While I may have been a whiz at other things, I have never been what one would call a “handyman” around the home.
If I was able to hang a picture without damaging the wall (and myself), I would feel very proud of myself. I think my wife felt very sorry, but she never showed it.
Fixing a leaky faucet? Forget it!
I was always envious of – perhaps even somewhat wrathful at – friends and neighbors who could blindfolded fix a garbage disposal without grinding their fingers or take a vacuum cleaner apart and put it back together again without having any parts left over.
Talk about giving a guy an inferiority complex.
But I believe those days are over.
After moving into a community with many folks older than myself and with several widows, I began to help my neighbors with things like replacing smoke detector batteries.
Soon I moved up to (re-)setting the temperature on water heaters and re-setting circuit breakers.
Now I can even hang a picture up “picture perfect” and resolve complicated internet and cable problems by techniques such as unplugging the power cable, waiting exactly 30 seconds and plugging it back in. Voilà!
My friends and neighbors are impressed and my reputation as Mr. Fix-it has spread like wildfire around our community.
That is not to say that I don’t sometimes get stumped by a real complicated problem, such as a noisy or wobbling ceiling fan, but, hey, no one is perfect or all-capable.
There are two morals to this anecdote.
First, while not literally comparing my neighbors to blind persons, no matter how unskillful, untrained or unsophisticated a ”one-eyed” person may be, there are always areas wherein he or she can become a success story.
Second, and more important, no matter how hapless we may be ourselves, there will always be the less fortunate in whose lives we can bring a little bit of that “Mr. fix-it” spirit, kindness and compassion and truly feel like a king.
Think about it and have a wonderful day.
Lead image: Gilles Douaire, Better Homes & Gardens. Meredith Publishing Co., 1951. flickr.com
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.