Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Everyday Amazing Grace

October 29, 2014

A couple years ago on one of our mission trips to Cuba, we were in need of two screws for an electrical box. Two screws! Back in the states, we could have bought a bucket of them at Home Depot, Ace Hardware, True Value, or any electrical supply store. We wasted three hours driving all over the city of 20,000, to no avail. Everyday life in Cuba!Tools, supplies, medicines, groceries, you name it; things we take for granted here are nowhere to be found. It forces people to be pretty inventive; the celebrated classic Cuban cars from the fifties have mostly been converted to diesel. When parts are unavailable, you do what you must to keep it running.

My plan for today was to go to town, get a few supplies so I could get Linda's '48 Ford 8N tractor ready for its winter work. New plugs and oil filter, a gallon of oil, and we would be ready to go. Plugs and a new headlight were also in order so I could put the bike to bed for the winter. I got the oil and tractor spark plugs. Even Tractor Supply didn't carry filters for something that old. And when it comes to bikes, everything now is LED, fancy and rectangular. A seven inch sealed beam? The young guy at Auto Zone barely knew what I was talking about.

The difference between today's somewhat frustrating wild goose chase and what I experienced in Cuba is simple. Anything the stores didn't have, they could order. I can have it in my grubby little mitts by Friday. That's only two days from now! I feel like the Russian-born comedian Yakov Smirnoff, who once talked about his first experience in a US supermarket. "They had powdered milk, where all you had to do to get milk was to add water. Next I saw powdered orange juice. Add water and you have orange juice. Then I came to an aisle where the sign said 'baby powder,' and I thought, "What a country!"

What a country, indeed! At worst, I was mildly inconvenienced. So I switched from changing oil to working on the bathroom trim. People all around the world would be absolutely amazed at all the stuff that is almost instantly available to us via special order or a few mouse clicks on the computer. A credit card or in the case of internet sales, a visit to Paypal, and it's all said and done. It is ordinary life to us, but a mere two generations ago, what we take for granted would have been beyond their wildest imaginations. If we were to believe all the political rhetoric filling the air as we approach mid term elections, we would be convinced that we are worse off than ever before. I suppose Armageddon could be just around the corner; no one really knows how seemingly insignificant matters can suddenly ignite a conflagration, but when it comes to daily life, we are blessed indeed. I am grateful to be living where in the world I live and when in history I live.

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