With community pre-Christmas activities going full speed ahead, my thoughts focused on backing up. It wasn't that I expected to go back in time, although I wouldn't mind having a couple of extra weeks to finish what I’d like to do between now and the end of the year. In the midst of the rush, my attention was diverted to things that aren't in a hurry, to things that simply stop working. For once I had enough backups that it didn’t feel like a crisis.

On a Sunday morning, when I typically need to have five microphones, five batteries, three cords and associated devices working reliably, the sounds stopped reaching me at times. One and possibly two microphones malfunctioned. To explain one problem, I found a broken wire in a plug. I was already using a backup for another amplification unit that had failed a week before. As they say, when it rains it pours.

Speaking of rain, some was evidently finding its way into a place I wanted to keep dry, and an initial survey of that situation had not produced a solution.

Then, a couple of evenings later, I realized the furnace wasn't functioning. I hadn't noticed at first when I came home from work, because it was warmer inside than outside, but after supper it felt chilly. (I had just read a CILCO article about higher prices, and here was a practical lesson on the value of heat.) Checking the thermostat, I saw that it was set as usual, but the actual temperature was about 10 degrees lower.

People expect to stop working now and then, but we want our home appliances, vehicles, office equipment and everyday devices to keep functioning or at least to be in good working order the next time we want to use them.

Sometimes we try to ignore the fact that all such things eventually malfunction, break, get dirty and wear out. Reality catches up with us. I think one of the fundamental requirements for daily living is to have a network of service places and service people to fix whatever we have that needs repair.

Alternatives are to fix everything yourself or to buy a replacement instead of arranging repairs whenever there’s a flaw. Limited time, skills and funds tend to restrict those approaches. Most people don't buy a new car every time theirs needs a repair.

In any case, there's a transitional period from the time the need for repair arises to the time it's taken care of. Sometimes that's the hardest part to handle. Since we're so dependent on all kinds of equipment, we sometimes need duplicates so that when one doesn’t work we can still function as before. If you can do without what needs repair, there's no difficulty; otherwise, you need some kind of backup or backup plan.

It's not unusual to have extra eyeglasses, such as an older pair, but less common to have a spare furnace, a spare water heater, a spare washer and dryer, or a spare car. True, there are multi-car families, but if the cars need to go different places at the same time, there really isn't an extra. I'm not a two-car family, but I'm two-legged. That's one of my backup plans.

I'm also two-eared, but some time ago I concluded that having only two hearing aids was living too dangerously. At the time, it was a major decision, like determining whether to get that spare washer and dryer. I did buy a third as a backup, and I've never regretted it. That averted the latest crisis, for example, and convinced me it was time to upgrade a backup microphone besides. Of course, small devices like that fit in a drawer, unlike a major appliance.

If I did need a spare washer and dryer, I'd probably go to a laundromat or use a sink and clothesline. Those are more backup ideas.

Calling for help is one of the easiest repair plans, and that's what I did about the rain leak. A service department diagnosed it and installed a plastic shield.

By the time the furnace problem came up, I'd had so much recent practice with things needing repair that I hardly needed to stop and think what to do, although I’d never been in that particular situation before. The phone lines helped, plus a flannel shirt. A warm, fully depreciated shirt is much cheaper than a spare heating unit and satisfactory enough on a short-term basis.

I didn't realize that repair week is the next celebration after Thanksgiving, but now I know. It’s exciting when everything is back to work.