What Do You Know?
Posted: Monday, January 25, 2010
by Dianne Lehmann
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In my case, not so much, as they say (whoever "they" are). If you are like me, you are comfortably settled in your various ruts. You have your routine and you go through your day with very little thought; doing by rote all the little things that you need to accomplish that day. Your efforts are met with success and you feel good about yourself. You feel that you know what you are doing and can cope with everything that comes your way in your day.
As I am writing this, today is Thursday, January 21, 2010, and I got a lesson in humility today from a simple, unthinking mechanism. I went out to visit the horses as I do every Monday and Thursday. It snowed last night where I live and because where the horses live is higher, I figured it had snowed there a little bit more. Still, I thought, I should be able to get there just fine in my 4-wheel drive Jeep. And I did.
But it had snowed considerably more at the ranch than at home and there were no tracks in the snow leading out of the drive to the ranch. I did at least notice that, but it couldn't penetrate past the silly barrier that just kept repeating in my head like a mantra, "Going to see the horses! Going to see the horses!" At any rate, that should have been my first clue. And it would have been had I not been operating on that automatic pilot I was talking about in my first paragraphs.
I got out of my car, trudged through the at least five inches of snow, entered the code into the gate control pad and started back to my car, confident that the gate would open and let me drive in as it always had. But nooo. My little peanut of a brain didn't figure in all the snow on the ground and that the motor that opens the gate might not be strong enough to pull it open against the snow.
I was just about to get back into my car when the gate motor started emitting a high pitched tone (tortured squeal, actually) that I knew immediately meant nothing good. I ran up to the gate and pushed on it to help the motor to no avail. Then I pulled on the gate and closed the latch again to the best of my ability. The motor continued to squeal and that's when I lost it completely. All I could think was, "What do I do? Oh man, now what do I do?"
I decided to leave (took a lot of backward and forward to get turned around traction was almost non-existent) and drive to where my cell phone would work. I don't know why I don't get coverage out where the ranch is. There are a lot of homes out there and other people's cell phones work. I really only have the phone for emergencies and the service we chose is cheap. Maybe too cheap. What good is an emergency phone if it won't work everywhere? I'll have to address that issue some time soon. So anyway, with the rain and the snow, my phone didn't get any kind of signal until I was almost home again (it's about 30 miles one way) and by then I was hoping that the motor had a clutch or a fuse that would stop the motor if it overheats.
I called the owner as soon as I got home and told her what happened and that I would pay to fix her gate if I had broken it. I got the answering machine which confused me because, as I wrote, there were no tracks leading away from her drive. See, I get home, on very familiar turf and my brain starts working again. Maybe if it had worked while I was standing there in the snow and the rain, I would have tried to find a place to climb the fence, slogged up to the house and told her face to face about my snafu (that's assuming that she was actually home as the lack of tracks seemed to indicate).
So what do I really know? In actuality, I know a lot. And there is a lot of which I am capable. So I'm not going to call into doubt everything I think I know about me or the world I inhabit (my world being different from everyone else's world) on the basis of this one event. I'll take this as more of a cautionary note in the symphony (cacophony, really) of my life. A C sharp, as it were, popping up in the middle of the key of E. Something to make me sit up, wake up, and take notice. A reminder that I shouldn't get too comfortable with the "illusions" I have about my life. I don't think it's a coincidence that one of the ways we express chagrined surprise is by saying, "Well, whadaya know?"
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Top-level comments on this article: (8 total)Dianne,You had me rolling on the floor with this one! So much so that my husband had to come out to see what was so funny!Of course, my mind was immediately thinking, "Is she really going to try that motorized gate in the snow?" I'm so glad you answered that one.Yes, the more I know, I sometimes think, the less I know but I am wiser. And, there is comfort in that knowledge.Thank you for a fun read,Hi Nancy.Glad I could give you a good laugh! As it happens, I did not break the gate. It was working today when I went out there. Phew!Apparently, in my case, wisdom is not a given of advancing age. :)Well, anyway, glad you enjoyed it and thanks for commenting.Dianne
another fun and engaging piece from our Dianne! thanks for sharing this one - was she there all the time? MarijoHi Marijo.You know, I still don't know. But it occurred to me that maybe they had all walked next door to the neighbors. There is a gate between the two properties and they wouldn't have had to go out on the road to get there.You were probably laughing at my account of "at least five inches of snow" but we don't always get snow and that's a goodly amount for around here. A little further north in Flagstaff, they got nearly five feet from the last round of storms. Because I can never get enough snow (I know what you are thinking), Bernd and I are going to drive up there tomorrow and walk around old town and have lunch.Thanks for reading and commenting, take care and keep warm,Dianne
I enjoyed your article very much and laughed out loud several times. Been there. Done that. It's it truly amazing how it's the little things that bring us back down to earth.Hi Curtis.Glad you liked it! I guess we sort of expect it when something big smacks us in the face, but the little things just sort of sneak up on us and we are unprepared for them. It's good to come back down to earth now and then! :)Thanks for reading and commenting.Dianne
Great way to start my day! Thanks for sharing this.Hi Michael.I'm always happy to help someone start their day well. :)Thank you for reading it.My best to you,Dianne
It is funny how little changes in our environment go un-noticed until something pulls us out of the "perpetual day-dream" we all inhabit. Even with that occasional kick up the backside a great lot still go past without being seen. I think the reason is that we are all averse to change forgetting that the only thing that is certain in this uncertain world is change!Thank you for a good read.Hi Olufemi.You are correct. And I try to remind my self about change on a regular basis. But I'm like most people, and I find change to be difficult. I also try to be observant and mindful, but apparently I'm not succeeding well at that either. :)Thank you, Olufemi, for reading my article and taking the time to add your wise thoughts!Dianne
I figure I know a lot Dianne, my problem is remembering it some days. Very funny article. I love it when people can laugh at themselves. Nice of you to let us laugh along with you!Hi Brianna.There was a time that I hated it when people laughed at me (and I gave them so many reasons to do that). I took myself so seriously. Then I figured out it was stressful to be so serious all the time and that is it better to laugh at yourself and let others laugh along with you. See, some wisdom does manage to find its way through my thick skull.Anyway, I'm glad that I was able to entertain you and give you a chuckle.Thanks,Dianne
This article kept my interest all the way through. Thanks for sharingHi David.That's high praise for sure. I tend to be long winded, though not as long winded as years ago. Just ask my husband. He's constantly amazed at how succinct I can be in my articles. I'm grateful that you stuck it out to the end.Thanks for reading and commenting. I always appreciate it.Dianne
oh diane,that's one of those situations that you just can't believe, or absorb.but, you learned not to put on the mechanism if there's 5 inches of snow on the ground!thanks for sharing,my best to you,sueHi Sue.That's for sure! Now when I walk up to the gate (even if there is no snow on the ground), I look it over and give it a thought before punching in the code.Thanks for your comments!Hugs,Dianne
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