Roadblocks, detours and other disasters are more than just a cause for frustation on a road trip. They are also a source of stress and tension at the office, on the construction site, or when trying to navigate the labryinth of customer service.

I am old enough to remember a world where we patched the flat tire along the highway, but not every hour. When we left work at the end of the day, we breathed a sigh of relief because the boss would not be able to reach us until we returned the nexrt morning.

In years past when facing a pressing deadline, a broken typewriter ribbon was a minor frustration that was easily resolved. Today the stress of the looming deadline is magnified exponentially when the screen goes black, the internet is down, or a file is lost somewhere in the mystical elecronic realm.

More than a detour or roadblock

I started my writing career with a typewriter. Adapting to the word pocessor with the annoying paper clip that stared at you and offered advice took some adjustment. I wouldn’t want to write another book on a typewriter. But days like this have me thinking about typewriters in the context of halocyn days.

This round of disasters started late yesterday afternoon with the notice that a round of updates were needed for the computer. These notices have provided a better understanding of what it was like on the bridge of the Titanic when the captain was attempting to set a speed record while coursing through ice filled waters.

The popup error message was the first sign of impending disaster. Vanished icons from the taskbar was another. But it was the inability to access files, or find files, that made it quite clear. This wasn’t going to be a road block or detour. I was facing a potential disaster that was compounded by mistakes.

Grab The Bull By The Horns

I was less than 24 hours away from an online program for a group in Tulsa. Ironically it was for a Ford Model A Club and earlier in the day the tech fellow and I had tested connections as well as equipment. That brief meeting included a conversation about the simplicity of the Model A being a reason for the cars enduring popularity.

Resolution of problems today is quite different. But so are the causes. Still, I know of only way to resolve any big problem. Grab the bull by the horns.

So, after trying everything I knew to do, which wasn’t much, I shut the system down. Then I grabbed a bottle of Coors, sat on the back porch, and in a star filled sky watched a sliver moon sink in the west.

Dawn of a new day

Long before sunrise I turned on the coffee pot and headed for the office. The goal was to endure some time spent with the folks at tech support that were working far, far away. But first there was the need to do battle with a malfunctioning coffee pot.

In between answering questions from tech support and following their instructions, I set up the laptop as a back up for tonight. And that is when I discovered a connectivity issue with the internet. So, I dug the ancient Dell system out of mothballs. As might be expected it was in dire needs of updates.

I shared my plight on Facebook, not as a complaint but as an explanation. Could the public posting strenghten my case if I needed to plea for an extension as I was also dealing with a tight deadline for a University of Nevada project?

And here we go

Fast forward to this afternoon, less than two hours from show time. A friend saw my post and threw me a lifeline in the form of a recently updated computer.

Fortunately it was needed. After more than five grueling hours spent with tech support Jim HInckley’s America was back in business. Sort of. The rest of the afternoon was spent reinstalling EVERYTHING.

So, I should be able to start making up for lost time in the morning. And I will be able to begin restoring the self deception that in this tech driven world things have been simplified. And, perhaps, in time I can see this series of roadblocks, detours and disastersa as a learning experience.