There’s something about a garage. Here in the north, where the temperature right now is in single digits, we need four wheel drive even if we prefer two wheels. These days, though, our machine of choice is covered with a blanket or sheet, sometimes a fancy fitted cover, and snoozes out in the garage until spring. That doesn’t mean it gets lonely, we often wander down to check up on it, make sure things are properly tucked in, thinking about last summer and looking forward to warm weather.
Where we store our rides, the garage, usually, is a great place to visit if we have some heat. We hoist our butt up on to an old stool or comfy seat of some sort over by the workbench where we stare at the walls, often covered with old posters or calendars, while sipping coffee and planning the next great project. There’s something about looking at mechanical objects that just gives me a warm fuzzy, …wheels, gears and levers intertwined with wires and tubing, a machine that moves, very cool! Sam Florman wrote a very neat book some years ago (1976) when technology was having a bit of a PR problem. The book is about engineering but gets into this feeling for the machine many of us have and it’s the same feeling we get when heading out to the garage. “Hey, Honey, I’ll be out in the garage” and off we go but she may never understand. The book’s an easy read but you’ll find yourself stopping and thinking a lot while you read it, puts you in the right mood and pretty quick you’ll be going for the coffee and putting on your jacket.