Tioga Herald

Here I am, one more time, commenting about the lousy, lazy big fat cats and their big corporations which have worked to destroy small business in America by proclaiming “they can do it in a more cheap manner.” Cheap all right. The only ones who benefit are the big fat cats at the top, the 1%, who own most of the resources of America and continue to hoard the money at the expense of the Middle and lower classes.

Ever noticed how instructions are written today for DIY purposes? It’s a matter of saving money for the consumer, don’t you know? DIY that is. Somehow my Schlage door handle broke. I went to a local business and purchased a new one, but this time it was a KwikSet door handle. I had to settle for a slightly different “color” of door handle, but this was not of concern to the other person in the household, so I figured it would work. It’s a great new handle, for sure. But the old one, somehow, had one screw loose (LOL!) and the brace with the other screw still intact had a great deal of pressure put on it because of being connected as the only screw. So the door handle broke. Understanding this? I hope so.

I decided I have replaced door handles before, so this should be no problem. I worked on an expansion to a home in Florida, many years ago, so I felt brave that door handles would be a piece of cake, right? OK. Following instructions, I had to remove a piece of paper in order to separate the “rose” from the handle (“rose”? what the hell is that?). So I tried. We both tried. Separation not accomplished. I had an idea about using a flat screwdriver to do it, but there was fear as to whether or not this would damage the door handle. What to do?

Finally, I called the 800 support phone number provided in the instructions. I must say. KwikSet provided a much better method of getting to a person with whom I could speak than most American businesses today! Kudos and a ranking of 10 for GREAT to KwikSet, on this point alone!

I spoke with a person there who was very helpful and friendly. They told me to use a flat-head screwdriver to separate it. Now I felt confirmation about doing what I thought I should do. But you are reading a story from a very non-mechanical guy who does not have confidence in this area. Even when doing my expansion and remodeling of a home in St. Petersburg, FL, I had a contractor to whom I could go for direction. I must admit that Wally was a great help in this endeavor because I need someone like that. Besides he could file all the documentation and arrange for the inspections and that really helped me out. It was like me doing volunteer work for the contractor so as to save money from the contractor hiring more people and me paying more. Nice arrangement. Nevertheless, the flat-head screwdriver worked.

Next thing I know, I was trying to put this new door handle into open hole on the door. It would not fit. At this point, I had spent so much time on the thing and then called for help, I figured I should hand this over to someone who knew more about these types of things, as I did to the contractor in Florida when remodeling. This guy comes and within a half hour, had the entire thing installed for me! HALLELUJAH! It would have taken me several hours to read instructions and perhaps having to call for help. Help which was good, as I said, but takes time.

Which brings me to the question about why instructions are so difficult to understand and definitely not tailored to the non-mechanical lay person that I am? Because the final fix, according to the guy who did it, would be “explained in the instructions.” And this is not the first time I have tried to follow directions for many products purchased in America. What is the problem here?

I speculate two things. (1) save money for the big fat cats at the top of a corporation by providing very low quality writing of instructions tailored to the professional, not the lay person or (2) instructions are written by foreigners (Chinese, for example) who don’t understand the English language and are not able to write the instructions fluently enough for the lay person to understand. Is there another possibility? Right now, that is it.

Again. I have good things to say about the person at KwikSet who provided support by answering an 800 number. But what I am talking about here is something regarding instructions which are a common thread to so many products. For example, a Cuisinart 3.5 HP blender which is great, but try to follow the instructions to “pulse” the food in the blender. I am still scratching my head about that. Thus, my conclusions about this are about the lousy herd mentality for love of money which is put as a priority in America today and influences us all so very badly. Make no mistake. I recognize that “love of money” has been with us for many years. I also need to clarify that I am not saying money is the root of all evil, but am saying, “love of money” is the root of evil. People misinterpret me on this. Love of money has been with us for centuries and is described in one of the epistles in the Bible (a letter from St. Paul to Timothy).

Love of money being the root of evil was the REASON I opposed Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, not due to political ideology or anything else. As president, the vain egotistical bastard and SOB demonstrated his love of money, but it was present before he became an autocratic government leader with love of money. He refused to pay his debts. He refused to pay taxes. He refused to pay employees. Furthermore, he is a white racist who expects black people (and gay people, too), to answer him with, “yes mass’r” or “no mass’r.” Otherwise one gets heavily criticized with lousy tweets and retributions. It is also the reason for my strong opposition to bastards like Jeb Bush, Rick “Darth Vader” Scott, and Ron “DUH-Satan” DeSantis, plus others.

Recently, an article about Daniel Patrick Moynihan revealed to me that the former U.S. senator was NOT bent on ideological political spectrum, but what was best to bring Americans together and solve problems. Sounds like words of Frank Sinatra. Sounds like words from President Joe Biden, too. I have NEVER heard any of the Republicans who stand in opposition to President Biden EVER say these words. NEVER. Yet, these bastards proclaim they are trying to be “bipartisan.” Baloney because they are not bipartisan. These belligerent Trumpican bullies force the hands of those who are ATTEMPTING to be bipartisan with ideas that if you don’t do it the Trumpican way, then you are a lousy person. These Trumpicans are like the snotty bullying kid in the sandbox, as they say: “I am going to kick sand in your face and knock your block off with my guns.”

Read the instructions? Sure. But thank you to the professionals who don’t have to read the instructions from the perspective of a lay person who is very un-mechanical. I must say. My father had a very mechanical mind, but somehow it passed me by. I am not ashamed of that because I recognize who I am, have dignity about who I am, and have a legacy of accomplishments I made in life, even if I lack a more mechanical mind.