Back To Work

I spent six decades in Construction. As a kid in Junior High School, I began to do side work. Some of my friends mowed lawns; I preferred to do tasks that were more challenging. I did simply things initially like, repairing a gate latch so that it would close more efficiently. I learned about the application of oils and grease. Soon, I advanced to kitchen cabinet repair; in the 1960’s, very few kitchens did not have an errant or crooked door. Back in those days, televisions and big console radios were tube sets and multiple drug store chains had giant white tube testers. I learned not to pay attention to the dramatic warnings on television sets that you would be killed if you opened the back; manufacturers did not want the average ‘Joe’ fixing his TV…that was clear. Each television that I saved came with lunches and kudos that solidified my thinking that the service industry was the place to be. Early on I adopted the phrase, “Sure, I can fix that” and – whether I knew the first thing about it or not – I carefully operated on a variety of things that led me to truly believe that “I can fix anything”. By the age of 18, I took apart my first automobile motor, reassembled it AND IT RAN! In 1970, I sold my Buick Riviera and went to Europe for three months with the proceeds. I was confident. Upon my return, I purchased a 1962 VW from a guy who had restored it beautifully; rebuilt motor, new brakes, the works. In the two years that I owned that car, I learned everything about it. Within the first year, I could have the motor out of the car in eleven minutes. Years later, when my wife’s uncle blew a piston in his V-Dube, I tore the engine down to its smallest parts – the largest of which were the two engine casing halves – replaced the rings, bearings and bad piston, put it together and turned it right on…without a repair manual! After that, my confidence had very little limit. Which is my point. Henry Ford was a very brilliant man. Raised on a large successful farm, he did not want to plant and harvest crops. His father allowed Henry the time and resources to tinker with the new fangled farm implements – harvestors and such – and Henry ultimately improved the designs and made repairs. This led to his confidence in putting together complicated machines on an assembly line. Out of that process, Henry developed a proverb that I myself adopted years ago and it is the one that I have repeated to my successful daughters many times: “If you think that you can do something, or you think that you can not do something, does not matter…YOU ARE RIGHT EITHER WAY!” So, BE CONFIDENT. Even if you just went to the eighth grade, if you can read, you can figure things out. Today, with YouTube, you can fix most any car. The A/C Compressor went out on my wife’s 2007 Toyota Avalon last year. To repair it, the dealer wanted $1600. When My Anh complained that she wanted it fixed at the start of the past Summer, I did an hour of research. A NEW (not used or remanufactured) compressor was available from ‘R & Y A/C Compressors’ in Florida for $240. It was delivered a week later. The YouTube video lasted 28 minutes. It took me three hours to do the job. The next day, I had a local automotive repair shop – that is Christian based – recharge the A/C system for $110. The A/C in my wife’s car now runs very cold so, for $350 I’M NOT JUST A HERO…SHE THINKS I AM A GENIUS!! ALWAYS REMEMBER… Y O U C A N D O IT ! ! !