Does Anyone Know What s Going on Here?

"Change is inevitable, except from vending machines."

ANONYMOUS

MY FATHER USED TO TELL ME, "YOU DON T TAKE

kindly to change." And even though my life has had its share of

adventures and new directions, I ve come to realize that he was

right. I ve often resisted change and had trouble letting go of what

was familiar, comfortable and secure. Here s a simple example.

In 1984 my wife and I moved from a condominium to our first

house. I was faced with many new pleasures that apartment

dwellers don t have to bother with, like shoveling snow and cut-

ting grass. I decided to use a manual lawn mower, because it was

what I was used to--and I was a little intimidated by the motor-

ized ones, having seen numerous finger injuries over the years.

Besides, its pleasant, rhythmic sound reminded me of spring. I d

also be making an environmental statement (no noise or air pol -

lution from our house)! Things went well for a while.., until the

grass got thicker in July... until the first time I had to mow after a

rain, when the grass was still wet.., and until I discovered that

pushing the mower uphill wasn t nearly as pleasant as pushing it

downhill. The second year, my neighbor smiled over the fence one

day and said to his son, "C mere, Matt, here s a history lesson for

you! This is how people used to cut the grass. Take a good look.

You ll never see anything like it again." We both laughed, but it

was one of those moments of clarity. I finally acknowledged I was

making the job harder than it needed to be, given the technology

so readily available. That afternoon I visited my local hardware

store (to make the leap from the fifties into the eighties) and heard

myself thinking, "You see, Dad, I m not afraid of change!"