People Over Things

         




     This is my printer. Take a good look at  it. It's a nice printer, but it's not long for this world. I reached my breaking point with it yesterday. I had to print over 500 pages. Naturally with that volume of printing, the machine will need an ink change.

     My printer transformed from a docile, compliant machine into an evil beast. That's right. I called it an evil beast. Yesterday my word choice varied and escalated. Let your imagination fill in the blanks...

    Anyway, I digress. We were symbiotic. Working well together and just buzzing through the pages until the ink ran out. What normally was a five-minute max task, evolved into an hour of frustration. Little cartridge in little slot. People with PD don't do too well with anything little. 

    So there I toiled for an hour. Until the battle was over. I capitulated. The evil, little beast had won. How was I going to finish printing off 500 pages? The evil beast sat there with a smug look, triumphant even, when a new strategy popped into my head. Call for reinforcements. After a five-minute argument with myself about bothering someone with such a mundane task, I finally made the phone call which transfixed my position from vanquished to victor. I called a friend  who dropped what she was doing and came right over. After arriving, she surveyed the situation, popped the offensive ink cartridge in the slot, and filled my printer with paper. In one short visit she turned a potential murder into a silent reprieve.      

    Not only did she save my printer from being gashed and crushed, she saved me  My ineffective thanks didn't carry the weight of my feelings as I marveled at her willingness to drop everything to help me "People over things," I murmured.

    My friend could have postponed the interruption. She had grandchildren visiting, yet she still came over. Maybe she could hear the desperation in my voice. Maybe she needed a little five-minute diversion. Or maybe she's just someone who's willing to make time for a friend.

    How about you? Are you a person who prioritizes friends? Can you be counted on to defeat the "evil beasts" of this world? This act of putting people over things maybe doesn't seem like a big deal to you. But people over things is huge. It shows your commitment to the friendship 

    People over things. Do what matters. 

    Anyone need a new printer?

Comments

  1. 3sistersJuly 14, 2022 at 9:20 AM

    I do not need a new printer, but everyone needs a good laugh, even at the expense of an "evil beast." And a good message/reminder for a person who is more prone to put tasks ahead of people.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My2centsAugust 22, 2022 at 6:17 PM

    I got mad at my last printer ... a not-very-old HP OfficeJet something-or-other. So I went out and bought an Epson EcoTank. It doesn't have cartridges. You use bottles of ink to fill ink wells. It's pretty slick. And ink bottle refills are about $12 a piece, making my purchase of four bottles about $35 cheaper than buying cartridges. So far, so good.

    ReplyDelete

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