a lot higher than I thought it was. Luckily, they make adapters for that. Really expensive ones.
Once this part comes in, I should be ready to hook everything up and go for a test spin. Yes, I’m planning to test it before we hit the road. Have you forgotten about Murphy already? And if there’s one thing Murphy loves, it’s a brand-new car and owner-installed modifications that aren’t covered under warranty. “It was that way when I bought it!” Nice try.
Not like it matters anyway. If you take a car in for warranty work and it’s something the service tech can’t see with the naked eye, the answer is the same … “They all do that.” Really? Because I’ve owned a lot of cars and this is the first time the steering wheel has fallen off in my lap! Extreme, but you get the idea. Either way, it’s your fault and stupidity isn’t a covered repair.
Yes, Murphy is like the devil himself – he’s everywhere all at once, just waiting for the chance to mess things up. And they team up. Any time the devil wants me to say bad words, Murphy says, “Hold my beer.” On the other hand, it is a good way to keep the neighbor kids in their own yard. Nobody under the age of 16 is allowed outside when Dave’s working on the car.
I think it was Mark Twain who said that at certain times, profanity provide a relief denied even to prayer. I’m pretty sure he worked on a car once or twice. He’s also the one who said we never really learn to swear until we learn to drive. So, it’s not bad manners or upbringing or embracing our inner heathen. It’s cars. Get rid of the cars and we’ll all live in harmony.
But you know, things will sometimes go wrong. Not because you deserve it, or the gods are against you, or you bit off more than you can chew. It’s because any time we do anything, there’s an inherent probability that it won’t go exactly according to plan. Airlines don’t tell you that as you’re boarding the plane. There’s a reason why.
That’s why planes have so many redundant systems. We anticipate problems and have a backup plan just in case. I’m sure most pilots never leave the ground without a pretty good feeling about getting safely to their destination. If something goes wrong, they flip a switch and keep going. After they say something you’re not allowed to hear. Murphy talks to them, too.
As you launch any venture, you have to accept the possibility of setbacks. Things will break, prospects will hang up, and the probability of mistakes is directly proportional to the amount of money you can’t afford to waste. That’s all part of it. But if we turned back at the first sign of trouble, we’d never accomplish anything. This isn’t a Sunday drive – it’s a quest.
Murphy has been there all through your life. He was there when you first tried to sit up, he was there when you learned to walk, and he was there two days ago when I tried to route four wires to the front of my car. Murphy will always have something to say, but we have the final vote. As long as we stay focused on the goal, success is inevitable.
The greater your goal, the more obstacles you’ll encounter. Some are more prominent than others, but only you can decide the extent to which they stand in your way. Don’t let Murphy steal your dreams. Once you reach your destination, none of those bumps will matter anyway.
That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!
© 2020 Dave Glardon – All rights reserved
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