|
We
have a lot of clocks in our home. Most
of them make some sort of noise on the hour (steam trains, cartoon
characters, birds, dogs, horses, wild animals; I’m not
kidding!), some of them on the half-hour as well, and one that even
chimes on the quarter hour. We
just like clocks. Needless to
say, we are usually aware of the time!
Some of my favorites are the cuckoo clocks that we purchased on a
trip to the Black Forest, and they needed some TLC:
cleaning, oiling, and adjusting.
Enter
Skip, the clock repairman who believes in the long-lost art of house
calls. He took the clocks
back to his shop and fixed them up beautifully.
When he returned them, he placed them back on the wall with loving
care and proceeded to explain the “proper” way to wind them.
Be sure to pull straight down or the chain can come off of the gear
or the weight may bang against the wall, leaving a mark. Pull only one chain at a time because pulling more than one
at a time a) causes the chains to be pulled at an angle and b) puts too
much stress on the hanger on the wall and/or the back of the clock.
Don’t pull them too quickly because they may come off of their
gears. When
setting the clock it is better to turn the hands counter clock-wise
because of the nature of the internal mechanism.
And so on, and so forth. For
about 15 minutes, Skip explained the finer points of something that seemed
so simple and so obvious that I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
It
recently dawned on me that this experience serves as a great illustration
of two important points. First
of all, the importance of education; there is always a “right” way and
a “wrong” way to do just about anything, regardless of how simple and
obvious it may seem. It is
unlikely that what you are trying to do in your business has never been
tried before. Why suffer through the mistakes that others have made when
they did what you are doing? Do
everything you can to learn from other people’s experience and save
yourself the grief of repeating their mistakes.
I used to pull all three chains at once; it never occurred to me
that the back of the clock could break under the strain. He’s seen it happen. I’m
glad that I learned from his experience before
the clock came crashing down because a), the falling clock would probably
break the glass table beneath it, b) I might be physically injured if hit
by the clock or flying glass and c), I cherish my clocks and would hate to
lose one. Find seminars,
classes, tapes, books, or websites that can help you avoid the avoidable. Your time and money will be well spent.
The other important point is that you can learn and
grow from the most unlikely places.
Keep your eyes and ears open; you just never know when a “Skip”
will waltz into your life for even a brief moment and leave you with a
tidbit that will change you forever.
Would
you like to use this article in your own publication, e-zine, newsletter,
or website? Click
here
|
|
