April 2009 Newsletter
Online Issue # 21
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The Front Page
All Things Possible
“Our life is not a problem to be solved, it is a gift to be opened.”
-Wayne Muller
Some of you know that I have an ongoing interest which I've affectionately referred to as my one and only hobby: reading used car ads. Not just any used car ads, Volvo station wagon ads. Except for one new car that came with a loan right after college, all of my car buys have been older used vehicles, cash cars I call them. Except for a 1974 light blue VW Super Beetle, all of my used cars have been Volvos, and all but one of those have been station wagons.
I didn't plan this, it's one of those things that happened. As I think about it though, it really fits who I am—practical, thrifty, adventuresome, helpful, and a dreamer. Even though I live in the city, I like a vehicle that can haul stuff at a moments notice without a fuss. Stuff like building supplies, compost, groceries, friends, furniture, pets, plants, and the unexpected find.
For as long as I've owned cars, going on 35 years, I've been fortunate to know and work with wonderful mechanics whom I've learned about by word-of-mouth. In all those years there have been a grand total of four mechanics in my life. Two in Duluth, one in northeast Minneapolis, and one in Dinkytown, where I've been a loyal customer for over 25 years.
Originally, the auto repair shop in Dinkytown, on the corner of 14th Avenue S.E. and Eighth Street S.E., was the Gorshe Brothers Garage. Greg worked there with Mr. Gorshe and his brother, who have since retired. I cried when I found out about the retirement, but the business still bears their name, Gorshe Auto Service, and, fortunately, Greg continues to work there.
Because I choose to buy and drive older used cars, it's essential for me to have a mechanic I trust completely, as well as AAA extended towing. That way if something unexpected goes wrong I can be 100 miles from home and still be towed back to the “garage of my choice” in Dinkytown where Greg will take care of everything. Over the years that has happened on several occasions, but it's nothing I worry about anymore. When a mechanic like Greg always does good work, is knowledgeable, honest, and fair there is nothing to worry about.
Even though I regularly scan the used Volvo ads, I'm rarely car shopping. I just like to have a pulse on what's out there and what it's going for, in case. Lately though, I find myself scanning with more focused intent. This past winter has been particularly hard on my 1992 station wagon. Mechanically it's still sound at 221,000 miles, but the driver's side doors are beginning to visibly rust along the bottom. I checked out the possibility of buying a used door from a recycler of Volvo parts and I'm actually thinking about that. I guess it depends on the door repair estimate and what shows up in the ads.
I recognize that my car hobby parallels what many employees have always done with jobs. Right now, so many people who are employed are especially grateful to be working, even if the work they do isn't the work they really want. They show up and do their best, but they're also keeping an eye and an ear open for what's out there. They want and need to know, in case they happen to uncover something of interest or find themselves in a position of needing to make a quick change. In both of these examples, we're now seeking and using information online rather than in the newspaper that's delivered to our front door. And who hasn't noticed, there seem to be more cars to be sold than jobs to be filled?
So much has changed, and is still changing, to the point that many of us feel disoriented in an increasingly unfamiliar world. Stable things we counted on to guide and ground us, to act as landmarks in our lives, suddenly vanish or seem in danger of toppling. It's easy for worry and fear to overwhelm us and paralyze our best creative energies. But that is only one aspect of what is possible.
I'm reminded of a favorite line of mine from Wayne Muller's book, Sabbath, “often it is when we do not know the outcome that all things become possible.” This, too, is an aspect of what is possible now, a time to awaken and channel our individual and collective creative energies. We do not know the outcome; it is still being created—by you, by me, by all of us.
With gratitude,
Laurie Mattila
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