Car problems, microcosm for society?

I've been having some minor vehicle problems as of late. My bike has a broken rad drain plug, a 6 dollar part with a 2 dollar gasket that is going to take four days to get here. This is excusable, as the machine's from 1984, and plastic parts only last so long. The real wake up call though is the issue my car is going through, which is even more minor, but an interesting story.

Many moons ago, I had the Ford dealership change a bunch of burnt lightbulbs for me when I had the car in for an oil change. Shameful, I know, as I frequently change my own oil, and lightbulbs are generally an even easier task, but chalk it up to the laziness that today's busy lifestyle can often provoke. I figured that if the car was going in, might as well pay 10 bucks to just have the work "done" for me. I could drive off, and not spend precious minutes trying to figure out how to get the different housings removed from the car. Fast forward a year to a few days ago. I happen to notice that one of my plate lamps is out. I shrug, as the parking lot at work is kind of rough, and figure vibration's just killed the bulb. Yesterday, I get around to removing the old bulb and notice that my problem isn't simply a burned bulb. It appears that the last time the bulb was changed, the plastic housing got cracked. This allowed water to get in the socket for the bulb, rusting the socket. I tried cleaning the corrosion off, but the prongs were very fragile, and one of them was rotten right through.

Still a nothing part, but here's the kicker...I go to Ford this morning, and the housing is 15 bucks or thereabouts. No problem. The socket is $56, and has to come in from the US, which will take a week or so. The amount of money for the socket made me raise an eyebrow, but the fact that it's going to take me longer to get a simple part for a fairly modern car, when an equally simple part for a 23 year old motorcycle can get here in four days, at far less the cost, is what really surprises me. The plate bulb is pretty standard, and in reality we're talking about a one inch wide bulb socket with two little electrical prongs in it, all the complexity of your dollar store flashlight. Now the cost is the way it is, and so is the time to get it here. I don't want to sound like a whiny kid, but it makes me pose a question about our disposable society.

Have we become so throw away that even the simplest things are expensive or hard to fix? Not just cars, but seemingly everything in our age is designed to make repairs difficult. No one repairs electronics anymore. If your TV or stereo dies, it's simply a matter of tossing it and getting a new one. Try to find a stereo repair shop anymore...a few people changing fuses, but no one with a service manual and the will to track down a problem. Even bigger items, that are traditionally fixed...small engines for example, are somewhat easier to replace than repair.

Not just our goods...but our lives to. Instead of therapy and hard work, most people divorce at the first sign in marriage and move on to the next vict....err lover. Children take a wrong turn, and parents give up on raising them, allowing them to be delinquent, leading to other troubles later in life. People spend no time trying to fix their careers if they get off track, instead preferring to blame the world for being cruel, heading to a shrink to get medicated and move on. We even have problems on national levels, countries not talking to each other, the same problems across the board.

Regardless as to why, it's a problem with our society that needs to be fixed. Too much is wasted, in so many ways. As a society, we need to work harder at maintaining friendships, along with our lives.

Fall

It's getting cooler out there. There's no denying it, this change in seasons. The thought of firing up the BBQ is further the back of my mind, and I find myself wearing a jacket when I go out, and spending far more time indoors, cooking, listening to music, and my winter habits. I'll probably listen to the Beach Boys someday in the car this week, and some of you would know that usually heralds the last warm week of summer...and they are forecasting 28 degrees out there.

Lately, I've had a hard time of it, dealing with less than computer savvy people at work. There are days where I feel like my life is a bad episode of The IT Crowd, or a Dilbert comic strip. Still, I must remind myself that life is good. I'm gainfully employed, and had a decent summer, starting a new hobby with the bike.

So what does fall entail, besides cooler weather? Shorter days are a given, but also more time to kill in the evenings, as I no doubt will be putting the bike away. I intend to spend some more time writing, hopefully to knock off another novel before next summer's end. Why? When the other two were finally successfully completed a few years ago? There are still stories left to tell, and so little time in which to tell them. I feel I had better get a move on, so to speak.

Still, everyone should remember to enjoy what's left of the good weather. Before too long the snow will be upon us, and winter's gloom will be in the air constantly.

Maps...and routes to your destination.

Maps. I have gotten along fairly well in my life without them. I've always looked down at maps as a crutch for people who had no sense of direction, or would forget a route easily. It's not often that I even look at charts when flying. I've always seen maps as something that remains folded in the glove box, just in case. I think I may have taken one out once in the past seven years on the road. But maps aren't just a tool for when you get lost, they can make life easier. The reality, which I most often overlook, is that when a route is planned using a map, one can take their mind off a direction, and what roads are needed, as it's all down on paper. This is a lesson that I recall from flight school, and the fact that I prefer to just “cruise” doesn't make it any less valid. I'm more than willing to admit that.

This year, and most importantly, this summer, has been a process of self-discovery for me. It hasn't been easy, and what I jokingly refer to as the “midlife crisis” has shocked and surprised some. Have I found out what I wanted to know? No, not yet, but I'm on the road. One thing that is for certain is it hasn't been easy without a map, a tool that I usually disdain. Sometimes, simply driving in the direction that you want to go isn't enough. Sometimes you need to have a plan.

That's why my “remarketing” is taking so long, why I seem to alternate between my old self and new. With no plan, and just knowing that I need to make changes in my life, it takes time. No roadmap means a meandering path to where I need to be, and it has taken months, and could perhaps take years before I finally determine who I am. Will I still be the old Dan next year at this time? Probably not, one way or the other. This may all seem a little introspective, but vacation has given me some time to think.

So...things have changed. Will I get in a plane again? Probably at some point. The bike has certainly been fun so far, if a little left field of where I usually sit. A little more and less risk all at the same time. Tomorrow, I'm off on my first real tour, the low cost vacation that being in the working class forces on me. Will it be fun? Certainly. I'll be leaving here armed with my digital camera and a healthy sense of adventure, touring through a dozen towns and cities. It promises to be interesting. Will I learn anything about myself? Maybe, but maybe not...but it's the journey that counts. Maybe I'll even bring a map. But even if I don't, I'll get there anyway, it'll just take a little longer.