A Business With Ups and Downs

Our house, Villa Wifey,is nearing 16 years old. Like our ancient Labrador Honey, who is past 16, stuff is more and more breaking down. It happens, especially in the tropical heat of Miami, and is an annoyance. So our garage door, that essential portal to the bosom of home, is on the fritz. I diagnosed the problem as faulty electric eyes, and sure enough the tech from Action Doors came by and put in new eyes and new wiring. The bill was only $105 -- I was pleasantly surprised, since I figured we needed a new opener motor. But alas, Wifey came home, and the door failed to close. I must admit -- I blamed Wifey. It's uncanny -- electric and electronic devices seem to fail her at a greater than normal rate. I read once that certain folks have something in their biochemistry that causes this. Also, Wifey inherited her mother's touch with things. She tends to deal with objects with, well, less than the gentlest of touches. But, as usual, as Wifey likes to point out --she was blameless. The door wouldn't close. So 2 days later, yesterday, the more trained tech came out, and simply reconnected the electric eyes, and, voila! He left, Wifey came home, and this time the door only opened halfway. And, when I tried, it seemed completely broken -- making just an angry grinding noise. I was right -- time for a new system. Home Depot has sales, so I'm off later for a new opener -- they're much cheaper than the contractor on new stuff. Wifey's take is that stuff SHOULD last longer, but the opposite is true. When our fridge broke down after just 7 years (2 months post extended warranty), the mechanic told me stuff is crap these days. He used to service 20 year old large appliances -- now stuff rusts at half a decade. And time is relative. As I look back on the house where I grew up, in my mind we lived there FOREVER. I mean, to me it was forever -- moved in when I was a year old, and moved out when I was 17. In other words -- 16 years -- the same age as this "new" house I own now. Ancient Mom no longer has any accurate sense of time. She moved into her condo 33 years ago, but thinkgs she lived on Long Island longer. More stuff happened in that stage of her life. She married off 2 daughters, and saw one break up a marriage and move to California. She raised a baby to an adolescent. She partnered with a husband who was a young salesman and helped him along to success, to where he could retire at 60. In her Delray condo, she just adapted to widowhood, volunteered at the hospital, and took some really cool international trips. Time passed more slowly for her, I guess. And now, she's been in the nursing home for 6 months, and said the other day it was 3 years. And so it goes. I'll mark the time today, by buying a new garage door opener, and then maybe go visit ancient Mom. Stuff breaks down -- there are ups and downs.