As I mentioned on Valentines Day, I bought my bride a printer to express my deep and abiding love. That’s quite romantic of me, but I can’t help it; that’s just the way I am.
I actually hooked up the printer early—I had plenty else planned for V-Day itself.
My intent was to get up early Saturday morning and have a working printer before she ventured out of the bedroom.
How hard could it be to hook up a printer? Unbox it, connect the cables, turn it on, and boot the computer. Just “plug and play.” I’ve hooked up printers many times before—in a couple of minutes.
Yet this effort took more than three hours. I was not a happy camper.
The install was anything but straight-forward. Twice I was prompted for the install disk, I had to download several updates, and then there were “dueling windows” to contend with. My quandary was which one to do first.
Was it more important to “reboot now,” click “OK to continue,” or allow the update file to continue downloading?
Then there was way too much time wasted on installing the ink cartridges. My unit’s insides simply did not match the picture. I pushed, prodded, and probed, but could not ascertain were to insert the messy little contraptions.
Eventually I determined that the carriage that holds the buggers was hidden under a panel on the far left of the unit, when it was supposed to be in plain sight on the far right.
Never mind that the instructions and diagram failed to even hint at the possibility of this annoying anomaly.
However, way before the test sheet printed, my bride appeared. She was a bit dismayed, unsure of what she should do or say—all the while sensing that anything would be the wrong thing.
Frustrated and flummoxed, I was certainly not in the proper frame of mind to romantically convey my true love for her with words of eloquence or a clever printout of a red heart.
Once again, my efforts at romance failed—this time, stymied by an obstinate printer.
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Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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