Let me begin with a disclaimer – we are totally satisfied with our current security system. We’ve been with it for nearly 20 years and it covers both homes we own.  But there have been…well incidents, shall we say?  These events have made us question the system, customer service in general, and our sanity. 

First, the system at our second house is digital.  The home is a one-story, ranch style and there are a couple of places the alarm might sound.  When the alarm does go off – and we discovered this the scary way – it’s impossible to shut it down.  Well, it’s impossible when you forgot the password because you haven’t used it in over twelve years.

Our son lives in the house and one night the fire alarm went off.  This was because the microwave malfunctioned and was pouring smoke into the house.  He had unplugged the thing (which subsequently made the trip to the dump) and attempted to cancel the alarm.  Meanwhile, he was opening windows and turning on fans.  Also meanwhile, we got the “back-up” call and raced to the house.  The fire department likely also got called.  Our son was on the phone trying to tell the representative to cancel the fire department as nothing was aflame.

Thankfully, he accomplished that.  But she kept insisting he put in the code, which he didn’t remember.  Neither did we. FINALLY, my husband remembered what it was and told her the password, so she could end the screeching alarm.  It took almost as long to get that alarm silenced as it did for us to wave the smoke out of the kitchen.

The good news on that horrible event is tri-fold.  We know the alarm system works.  We know the back-up call works.  And I got to go shopping for a new microwave.

Then we began to get calls and emails about upgrading our own system to digital.  We happily had the technician come out to install it, as digital has to be better, right?  Well, maybe so, but it turns out that digital technology is no match for 18-inch thick stone walls built in 1811.  The digital system was “iffy” in terms of covering our whole house. So we’re stuck with a landline system (that works just fine, so no big deal).

But the calls and emails continued, telling us our service will end if we don’t address this upgrade.  So we had a second technician come out.  He, too, could not get the digital system to work, so we’re off the list to notify about upgrading.

Not.  We still got calls and emails, with that scary little “service will end” clause. Finally, my husband got a call and asked to speak to a supervisor.  He was put on hold and transferred after about ten minutes.  This was not a supervisor, but he told the person the whole story and was put on hold and transferred.  The third person was also not a supervisor, but he told them the whole story…you’re getting the picture, right?  He was on the phone for an hour (listening, while on hold, to the pre-recorded message of “your time is important to us”).  I do love me some irony.

The fifth person finally told him we’d be okay with our “old” system and we wouldn’t get any more calls.  Then they sent us a survey.

That was fun.

 Actually, the survey resulted in a wonderful representative calling us to explain everything, assure us we’d get no more phone calls or emails, and assure us our “old” (but reliable) system would continue to work forever.  Or at least for our lifetimes, which is just as good.

I saw a t-shirt the other day that was perfect for my husband.  It had a picture of a chainsaw on it, and the caption read, “I may not be a professional, but I’ve watched a lot of YouTube.”

               It was perfect because of so many times he (and our son, for that matter) have determined they could do things merely by watching another amateur who has posted himself on YouTube completing the task. 

               Sometimes these tasks are straightforward, like changing a lightbulb.  I’m not oversimplifying in this example.  Several years ago, one of the long fluorescent light bulbs under our cabinets finally went dark.  We purchased a replacement and set about taking out the dark bulb and putting in the new one. It didn’t go well.  My husband couldn’t get his fingers in the very small space between the cabinet and the bulb.  I could insert a couple of fingers, but had nightmarish visions about the bulb shattering into a million pieces if I pulled too hard.

               Finally, Matt got on YouTube and discovered a helpful video that appeared to have been posted by a 5-year-old.  He was a genius, and following his example, Matt was able to change the bulb.  And, in the subsequent weeks, the other three, as well.

               Last year, we purchased a new snow blower.  The box said “easy to assemble” and “no special tools required.” This is always a big tell – it’s going to be a painful process and you’ll want to shoot the box before you’re done. 

               Matt called our son over and the two of them read and re-read the instruction manual (such as it was).  There didn’t appear to be corresponding parts in our box to the instruction manual. Finally, they returned to the source of all information – the computer – and found Melvin, the helpful man who had purchased the same snow blower.

               Melvin was – after just a couple of missteps and bleeped words – able to demonstrate how to put together the specific model we had purchased.  He even mentioned that the instructions provided in the box were not as helpful as you might expect.

               Matt has become skilled at a number of home remodeling jobs by watching videos – sometimes, many times over – to master a specific task.  From these videos, he has learned how to tile our living room ceiling, re-mortar stone work, eliminate ground cover, and cook an entire brisket. 

               I’ve gently poked fun at him for taking so much time on YouTube to complete tasks.  But all my teasing came to a halt last week when we were on our annual Friendsgiving trip. 

               We had rented a cabin that had a hot tub and on the second day, the guys went hiking.  The gals decided we would get into the tub and relax for a while.  Upon opening the lid, we found the controls, but they were locked.  We could not get the jets to start, turn on the lights, or even read the temperature.   

               We quickly sent an email to the management, but internet service is spotty in the hills.  So we went inside and called the home office.  While on the phone, my friend looked up “how to unlock hot tub” on YouTube.

               You guessed it – before you could say “Jack Robinson,” a video began playing that showed which button to hold and for how long.  I ran outside and followed the instructions and voila! The jets began to spray.

               I’m a convert, I guess.  All hail YouTube.  If you want to know how to change a lightbulb, unlock a hot tub, or cook a brisket – it’s all there!

This past weekend was the twentieth anniversary of the attack on America on September 11, 2001.  I spent a good deal of time reflecting and praying on this event, as well as some others that seem to stay with me.  I wasn’t born when the December, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor happened, but my parents talked about it frequently with me.  I understood, after 9/11, that they felt the same way then that we did when we watched in abject horror as planes crashed into the World Trade Towers, then the Pentagon, then a field in Pennsylvania.

               The emotions don’t leave you; they simmer forever in the back of your brain or deep in your soul. 

               I was thinking, too, about the turbulent decade of the 1960’s – the horrific events that dotted that era, starting with the Bay of Pigs and then the assassination of our President.  More assassinations occurred in that decade – starting with Medgar Evers, then Malcom X, Sam Cooke, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy. People who spoke out against wrongdoing, injustice, and inequity were targeted by killers during that decade.  Meanwhile, we were marching, protesting, and fighting to end our involvement in a war in Vietnam.  Some of us, naively as it turned out, thought we had prevailed throughout those dark years.  We thought that the changes in law that upheld civil rights for minorities, for women, for the underprivileged were the foundation of a new America.

               That was true.  But the foundation has serious cracks, as we’ve seen in the past few years. 

               The one thing that seemed positive in these events was the way Americans came together in the aftermath.  After Pearl Harbor, America joined the World War.  We fought to free those who were captured, enslaved, tortured and killed simply because they worshipped differently or looked differently.  And we prevailed.

               After the 1960s, we passed landmark legislation ensuring the rights of Americans in minority groups, and with disabilities, and laws that ensure women could make safe choices about their own bodies.  We enacted laws to strengthen voting rights and assist in voter registration.

               After 9/11, we banded together as a country to fight terrorism, both foreign and domestic.  We changed the way we travel, willingly (though with some cheerful complaints) to be sure no one boarded a train, bus, or airplane with weapons.  We strengthened security measures and regulations and were happy to do it.  We did all this, while displaying the American flag on our homes, on lapel pins, and in store windows.

               America came together to ensure the safety of all Americans.

               I supposed that’s why the current atmosphere both puzzles and concerns me.  We have been fighting a new and deadly virus for twenty months.  The smartest and most skilled medical professionals tell us that we must socially distance ourselves, wash our hands frequently, wear masks inside and/or in public, and get vaccinated. 

               Wow.  No marches, no protests, no young people being sent off to fight in foreign country, no assassinations.  Just get vaccinated and wear a mask.

               You’d think we have done all this by now.  You’d think we’d have the virus, and now its’ horrible variant, dead and gone from our country. But no, somehow, this “fight” seems too difficult for some Americans to process.  They want to cry “medical freedom” (which, by the way, is not in the Constitution so I’m unclear what they mean). 

               If they don’t want to take their blood pressure medication or their insulin, that’s fine. They only kill themselves.  But not taking this vaccination can harm others.  That’s not medical freedom.  That’s just wrong. 

               They claim they don’t “trust” the science.  But every day, they trust the science that built their vehicle, their television, their phone, and the processed food they put in their bodies.  They trust the science that built their guns, and the breweries that make their favorite beverage.  So…I just don’t get it.

               It’s a war, America.  Come on, wear the mask.  Get the shot.  Too many people have died for our real freedoms for us to disregard their sacrifices.