This may initially appear to be off topic but bear with me. I must confess that I have been allowing Pete Hegseth to take up far too much of the real estate of my brain lately. This is mostly because he is so incompetent (but not nearly as incompetent as his boss ) that my management consultant persona cannot help but want to fix what I believe to be the root cause of his executive ineptness.
Pete’s tragic flaw, in my opinion, is that he doesn’t understand the key components of how to approach a thorny problem: you must consider the known knowns, the known unknowns, and the unknown unknowns. Since I feel sorry for him, I will, completely free of charge, provide a case study on this concept as illustrated by the realities of cottage life, especially when opening, closing, or in fact any time at all.
The Known Knowns
The water pump thingy needs to be replaced. In the fall, when the jet pump came out of the water and was being prepared for its long winter’s nap, the fitting that connects it to the pipe that delivers the water up the hill broke. So as one does, this deficiency was duly noted to be dealt with in the spring and a replacement for the thingy was purchased and even put in a place where it might actually be found when needed.
Fast forward to today. The good news: the thingy was found right where it was put for safekeeping. The bad news: it wasn’t the right version of the required thingy. See Pete? Even when you know the known, that may not help you.
A wheel on the buggy is irredeemably flat. There are some downsides to having a fantastic view of the lake. A view exists because it requires a certain elevation, therefore a buggy is required to schlep provisions up the hill. Towards the end of last cottage season, it became apparent that one of the buggy wheels was refusing to remain inflated.
Fast forward to today. The good news: the buggy wheel has been taken into town for someone smarter than Pete to fix. The bad: the buggy wheel has been taken into town. The glass half-full view of this situation is that hauling the groceries, water, and wine up the hill under person-power (seven trips!) is much cheaper than going to the gym.
The power will go out. This, Pete, is the most fundamental of known knowns. Some things always happen. And yet, in the calm of a brilliant summer day, it’s easy to forget to check if all battery-enabled devices are firmly in the ‘green’ zone. Because even without clouds on the horizon, electricity is capricious. Much like your boss.
The Known Unknowns
Something is wrong with the dishwasher. You may recall that the dishwasher has been unreliable for some time. The source of the problem has yet to be identified by anyone who might know about these things, because whenever it gets threatened within earshot (much like telling a pet they are going to visit the vet), it somehow smartens up. A known unknown that is mercurial enough to just let it be for the moment, lest it decide to declare a war on dishwashing. Much like your boss, Pete.
Something is wrong with the living room fan. Last year at the beginning of June, the ceiling fan in the living room called in sick. At point of writing, it is still on long-term disability, hanging inert at the thirty-foot peak of the great room. The cause is yet to be determined, because the investigation would require erecting scaffolding in the living room, which is definitely not in alignment with actually using the living room. A known unknown that will cause a huge pain in order to attempt to become known. Possibly like those nuclear weapons, Pete.
What the heck happened to the bread knife? A few years ago, the bread knife disappeared. You know the kind: about eight inches long and serrated and also does a good job on tomatoes. It was kind of a locked-room mystery: the knife had never, ever left the kitchen. I did without a bread knife for far too long, hoping it would show up. It never did. The current theory is it somehow jumped, unseen into the garbage from the bread board in an attempt to experience life outside the kitchen. Sometimes we don’t adequately understand life outside our known universe and encounter the dangers of the known unknowns. Sound familiar, Pete?
The Unknown Unknowns
Your guess is as good as mine, Pete. But what you are forgetting is that something is always, eventually, going to bite you in the nether regions. Expect it when you least expect it. Advice on the house. You’re welcome.
Wellll! You seemed to have summed up maintenance very accurately. I have been in maintenence in one form or another my whole adult life and even previous to that. My father was a true believer in that if you owned a bicycle, you best know how to fix it. It sounds to me that Pete has a career but not the enthusiasm required to excel at a high level. Unfortunately this is a common issue across our country. Preventive maintenance is a dying art. Advise on the fan. If you have to put up scaffolding it would be wise to just replace it so as not to have to do it twice.
Cheers Keith.
Noted re the fan. But it is very attractive and wasn’t cheap. Much like a good boyfriend. Alas, I think you are right Keith…cut the losses.