Wally Smith was a man who didn’t like to make the same mistake twice, when he built his new house he built it with a stand alone garage. He could have built a carport but he wanted a work bench inside too, and of course shelving for his hand tools.

All the rest of the items needed to be stored were kept in the basement of his first most expensive possession, his house. The reason he did not store his ‘stuff ‘ in his garage is because he wanted his second most expensive possession, his car, to be protected from the blazing summer sun as well as the other elements which the seasons bring.

A garage will give the owner a greater sense of security since it is easier to keep people guessing whether or not you are at home. Of course nothing is foolproof.

When I lived in Red Deer Alberta, my neighbor had a greyhound bus sized motor coach. He parked it in front of his house which was also his storage site for the vehicle. Shortly after we moved in to the neighborhood, the man and his family went away for the weekend.

While they were gone some thieves decided to steal his snow machines which were stored on a trailer in his garage. On their way out, they broke a window in my truck and rifled it but found nothing of value.

It was then and there I decided that storage facilities have their place. Unfortunately, my neighbor did not learn that lesson quickly because the next time he left with the motor coach, the thieves came back and stole his quads and broke into his house, but they left my truck alone. The thieves seemed to learn more quickly than the neighbor.

In the neighborhood we live in now there is a family that goes quading all summer long. They keep their stuff in storage. The only time we see it is the night before they leave and the day they return. I appreciate that because I feel that the neighborhood is safer with their stuff in storage. I think the police would agree with my analysis.

On a different subject, I want to mention mercy driving. ” What?”, you may say? That is when you have mercy on a driver who makes a mistake whether on purpose or not. Let me give you an example, you are in a lane patiently waiting your turn to move ahead when a car from your right wants to merge in front of you.

What do you do? Do you pull ahead and not allow him to enter? Do you assume he is an idiot? Do you assume he is just being selfish and a road hog for wanting in? Or do you assume he has his reasons and let him in? He could have had some very bad news,or is in a hurry, is a visitor, or is just not paying attention. There could be any number of reasons that we are unaware of.

I let cars in as often as I can, for when it comes to my turn to be let in, it is always there for me. If the guy behind me won`t let cars in, then I let 10 cars go in front of me. If each of us let 1 or 2 cars into the line, we all would be much better off. And, at least in Alberta, it is the law to allow cars to merge.

Today, if I wrong someone, I don`t look at them. The same with someone wronging me, I don`t look at the driver. When I lived in Walla Walla Washington, I felt safe driving because everyone knew the rules. Drivers ( American citizens only ) were allowed to have firearms in their cars or on their person. I didn`t ever see anyone shake a fist or give the one fingered salute. This is where I learned not to look at other drivers.

Wayne Gretzky once said,” if you look your opponent in the eyes, you both drop your gloves! ” He was only in one fight that we know of, he lost it…humbling, and like Wally, didn`t want to make the same mistake twice.

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