Thought Piece
Got my new tire and wheel yesterday for the big mower. Put it on. Saw that the tire was touching the frame. Thought to myself, they sold me the wrong sized tire. Took it off. Put it in my trunk to take it back. Later in the morning, I was talking to my son about the new tire and wheel. Showed it to him. Realized I’d put the wheel on backwards the first time. Tried again. Success. The tire no longer touched the frame. How did I get to be this old?
Of course, that’s not really a serious question. This sort of thing happens all the time to everyone. In this case, it was a combination of inattention and me thinking the number of plys had something to do with the size of the tire, which it doesn’t much. The old tire was two ply and the new tire was four. It’s also an example of what I call the bigger brain in which two people looking at a problem is almost always better than one, because that second person will see things in a slightly different perspective and bring new insights to the game.
Today I will take the new tire out for a ride around the property. Together we will mow and do all that lawn maintenance stuff expected of the suburban homeowner and even the country homeowner. Because we have to look kempt, which means things need to be in their place and well maintained. I have no idea who wrote that handbook, but there are a lot of subscribers. I guess you could say it keeps me out of trouble. But I wonder sometimes if all that effort might be better served by being put to some other use. Like writing a song that beautifies the world.