THOUGHT for the day......

Revisiting Zen and the art of motorcycle riding.....to know quality

Quality, Pirsig says, surrounds us. It is in a rug cleaned with care, a well-maintained garden, and the order of words in a sentence. I do not know if there is a way to trick oneself into noticing more of these instances of quality, nor do I know if enlightenment rests on the accumulation of little ecstasies, nor do I believe—at least anymore—that those of us who have sought the path through books, meditation, or study have any more access to “quality” than those who have not. If there’s one thing I would say to Pirsig, or even that younger self driving across Montana whose head was filled with a vain, almost-inhuman spirituality, is that everyone, in their way, is trying to find the thing you’re trying to find. ♦

I am grateful to the house cleaner,who for $20 an hour does IMMACULATE quality cleaning....I have had several cleaners,some terrible,some just ok,and some good....GOOD cost considerable more than $20 an hour. NOTICING her detail oriented demeanor is to know quality.

The front desk person at my doctor's office,is forever on top of things.....proactive,friendly,goes the extra mile and is essential to a well run office. I see
quality in this service person and my doctor is so fortunate to have her.

A RARE COMMODITY THESE DAYS.

Having recently dealt with a defective plumber, I can appreciate this.

so odd, I was just going to post an experience with a plumber,that is the EXACT opposite We replaced 3 sets of old faucets (original to the house). NO clue, so I just entered info into a website (Angie's)and within literally minutes, got a phone call. VERY friendly,very knowledgeable and was able to schedule us in a matter of days,rather than weeks(it was over a weekend)

Came out on Monday,was here over three hours and was so completely professional,he showed us some problems,ran across some problems he had not seen before (same faucet,same mfg. same model,but a different part,would not fit.....Home Depot is 10 minutes away....made some trips.,finally finished the project...
all the while, informing us, joking with us and just being A REALLY NICE GUY. charge was very reasonable for all the hic cups in the job. Gave him a glowing 5 star report on ANGIE'S.

I do all my own repairs for the most part including HVAC, plumbing, and electrical. However, I spent the last year remodeling and updating my home so I could sell it and ran out of time so I started hiring people to help me out.

I had a 50’s wall mounted toilet that was leaking so I pulled it and replaced the seal. Unfortunately when I was tightening the 4 big nuts that held it to the wall flange the toilet literally broke in half. Since nobody makes a wall mount toilet with the same bolt pattern I had to convert it to a standard floor mount which required moving the wall back 12” into a basement closet.

I had 4 quotes from well known professional companies that all came in at $3500 to $4200… all said they had to break up the concrete and replace about 6’ of cast iron pipe along with a floor mount flange.

I was about to do the job myself when I decided to check Craigslist and find an individual who may be cheaper. I found a young man (about 30 yrs old) who was a plumber who did side jobs for cash. He told me he could cut the old pipe and flange just below the floor and then install a floor adapter. I let him try and he did a sweet job in just a few hours and charged me $500!

I wish I could take this guy with me to Wyoming to plumb my future Bandominium.

My guy did good work, but you could see he was one of those people whose outside life was a complete disaster so he was constantly trying to fix that in-between working for me.

I live on a small remaining portion of a ranch.....the pasture is rented out to boarding horses.
A new owner bought these horses at the beginning of the year. He is a "horse whisper",these horses were not neglected, but just THINGS to feed and the previous owner did minimal for these horses.

The NEW owner, not only bought these horses, he ADDED to the herd with a "mustang round up"palomino
.
I have watched him (thru the summer) groom (NEVER saw that with the old owner) talk to and touch
these animals,showing them physical touch/care. The mustang was "green"and the patience and persistence it required to even allow a saddle blanket to be placed on her back took at least most of he summer.

I have watched (,thru the summer),him teaching his daughter to ride...from clueless confusion to being at one with the horse.(Monday I watched her gallop across the pasture,in complete union with the horse) . He has an 8 yr son who is learning the same thing.

THIS FALL...the palomino was blanketed,saddled and harnessed,being not quite sure it liked that, BUT a rider was on her. She has yet to REALLY accept this new experience,but she is,week by week ,doing better.

THIS MAN is a quality father and a quality caretaker of his creatures. It has been an unexpected joy to witness such a thing.

Nice to see that.