The Universe Continues to Malfunction

The rule is that things break in threes - and then you are home free for a while. Well, the universe is ignoring its own rule!

The latest - our two printers both died within an hour from each other. Like two old married folk still madly in love. Life without the other must have been simply not worth it.

Now, have you bought anything electronic lately? The helpful clerk in the store asks questions you can't begin to answer. Is your whatchmadingy wired to your thingamagig?

And yes, we want two printers. We tried to be a one-printer household for a while and it was like owning one car with two people wanting to go separate places. It might have been economical, but with two people writing up a storm, we do know that our marriage requires two printers. Even if we can follow all the specs on the printer boxes.

This printer death-event came only a few weeks after our 7 year old refrigerator tried to burn up its own motor. Have you bought a fridge lately? They are certainly an investment item. But keeping the food in the garage would have solved things only temporarily. That is if spring does happen in the next couple months. With the new normal, predicting the weather lately has a success rate lower than coming up with the winning lottery ticket. After all it did rain, in January just a week or so ago.

Speaking of weather, there was the freak hailstorm. Pretty much took care of our roof. Fortunately, we got the new one done just in time. Then it snowed and we haven't seen the roof since. So don't ask me if it looks nice.

All this things-breaking behavior started last summer. We figured it was like being married ten years or so when all at once the sheets get holes and the towels fray, requiring visits to Targe' for replacements.  I believe that's another rule of the universe. Stay married long enough and you'll be needing some new stuff to replace wedding gifts. Then the wearing-out-stuff moderates into a continual progression. At least it's not the all at once phenomena.

But this  series of things breaking down has gone far to long. Melted-down computer, sprinkling system malfunctioning, cordless phone only viable for 2 minutes, hole in the car bumper from someone backing into it . . . it's a long list and I shan't bore you with its recitation.

Now I am eyeing the water heater - and the washer and dryer. They are the same age and have been around awhile. Just like the two of us and our two cats . . .

So far we haven't broken and that's the good news! Knock on wood.

When I take a breath and stop complaining, I look at the rest of our broken world. Our breakage list is insignificant - nothing terminal, just annoyances that divert valuable ttime and money from more significant uses. From the many "small" wars, terrorist plotting and actions, the rope and domination of women as objects here in this country and elsewhere, the threats of floods and drought, political corruption, the rich growing richer and the rest of us having a harder time making ends meet - that's another long list of brokenness.

So much that needs fixing.