Wonder of Wonders Miracle of Miracles

I am not a handy person. I can drive for hundreds of miles at a stretch but I am helpless when it comes to car maintenance. I’m a pretty good cook but don’t ask me to fix the stove. And though computers are a mainstay in my daily life, when I look inside all I see is a jumble of wires, cords, tabs, and thingies hanging out at odd angles.

Just so you know, however, I did a handy thing the other day.

It all started when I was working at my writing desk when a motorcycle roared by. It was loud. Real loud. No problem. I used to live overlooking a six-lane highway in LA, where there was heavy traffic at 2:00 AM. One motorcycle barreling down County Road 7 is nothing.

Only the noise didn’t stop, nor did it fade into the distance. That’s when I realized it was coming out of the tower of my Personal Computer. So I did what every computer tech would have told me to do if I’d called.

I turned it off and on again.

The noise didn’t go away. I tried a second time. Same thing. So I took a photo of all the leads and wires leading into the back of my PC, unplugged them, opened it up, and sprayed away all the dust. That often does the trick. I then plugged in the power and turned it back on.

Still noisy. Now, however, I could see the guts while the computer was running. The problem was with the fan that keeps the computer’s innards cool. It was broken. Unplugging everything again I tightened all the screws attaching the fan to the housing. No go. Then I removed the four screws attaching the fan to the computer and turned it all back on. It still made the noise. I decided it needed replacing.

So I did what I should have done in the first place. I texted my tech guy, my oldest son Francisco, and asked him what he thought.

It turned out he was on a well-deserved vacation in Costa Rica. Even so, he put the proper replacement fan in the cart of my Amazon account. I bought it, and the package duly arrived.

At first I thought I’d wait until Francisco got back and ask him to replace the fan when he had a free day, which is not often. Besides, when I opened the package there were two fans. That meant I could try to replace it myself and if I messed up Francisco could still rescue me.

I had to figure out where the cords on the old fan snaked through the housing and onto another panel, and where it was plugged in, and how to unplug it. There were lots of plugs without anything attached so I used a white pencil to mark up the right one before I unplugged the fan. My joints only bend in one direction, but with a contortionist’s skill I bent my fingers backwards to worm the new cord into the right position. Eventually everything was plugged in, screwed on, and ready to go.

Wonder of wonders,

miracle of miracles – it worked! It booted right up, silently, silently, and oh so smoothly. I may not be a Handy Man, but man, I’ve done one handy thing in my life!

Still, just because I spoiled my perfect klutzy record don’t think I won’t call Francisco the next time something goes wrong with a computer that requires intelligence and cool nerve. I got lucky once, and I know better than to push.

My luck, that is.

Frank Ramirez is the Senior Pastor of the Union Center Church of the Brethren.