A Latch Perspective.

A Latch Perspective

Sometimes it is the simplest of things that can really make us take the time to stop and smile. Take a common ordinary door latch, for example. Without a way to latch a door closed you might have a bathroom without privacy. Now even a little hook and eye latch – perhaps one of the least mechanically complicated devices known to man can remedy such a problem. And it isn’t hard to install or operate. It is the very example of a basic fix.

See about a year or so back we ran into a problem, the door to one of our bathrooms (the only one with a door as a matter of fact) busted on us. To be precise the door knob’s internal mechanism failed and left the bolt stuck in place preventing the door from being opened. At which point I had two macho options available; bust down the door or systematically dismantle the door knob and remove the mechanism. I went with the latter.

Later I managed to rig up a workaround for a time before eventually settling on adding a simple latch to the door. To replace the entire door knob would have required not only new parts but work to the wall and door as well to accommodate it. Trailers aren’t designed for easy repairs or standard replacement parts.

In short I fixed the problem using my hands, some stuff that was handy and basic hand tools. I check it every time I use it to ensure it hasn’t backed out or anything else. Some folks might put it out of mind until there is a problem but maybe I’m just wired weird. Anyhow, with my recent wrist trouble I had been concerned about potentially not being as able to fix things in the future. But looking at that latch made me realize how stupid that train of thought could be. Instead of worrying over what might be a problem, my perspective needed to be shifted. I had fixed that door, it wasn’t masterful – but it worked.

Therein lies the secret; sometimes you latch your perspective closed, you blind yourself. And a latch isn’t a complicated thing; you can fix it if there is a problem. It’s all in how you look at it.