Although it\u2019s very hard to pinpoint exactly when and where I learned some things from Dad, it is very obvious that I did learn them. One example is the tendency I have to repair things that break. I don\u2019t think Dad ever came out and said \u201cIf it\u2019s broken, fix it\u201d but he did show me that over and over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I really don\u2019t remember the first thing I saw Dad repair. I\u2019m sure I was too young to notice. He probably repaired my crib while I watched. He seemed to be able to fix anything. He worked on toys, cars, houses, doors, floors, bicycles, radios, televisions… nothing was sacred. He would attempt to fix just about anything that was broken… and he usually did fix it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So having seen with my own eyes that it was OK to take things apart, I began early to do just that. My mother was often disappointed at my over zealous curiosity that managed to destroy the toys they bought that used to work. Usually, there were no more than two or three parts left over when I finished \u201cworking\u201d on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have somehow managed to end up with Dad\u2019s ability to size up a situation, determine what is needed and charge ahead with full steam until the problem is fixed. That\u2019s not to say that I am always successful, or that I never have problems. However, I do usually manage to be able to make a repair that works. Sometimes it looks kind of \u201crigged-up\u201d and will not last, but the item will work (at least for a while).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In my attempt to recall just what Dad taught me about repairs, I remember one thing he did say: \u201cIf it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it\u201d (pardon my Southern). At first, this seems like the obvious, but look closer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you attempt to fix things that aren\u2019t broken, you risk breaking them in the process. Many a toy had to be thrown out after I \u201cfixed\u201d them as a child. Carried a little farther, most things that are working are better left alone unless you are aware of some preventive maintenance that must be done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some things are actually made worse by repairing a part of them. An example is replacing a part that is one of a set. Brakes, for instance, have a little cylinder at each wheel that pushes the brakes into action. If you repair one of these (and not the others), then it is too strong and will cause the others to burst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Relationships are often forced into quick \u201cfixes\u201d that aren\u2019t necessary, too. People think that divorce is a fix for problems in a marriage. However, love is the only real fix. Divorces are just broken homes. You cannot really fix something without all the parts. It just won\u2019t ever work right again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe as I get older, I\u2019m learning more how to tell the difference in something that is broken and needs fixing, and something that is working that needs a little attention. It must be very hard for some people to tell the difference. I\u2019m glad that Dad started teaching me early to learn that valuable skill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Although it\u2019s very hard to pinpoint exactly when and where I learned some things from Dad, it is very obvious that I did learn them. One example is the tendency I have to repair things that break. I don\u2019t think Dad ever came out and said \u201cIf it\u2019s broken, fix it\u201d but he did show … Continue reading “If It Is Broken, Fix it! If it Ain\u2019t Broke, Don\u2019t Fix It!”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wizbitsfromdad.com\/wizbits\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wizbitsfromdad.com\/wizbits\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wizbitsfromdad.com\/wizbits\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wizbitsfromdad.com\/wizbits\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wizbitsfromdad.com\/wizbits\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wizbitsfromdad.com\/wizbits\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42,"href":"https:\/\/wizbitsfromdad.com\/wizbits\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41\/revisions\/42"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wizbitsfromdad.com\/wizbits\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wizbitsfromdad.com\/wizbits\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wizbitsfromdad.com\/wizbits\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}