A piece of the puzzle

Not all of my 'jobs' are glamorous like pulling weeds or thinking up new ways to chunk pumpkins. I'm also chief errand runner.  Today I had to go to Agri-Supply in Greenville (I could have gone to Garner, but I hate that store and I hate going to Garner) for plow parts.  I hate going to parts stores.  First off, you get there and the place never looks quite on the level.  There's never anywhere to park.  There's a minimum of two doors, neither of which are clearly marked.  Then you get in and the place has this smell.  It's difficult to describe, something between grease and oil and diesel fuel and mixed with thirty year old dirt and dust.  Every single one smells like that, regardless of you're going to pick up a starter or plow points.  Even the chains like Advance.  Inhale deep next time you walk in one.  You'll see what I mean.

Then comes the worst part of all.  You walk to a counter surrounded by men that you just know are looking at you like a complete idiot and attempt to tell them what you need.  I learned the hard way, I now request specific descriptions (this in itself is perilous for those of you who know The Husband.  He is the king of long, rambling stories that end up confusing more than informing.  Especially about something I know nothing about so I am completely dependent on his knowledge.  Yeah.  Scary.).  Still though, they never fail to ask a question I never anticipated and I end up saying words like 'thingy' or using phrases like, 'I think it's the thingy that goes on the end of the thing' and sounding like the exact stereotype I try to avoid.  

Finally, after at least two phone calls (because he never fails to not answer the first one) and a lot of blank looks on both our parts, I have the part and I'm praying it's right.  Today wasn't so bad.  I had a diagram to show the guy at the parts desk and he went exactly to the right place and loaded up my cart.  The place did smell like the grease-dust-oil combo, and there was perma-dirt on the floor, but everyone was very nice and helpful (much better than the one in Garner) and I think we were in and out of there in twenty minutes.  All in all it was one of my best part store experiences hands down.


So this is probably not one of the most illuminating blogs ever, but it does go to illustrate a point. A puzzle is made of many pieces, we needed the plow parts so the plow would work correctly and the ground would be right for the vegetables we're going to plant and grow for you to eat.  Getting the plow right was just a piece of that larger puzzle.