A Knob
June 30, 2010
My husband and I both drive old vehicles. One of the true pleasures of driving a 1991 Volvo wagon or a 1988 Toyota pickup is the confidence we have in things mechanical. Unlike modern cars, our vehicles don’t have to be plugged in to be diagnosed when something goes wrong. The knob to regulate the fan goes click-click-click. If it doesn’t go click-click-click, or if it’s click-click-click doesn’t make it go whir, then there is something wrong—a something that can usually be seen.
There’s lots of logic and very little magic in such mechanics, and, though I’m very fond of things magical, logic offers me a certain comfort in a world where so little can be controlled.
A nice thing… the satisfaction of things that go click.
A nice thing... 
You know what else is clicking? You and this blog. In your case, it’s a good thing.
Call me a Luddite, but I am a big fan of visually understandable mechanical objects. I think I am the last person I know who is happily driving a vehicle with crank-operated windows.
I love our Saturn wagon. It’s the best, easiest car I’ve owned. There is so much satisfaction in that. I *felt* the satisfaction in this post – thank you for reminding me.
Amen to that! Our car is in the shop right now to correct some issue with the computer…
This clicked for me.