Yesterday I went back to my roots. I was replacing the right front strut on my car. A return? Yes it is in a manner of speaking as it the way I grew up. In my house you either fixed what you had or did without. That's the way it worked with most things. Purchasing something new or hiring someone else to fix it was a very rare occurrence. The big exception being a television. Sure we would look at the tubes when the thing didn't work, pull any that were suspect and test them at Maltasanttes' (sp ) store. If that didn't fix the problem, the repairman would be called. I can honestly only recall that happening on one occasion. It wasn't a tube, Dad had purchased a new television, A Quasar, works in a drawer model, pretty high tech stuff. No tubes in that baby, all transistors. Then a circuit board failed, the repairmen was called, the price was crazy! Had to wait for the part too. That modern stuff was alright when it worked but you can't fix it yourself.
It was the way I was raised and I always thought everyone did the same. I learned the basics of plumbing, electrical, carpentry and auto repair. If something needed repair, you fixed it. Over time it became a matter of pride, the ability to do it yourself. It wasn't until I was fifty or so that I paid someone to change the oil in my car or truck. Pay to have your brakes done? Pay to have a plumber replace a kitchen faucet? No that was something rich people do. they don't know how to do anything. Growing up my father was always fixing or building. It was expected that you should know what was what. Whatever tool he asked for you had better know, whatever he instructed , you had to understand. I grew up answering questions like, is it plumb? If told to ground something I was expected to comply instantly. Well truth is, you were to comply instantly to any directive in my house. That sometimes led to friction, impatient and yelling!
I'd say in the last ten years or so I have paid others to do those things I could have done myself. I make excuses at times. I don't have the right tools, the time, or I feign I really don't know how. That has gotten easier over the years because there is a lot I don't know about this modern stuff. Mostly it is all the electronics that throw a wrench into the works! That's strange because you don't need a wrench to fix electronic stuff. Take modern automobiles as an example. You can know all about the mechanical parts, replace them, rarely are they repaired these days, but the electronics will not allow the engine to run, or the brakes to work, or the seat belts, or something! Very frustrating. I understand now how my father felt with his new television. You just can't see the problem. And the problem is electricity, in some form or another. Energy. Energy is something we can neither create or destroy. All we can do is attempt to direct it.
Today I will replace the strut on the left side of the car. I'm working in the driveway, a gravel drive. I do have the luxury of a hydraulic jack, a far cry from the bumper jacks of old. and a fine set of jack stands. Safety first! That's something that has changed over the years, things weren't always quite as secure back in the day. But I'll jack it up, pull the wheel and begin. I'll complain about my back hurting, mutter words I'm surprised I even know, and get the job done. Yesterday I smashed my thumb so I'm feeling relatively unscathed. The whole time I am involved in this I am reminded of days gone by. It is a rather satisfying feeling knowing you can still get the job done yourself, independent. I'm grateful for you tube videos, they are quite helpful. I find them better than the old Clintons manual. So the new is helping the old. If only I had you tube in the sixties, I would probably know a lot more about electronic stuff. Thing is, as far as I can tell you just replace components though, you don't actually fix the problem. The knowledge you need to know is what component to replace. Guess it's sorta the same thing. Kinda the difference between building a stick built house and a prefab. The prefab one is easier but not quite as satisfying, in my opinion. Well, time to get going. I can direct my energy into replacing that strut, you can't repair it. At least there is no electronics to worry about with that. A simple straightforward mechanical device. I like it. Old fashioned, like me.
And then what do we say? As good as new. That's right, we will say, it's as good as new.
It was the way I was raised and I always thought everyone did the same. I learned the basics of plumbing, electrical, carpentry and auto repair. If something needed repair, you fixed it. Over time it became a matter of pride, the ability to do it yourself. It wasn't until I was fifty or so that I paid someone to change the oil in my car or truck. Pay to have your brakes done? Pay to have a plumber replace a kitchen faucet? No that was something rich people do. they don't know how to do anything. Growing up my father was always fixing or building. It was expected that you should know what was what. Whatever tool he asked for you had better know, whatever he instructed , you had to understand. I grew up answering questions like, is it plumb? If told to ground something I was expected to comply instantly. Well truth is, you were to comply instantly to any directive in my house. That sometimes led to friction, impatient and yelling!
I'd say in the last ten years or so I have paid others to do those things I could have done myself. I make excuses at times. I don't have the right tools, the time, or I feign I really don't know how. That has gotten easier over the years because there is a lot I don't know about this modern stuff. Mostly it is all the electronics that throw a wrench into the works! That's strange because you don't need a wrench to fix electronic stuff. Take modern automobiles as an example. You can know all about the mechanical parts, replace them, rarely are they repaired these days, but the electronics will not allow the engine to run, or the brakes to work, or the seat belts, or something! Very frustrating. I understand now how my father felt with his new television. You just can't see the problem. And the problem is electricity, in some form or another. Energy. Energy is something we can neither create or destroy. All we can do is attempt to direct it.
Today I will replace the strut on the left side of the car. I'm working in the driveway, a gravel drive. I do have the luxury of a hydraulic jack, a far cry from the bumper jacks of old. and a fine set of jack stands. Safety first! That's something that has changed over the years, things weren't always quite as secure back in the day. But I'll jack it up, pull the wheel and begin. I'll complain about my back hurting, mutter words I'm surprised I even know, and get the job done. Yesterday I smashed my thumb so I'm feeling relatively unscathed. The whole time I am involved in this I am reminded of days gone by. It is a rather satisfying feeling knowing you can still get the job done yourself, independent. I'm grateful for you tube videos, they are quite helpful. I find them better than the old Clintons manual. So the new is helping the old. If only I had you tube in the sixties, I would probably know a lot more about electronic stuff. Thing is, as far as I can tell you just replace components though, you don't actually fix the problem. The knowledge you need to know is what component to replace. Guess it's sorta the same thing. Kinda the difference between building a stick built house and a prefab. The prefab one is easier but not quite as satisfying, in my opinion. Well, time to get going. I can direct my energy into replacing that strut, you can't repair it. At least there is no electronics to worry about with that. A simple straightforward mechanical device. I like it. Old fashioned, like me.
And then what do we say? As good as new. That's right, we will say, it's as good as new.
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