January 27, 2018. Colmesneil, TX. Fix It

While Phil and I grew up, our family owned one house, and that was for a very brief period. We always lived in apartments or flats, had a landlord, paid rent, and when something went wrong we had someone come in to fix it. My father even came to the point where he leased or rented cars, so repairs were not something he had to hassle with. The lease or rental agency would repair the vehicle. As a result, my experience with fixing things was pretty much nil.
Being raised in the pre-Internet era, there was really no access to how to fix things which stopped running or outright broke, so a handyman, fix-it guy or mechanic was an essential person to know. I had the knowledge to know something was wrong, but not the slightest idea of what to do, except call someone else.
Karen and I have owned three houses in our soon-to-be 44 years of marriage, and while I did gain some repair skills, I was generally at the mercy and generosity of others. But now we are in a different season of our life, the Motor Home era, and if there is one thing we have learned, and quickly, is that things break, forward progress can come to a screeching halt, and one better be able to find a remedy, and find it quickly. I have heard the horror stories from fellow-RV and camper owners and I have always wondered why, with the frequency of problems, and the high cost of fixing those problems, people loved this life style so much. After four years on the road I know why people love this way of living, and I also know more about how to use the Internet, some basic tools and the generosity and willingness of fellow RV'ers and campers to lend a hand and foresee some of the pitfalls still to come. I've accumulated some notches on my belt.
I never envisioned myself as a dirt-under-the nails kind of guy, but after our experiences in rural Arkansas and Georgia and the back woods of Deep East Texas, I've accumulated a decent list of accomplishments and handyman skills. I might just have to add a Bubba hat to my current dashboard collection. Yee Haw.

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