Sh!t Doesn't Always Happen

I enjoy my job, but sometimes I'm really surprised by things that happen to me. On a typical day I will drive to a Shopping Center, Business Complex, or Industrial Park and perform Ultrasonic Testing on parking lot light poles, checking for rust and corrosion. It’s hard work at times, physically draining, and very lonely because I keep to myself, speak to no one, and stay totally focused on the job because it’s super important to be accurate.

However, with the pandemic going on, people are a bit more testy than usual. I can’t say I blame them because life is stressful enough without all the extra problems and struggles created by Covid. I’ve seen a lot of heated arguments going on in parking lots, a young girl screaming into her phone, presumably at her boyfriend, a homeless person sleeping on hot asphalt, and two drivers arguing over which one got to the parking spot first. I notice that most people ignore me and just want me to get out of their way.

That’s why I was surprised last week at the kindness shown me by two strangers. The first incident was at a shopping center in north Orange County. A very large man in a very small golf cart came rushing up to where I was working on a light pole. I could see he had a security uniform on and at first I thought he going to arrest me. Instead he got out smiling and asked me if I was the “Metals Inspector”. When I answered, “Yes”, his eyes lit up and he said, “Cool, Brother! I just want to welcome you to our property! He then explained how he really appreciates vendors taking good care of his site, and that if I needed help with anything to let him know. He handed me his card, wished me well, and drove off waving. He was just about the nicest security guard I’ve ever met.

The second incident was so minor, you wouldn’t probably think twice about it. I was working at crowded Retail Center in Cypress late in the day. The parking lot was full of cars, so it was difficult to access the light poles. At one point, a lady in a Tesla nearly ran me over. I never heard her coming and I definitely didn’t hear her apologize. She just got out and rushed into the store. That’s typical, but 10 minutes later, a rough looking Hispanic man with a heavy beard and a ton of tattoos got out of his car and started staring at me. I thought I was dead meat! But all he wanted was to ask me a question, “Sir. Would you like me to move my car out of your way?” He smiled as he said it… and I smiled back. Just a simple courtesy, and maybe not a big deal normally, but when people go out of their way during a pandemic to be nice to others, it’s surprising!

And that got me thinking… You know that old saying, “Sh!t  Happens”… well sometimes, even during the worst of times, Surprise Happens!

In a world full of people who couldn’t care less, 

be someone who couldn’t care more.   

 ~ Anonymous 

Like Sand Through an Hourglass

I took off early this morning to go start a large Pole Inspection project in Laguna Niguel. As I was driving down the freeway my truck is heading straight, but the people around me are all speeding and weaving and driving like maniacs. They are all over the place, and so are my thoughts.

I keep thinking about how I always have way too much to do! Besides having a solid load of work to do this month, our landlord doubled our rent, so we have to move, which is never easy. We need to find a moving company, set up the new utilities, arrange for new internet and cable, put in a change of mailing address, etc. etc. At the same time, my truck needs a wash and an oil change, the ice maker on the fridge is broken, and I can’t see well because I need a new pair of glasses, but don’t have time to go see an eye doctor.

Sorry…I don’t want to sound like some weak whiner or complainer, so I start to focus on all the things that are right in my life. That helps, but it doesn’t lighten the busyness of my life when there is always so much to do. Every day is filled with so many responsibilities and concerns, and honestly it can be overwhelming at times. I have a feeling you have plenty of days like that too.

And that got me thinking… What if we were to picture life like an hourglass? Imagine that there is an hourglass in front of you. At the top is a bowl connected to a bowl at the bottom by a tube so thin that only one grain of sand can pass through it at a time. That is a true picture of life, even on a super-busy day. The crowded hours can only come to you one moment at a time, one grain of sand at a time. That is the only way they can come. The day may bring many tasks, many problems, many stresses, but always… they come in single file. So handle them one at a time by remembering the hourglass, the grains of sand dropping one by one.

Like sand through an hourglass, 

so are the days of our lives.

~ from the daytime TV drama "Days of Our Lives"