Underdog's latest post reminded me of this story from my younger days:


Way back when Ben and I were first married and had just had our first child, we had only one car. Since Ben was a field service technician, he had to drive it. I really didn't mind staying home all the time with wee Mike, but Ben felt it would be good for me to have a car. So he found a Thunderbird (can't remember the year, but it was one of those boats with a front end three times as long as the back end). And since it ran sort of rough and had quite a few miles on it, he decided it would be good to put a new motor in it. Now, I came from a family where, when a car died, it went to the car graveyard. In trying to convince me that his idea was a good one, Ben made this comment: "Rip the old one out, slap a new one in. 700 bucks. Two weeks, tops."

Fast forward almost a year. The tab is at $2000 and the car runs so rough I can't drive it. If you have to brake, you use your left foot so your right foot can keep giving it gas. It sits for many months, then is finally, mercifully, stolen. We have no desire to look for it. I pity the thief.

So now, whenever someone has an idea that will cost very little and take very little time, we all chorus, "700 bucks. Two weeks, tops."

Be thankful ~

Karen