A lot of times recently Kathy and I were speaking about something when, a few minutes later, that same subject popped up on the News Feed of our iPhones. “That’s really weird,” was my initial reaction. After a few coincidences, I changed that to “I swear they’re listening to us.”
Of course, that’s not possible. Our possessions can’t hear us. Unless they do.
On June 30, 2009, we purchased a Honda Accord. I’ve driven it to clients for a decade… and we’ve made quite a few trips up and down Texas highways.
For the better part of the last year I patted the dashboard and said: “I just need you to get to 200,000 miles, buddy. You can do it.” On the evening of August 13, the Accord hit that lofty mark. In fact, we drove around our neighborhood for about 10 mintes so we could take a picture of the odometer at the magic mile.
The next morning, I left for my day’s coaching sessions. First to downtown, then the Med Center, and on to a client near the Galleria. Heading to the third appointment, I accelerated on the access road and the car quickly dropped from 40 to 20 mph. I pulled over into a parking lot and the engine stalled.
I had it towed to our mechanic… and after a few days and several hundred dollars, he told me: “It’s fixed for now, but its days without problems are numbered.”
I’m starting to believe our possessions really are listening.
