Rule of Three

It has often been said that occurrences, particularly bad events, come in threes. I think I first heard this as a young man back in 1979 or 1980. What is left unsaid is the time frame in which the events occur. Depending upon time interval, you can probably conjure up many events that meet this "rule." Never having had the best of luck, one would think I would be used to this rule of three. This past Sunday while out in the early morning for a walk, I had time to ponder the rule of three that occurred on Saturday, December 17. The day began well enough, with clearing of three inches of snow from the snow storm the day before. A chore one gets used to in Wisconsin.

Ornament on  2016 Chistmas Tree

My wife and I, after clearing our driveway, and warm up with some tea, headed to Sun Prairie so she could finish getting the house in which I grew up ready for Christmas, and I could plow the large driveway. With another 4 to 7 inches expected, I decided it may be wise to plow twice, than one big event. It is a big drive that is cleared by use of a heavy plow on the front of a 27 hp garden tractor. Nearing the end of the plow operation, I noticed the blade was not turning correctly to one side. I stopped and discovered the problem was one I had experienced less than two years ago. Metal fatigue had occurred, again, and opened the area in which a bolt holds the plow blade to the assembly. This allowed that side of the blade to move free of the assembly. After some work, I was able to wire the blade, albeit not too successfully, to the assembly to avoid it coming off and being totally useless. I finished plowing. My disappointment is that the metal failed so soon again, and the effort and time to replace the part is not insignificant. Worse so in cold weather. Not the thing one wants to see a week before Christmas when 26 persons are expected to gather and celebrate the Christian feast day, and Santa too. As I completed plowing light snow once again started to fall, the entry of the next wave of snow. Snow would continue throughout the day and late in the day on Saturday.

Ornament on 2016 Christmas Tree

Many people can experience firsthand the conditions of the slippery roads caused by snow. About four in the afternoon, my wife said the mailman was in the drive, thinking we were getting a package I went to meet him at the door when I noticed him setting part of the mail box and part of its wood support in the snow bank next to the remainder of the support. He apologized and said he had slipped into the mailbox with the delivery truck. Better than hitting a car or person. Hey, I thought, I don't have to go get teh mail. It of course occurred to me that with sub-zero temperatures for Sunday, I best repair the mailbox at that time. Getting on my boots, coat, hat and gloves for my person after having cut to width two pieces of old plywood, left from a past project, grabbing eight deck screws, my drill and extension cord, and headed out to place “sister” supports on the post. My wife assisted by holding the broken off section in place while I screwed the plywood to the side and front. The way the post broke made it difficult to find sufficient width to hold the screws, but hopefully the mail box will survive to spring.

Outdoor Decoration on Sunday Morning, Dec. 18.

Winter has formally starts Wednesday, so spring is a long way off. Instead of spring, however, most of our thoughts are to advent and Christmas. Our house has a Christmas tree that we put up a couple weeks back. It is duly lighted with a good number of light strands, and has a good count of ornaments. Upon arriving home from church that Saturday night, the tree lights were turned on, and we noticed several strands no longer working. Trying to find the proper light male plug end, among many light plugs was not easy. It took some time to diagnose the problems, the main culprit being that one light strand, into which a couple others were plugged had a burned out fuse. I left the fuse replacement to my wife with her nimble hands while I started the process of re-plugging lights. Our third occurrence came to a successful conclusion.

Our 2016 Christmas Tree,
(With the lights working)

As I was walking early Sunday morning, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, I could see the half-moon set in the west sky, and the sun, with its golden rays glistening off the snow and ice Mud Lake, come up in the east. A temperature of six below can easily distract, but I thought of those three occurrences as first-world problems. In the big picture perhaps only the inability to plow snow would be a health and safety issue. Some days are meant for a walk, and that cold Sunday morning, with the strong northwest wind was one of them. After getting home, and warming myself with tea the Sunday paper finally arrived. After reading the paper, and looking at ads, my wife asked if I had ever heard of a Dyson Supersonic selling for $399.99 in an ad, which we figured to be a hair dryer, and a check of the internet proved our suspicions correct. A $400 hair dryer! This takes first-world issues to a whole other level. The person who receives that gift well better enjoy it. The problems, events, and purchases in our lives tell us a great deal of how we live, and of our priorities. A $400 hair dryer certainly says a great deal. This Christmas season, as we celebrate the birth of one part of the Trinity, t is wise for us to keep things in perspective, and think of our priorities in life. That early morning walk on a frigid day had benefit for the mind and soul.