03-05-2024, 03:10 AM
I credit my need to do things for myself to my Dad, and my innate sense of cheapness.
When I was little, Dad figured out that I was no good at sports, so, out of fear that I'd grow up a wuss, he gave me a set of tools. That stuck, and I'm sure he was more than relieved. He also made sure my first car had a manual transmission. (Some of his man-ification efforts were probably not for the best, despite his best intentions. I mean, should a five-year-old really be drinking beer and vodka?)
When something needs fixing, my natural inclination is to analyze it and see if I can do it myself. I see having to pay someone for something I can do as some kind of failure. Mrs. G appreciates that fixing our own stuff, like appliances, the cars, the house, etc saves us money. Mom gives me a fix-it list when I go to visit her, and thinks I'm a genius for being able to do things that I think aren't too tough. I'll take the credit, however!
Have to bite my tongue sometimes, however. When I got to Mom's for lunch on Friday, I passed an appliance repair truck in her driveway as I pushed the Triumph into her garage. A guy was fixing her washing machine. The door latch was broken, and she was paying him an amount of money that made the bite deeper and my tongue a little bloodier. I resisted the need to go on Ebay and find out how cheap I could have bought that latch for.
Oh... Henry Ford? Want to get a real clear picture of what kind of guy he was? Read the book "Arsenal of Democracy."
When I was little, Dad figured out that I was no good at sports, so, out of fear that I'd grow up a wuss, he gave me a set of tools. That stuck, and I'm sure he was more than relieved. He also made sure my first car had a manual transmission. (Some of his man-ification efforts were probably not for the best, despite his best intentions. I mean, should a five-year-old really be drinking beer and vodka?)
When something needs fixing, my natural inclination is to analyze it and see if I can do it myself. I see having to pay someone for something I can do as some kind of failure. Mrs. G appreciates that fixing our own stuff, like appliances, the cars, the house, etc saves us money. Mom gives me a fix-it list when I go to visit her, and thinks I'm a genius for being able to do things that I think aren't too tough. I'll take the credit, however!
Have to bite my tongue sometimes, however. When I got to Mom's for lunch on Friday, I passed an appliance repair truck in her driveway as I pushed the Triumph into her garage. A guy was fixing her washing machine. The door latch was broken, and she was paying him an amount of money that made the bite deeper and my tongue a little bloodier. I resisted the need to go on Ebay and find out how cheap I could have bought that latch for.
Oh... Henry Ford? Want to get a real clear picture of what kind of guy he was? Read the book "Arsenal of Democracy."