A Rite of Passage

After five boys spanning a total of 13 years, there are multiple times through the same experiences as a parent – like the last kid in little league, going through graduations, etc. Of course, one of those recurrent parental experiences is teaching your kid to drive! As of yesterday, we are now completely finished with that process. The last boy passed his driver’s test.

I honestly thought this driving thing would come more naturally to the boys than it did, but it is a long process. And the ordeal is especially long in the state of Maryland, with varied requirements for the permit and classes, along with the great joy of many trips to the Motor Vehicle Administration. That is not a place known for customer skills, but I can tell you this – they are a dream compared to their counterparts in New Jersey.

The process is so long, difficult, and complicated, that it totally amazes me as to how ANY illegal aliens are able to get a driver’s license. It was hard enough to do while speaking English; I can’t imagine how difficult it would be for someone with a foreign language. Yet somehow, thousands of them manage to get it done. I understand there is quite an elaborate black market for such – there would have to be.

It Will Fix Itself

I had an experience today that reaffirms my view about mechanical things – if you ignore a problem long enough, it will fix itself.

My belt assembly was far more complicated than this one!

My garden tractor had the very long and complicated mower deck belt break last year. I found a replacement belt and did the repair – TRULY, the MOST advanced mechanical thing I’ve ever done in my life!!  It worked great – for a while. Then, one day after one of the boys used the tractor, the tension was weak and the blades turned poorly. I had to cut grass very slowly in order to keep the blades from choking. So ended the summer of 2011.

Now, with grass needing to be cut again, I got the tractor motor started after a great deal of fussing with it (again, something about which to have great mechanical pride!), but as with the end of last season, it worked poorly and I could tell the tension was weak.

But somehow, while cutting today, I began to realize the tension in the belt was back and the power was taking me through the grass like a hot knife through butter. I cannot explain it. But once again, rather than getting it fixed – given enough time, it fixed itself.