Faithful at All Times

How to handle a rainy day? Stay busy and do stuff you’ve put off.

I can only do just so much indoor exercise before the arthritis calls a halt. Today was supposed to bring heavy rain. It never quite made it here. Every time the storm clouds approached the OKC Metro, they broke apart and reformed on the other side. It’s done that the last three times storms crossed the state. Still, I was hoping and I didn’t plan any long rides. Instead, I took care of a few other things.

Someone had parked a box-springs next to the dumpster. That won’t work; the dump drivers don’t get out of their trucks and I can’t see having big items sitting around the dumpster like that. So I took my heavy-toothed limb saw and cut through the wood frame across from side to side. Then I took my bolt-cutters and snipped the wire frame holding the springs in place. Lastly, I sliced through the padding and fabric batting with my knife. It was easy to drop the two smaller halves into the dumpster before the truck came. Maintenance might not have gotten to it for months; they already have too much on their hands.

I have been trying to fit my bike better for street riding. I added mirrors last week and had a chance to ride and test the view, tweaking repeatedly until it was comfortable. I also ordered a fixed taillight for the rack, but they weren’t exactly compatible. I scrounged around and tested a few ideas until I found a discarded license place. Perfect. Using tin-snips, I cut off a piece and trimmed it to match the shape of both somewhat. Then it was a matter of bending it so it bridged out in the center allowing me to access the button on the back to turn it on. I actually had to buy the proper screws and such to mount it, but I stuck a piece of closed-cell foam between the two to reduce shocks. The final touch was a rubber band wrapped around it to keep it from jiggling too much. It’s large enough to actually be visible from quite a distance behind me.

I have a quick mounting headlight and taillight set, but there’s no good place to mount the little taillight. It’s designed to cling around the seatpost and I keep my cable and lock under the seat. The headlight I can mount when I need it; there’s not much to it because it’s not so much about seeing as being seen. Since I typically wear a reflective safety vest when riding, I’m pretty sure this all adds up to sufficient visibility and far more than required by law.

I’m not sure I can explain why I believe I’ll be using the bike like a car. I suppose it’s part of my sense of mission calling that I’ll be working again soon. It’s all too vague and shapeless to describe. Maybe something will happen with all this cyber warfare crap and I’ll start getting calls to service lots of computers; who knows?

God knows. I’m just wading through the shadows in faith, obeying my convictions. But the best way to handle down time is fixing things that need fixing. Yesterday I mounted a small, thin plank on the bathroom wall with anchors in the sheetrock. To this I mounted an extra towel bar and a couple of hooks. If we ever move again, I can take it all down in minutes and patch the holes, leaving far less work than I’ve seen the repair and make-ready crews doing in the past around here. It’s a part of our testimony to God’s moral character that we make life as easy for others as we can.