The Steel Pony
I like to believe that when things look the worst, there’s always something good there, too, even if it’s hidden for a while.
There’s a story about a little boy who really really wanted to ride a pony. His father arranged with a farmer who had a pony to take the boy to the farm on Saturday morning for a ride.
When they arrived as scheduled, there was no farmer or pony to be seen, only a barn full of poop. After checking the barn, the father told the boy to wait there while he went looking around the farm.
When the father returned, having seen no sign of farmer or pony, he found his son energetically shoveling poop, flinging it aside in big piles.
“What are you doing, Son?” the father asked in alarm.
The boy replied, “With all this poop, there MUST be a pony in here somewhere!”
A couple of weeks ago my beloved year-old iMac named Ima went completely and suddenly bad. I hustled her over to the Apple store, and they worked on her for days.
I had never realized how attached we get to our computers, and it was especially trying for me because I work on it all day long.
I got to notice how much I depend on the computer for almost everything. I felt pressed to come up with ways to spend the time on my enforced vacation. My dog was happy with extra walks, but I was sometimes chafing and irritable and bored.
I just kept repeating, “There must be a pony in here somewhere.” Then I’d feel a little better and look for something creative to do that didn’t require a computer.
Cleaned out my closet, went to lunch, vacuumed behind the couch. Took naps, cleaned out the fridge, and paced the back yard a lot.
Finally, the Apple guys decided that the repairs were taking so long with no end in sight, so they gave me a brand new one.
Then I got to notice how attached I can get to things staying familiar. New keyboard, new mouse, new operating system—all good but took some adjustment on my part. Transferring files and buying new cables, and developing a new determination to become scrupulous about backup.
The new computer is fully installed and working perfectly now.
Her name is “Steel Pony.”
