The things we don't think about....

There was a massive fire last night at an automotive dealership. No lives were lost and it appears that the fire was accidentally started by a spark when a cleaning crew was buffing a floor. The new car showroom was not directly affected although there may be smoke damage and must have an unpleasant smell this morning. The entire repair facility burned though, requiring firefighters from 12 stations to extinguish the flames. No people were injured but between 20-30 customer owned vehicles were lost.

Why am I writing about this? The business that my husband had was near this dealership and we interacted with them routinely. This alone would make it feel like a family member has suffered. More than that, despite being a business owner for many years with a large desk in his office, my husband was always a mechanic at heart. I've been a mechanic's wife since I said "I do" all those years ago. 

I am sorry for the loss and inconvenience that the vehicle owners are experiencing but I believe insurance and good business practices (this dealership has a good reputation) will take care of them. As a mechanic's wife, my heart goes out to the mechanics who have lost the tools of their trade. Hopefully, insurance will take care of them too, but replacements won't appear overnight. 

The things we don't think about...

If you aren't a mechanic or related to one, do you have any idea how much they have invested to those huge tool chests?  Here is the Snap-On Tool site if you'd like to get an idea. Mechanics are paid hourly. No place to work means no income, and depending on how long it takes for insurance to investigate and issue checks to recover the cost of replacements, they have no tools to work anywhere at the moment.

The things we don't think about...

I've experienced snobbery by people who have never had grease under the fingernails. Some think that "grease monkeys" really are more monkey than human. Some of these people don't know which part of a paintbrush is held to apply paint to a wall so their limited opinion means nothing to me. Every single profession is necessary. Those who look down on trades annoy the hell out of me. If we are lucky and remain healthy, we may never need a surgeon. Many people never consult a lawyer in their lifetime. I'm not implying that doctors and lawyers are guilty of snobbery, but some people who make assumptions will think only the letters that they recognize after a surname (B.A., J.D., M.D.) are people of value. How shallow and wrong they are! Everyone is going to need a plumber sometime in their life and wants a mechanic that they can trust. Every person has value. Your education, your home address, and your religious beliefs can all be worthwhile to you, but they don't intrinsically make you better than another human being.

The things we don't think about...

Getting back to the loss of tools, I'm wondering how many of us have up to date inventories of the tools we use in our livelihoods. Or how about inventories of valuables that would be necessary if a fire occurred in our homes? We always think we can do the paperwork tomorrow, but sometimes tomorrow comes with a blaze that isn't just bright sunshine. 

If I could make three wishes for the world at large, they would be:

Respect one another.

Be kind.

Take care of your own business, both work and personal business.

If we all spent more time tending to our own thoughts and actions, we'd have less time to judge others. Can you imagine how different things could be?