If you know me or even if you just follow me on Facebook, you will “get” that I am very attached to technology and by technology, I mean my internet. I have a personal WIFI hotspot on my phone and I swear that is the best thing ever invented. I am never without a connection. Almost never.
Yesterday, I took at little road trip with my sister and dad up to fetch some things from Arnold, CA. Arnold is a beautiful resort town in the foothills of the Sierras, about 20 miles east of Angel’s Camp. This is where a lot of gold rush activity happened in the mid-1800s. The towns are small and quaint and everything is really chill.
We were in Blue Lake Springs, which is frequented heavily by lots of people from the Bay Area/Silicon Valley. They have a golf course, pools and lots of cabins. And no AT&T coverage. None. One time a few years ago, my youngest daughter and I slept in the car overnight in the pool parking lot because I couldn’t find my dad’s house and there was no cell phone coverage and god knows where you find a real pay phone these days.
I was able to do a lot of work on the way up in the car, but I was scrambling because I knew what would happen when we reached Angels Camp. It would go dark, so to speak. And it did, right on cue.
We were on our way to help my dad retrieve an emergency generator. It’s a big engine inside the bed of a small truck that has been rigged to be towed.
My dad is 87 now and he toys with the idea he can still go take care of these jobs all by himself, but my sister knew it would be better for us to go with him, even if just to help drive and feed him lunch and he was happy for the company and help.
We got there and my dad got right to work on assessing the situation. The tow hitch had sat out in the heat, snow and rain for several years and needed to be removed and cleaned. Dad is so cute and always has been about tools. He has great tools – being a mechanical engineer – he has everything needed. The place we were at had a nice little garage workshop too.
We got the hitch off the trailer and brought it into the garage and put it in the vise. Dad took it all apart and decided this little metal piece needed to be restored. That piece, along with some washers, a bolt, a spring, and a metal tab, all help the hitch come down onto the ball and when tightened, grab it.
It has been a long long time since I’ve done anything mechanical like that. Taking that simple hitch apart with my dad reminded me of working out in the garage with him when I was a kid. I couldn’t have a car until I was able to change the spark plugs (including gapping them) and change the oil myself. My sister was impressed that I knew the names of all the parts and how they went together. My dad was grateful for my good eyesight and manual dexterity in helping hold all the parts together.
I was thinking about engineers while we were working and how this little collection of metal pieces weighing about 5 pounds allows you to take a generator several hundred miles on the highway safely. Putting all the parts back together properly keeps the generator from flying off the back of the truck and into someone else’s car. These are small things that engineers do that make the world a better place.
Working with my dad yesterday was so analog. The 100-foot tall pine trees and the crisp nip of fall were rejuvenating. Getting my hands greasy and into the metal was satisfying. The smell of the oil coming out of the little pump can was a throwback to those days out the garage working on my car with my dad. Not having internet for a few hours was fine. I survived. In fact, I thrived.
