Take It To The Limit

 “A good man always knows his limitations.” Clint Eastwood said this in the movie Magnum Force. As I continually strive to be a good man, I try to be aware of my limitations. For instance, like any Minnesotan, I can tolerate cold weather up to a point, or in this case, down to a point on the thermometer.

Saturday was cold, but I had heard that Sunday would be even colder. I’m not one to plan too far ahead, but when I know that the following day will be cold enough to tear your nose from your face, I will adjust my routine.

On the weekends I like to mix my time between inside and outside activities, but with the colder weather coming I concentrated on getting my outside stuff done before I retreated to the safety of my house. I was having trouble getting a piece of equipment started so I got up early to run to the store and get a battery charger, but before I left I needed a jump-start myself with a cup of coffee. I drank that while I waited for the fire in the wood stove to catch. A cold draft racing down the chimney made it challenging, and it took a little more time than normal.

Once the charger was hooked up, I decided to give it some time to do as advertised and charge the battery. While waiting, I tackled what initially appeared to be an easy inside project – the replacement of a temperamental electrical outlet (sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t). I have replaced outlets before and was comfortable I could get the job done before the battery was charged.

Once both the electrical power and outlet plate are off it’s usually a matter of pulling the outlet from the wall and disconnecting three wires. Usually. This time the outlet was being unusually stubborn and would not come out easily; I assumed it was because it was cold outside, as everything moves slower when it’s cold. That wasn’t it.

There were four additional wires connected to the rear that were holding the outlet in place. The outlet was being used as a junction between the power source and two other ends down the line (a light, another outlet, some other modern convenience or the neighbor’s electric fence).

Instead of letting a tolerable, but annoying situation be and putting the outlet back into the wall. I cut the four wires, disconnected the expected three wires, plus two additional grounding wires and removed the cursed outlet. I now had nine wires to contend with in a box not large enough to keep a house mouse comfortable.

Even though I had done my best to cut the four wires close to the outlet I was left with wires that were too short to reconnect to another outlet. I pulled and I tugged, but the wall would surrender no more wire to me.

I tried everything. I went to the basement (without tripping on the second step) to see if I could remedy the problem from a different angle, I even tried to splice more wire to the short ends – but the thought of the house catching fire after the wires were tucked back behind the plate caused me to reconsider.

I was starting to get mad and hot. Then I remembered the battery charger; I went outside to check on it. By now it had enough time to charge the battery and the equipment started right up.

Even though I had success in one area, I had to face facts. I was not going to be able to fix the outlet problem myself – I would need to call an electrician.

Once I had admitted this to myself, I cooled off and accepted the situation. Without regard to the quality of my character, I am keenly aware of my limitations.