More birds. Sorry. They were around when I had my camera so I included a few shots in this post. I know... a little boring; but it's fun to get the shots and I enjoy seeing them. I hope you do as well.

I've been hampered the last few days by a truck that is experiencing some mysterious electrical problems. It all started last Wednesday evening when I was at my office working until well after dark -- about 9:00 I think. When it was time to go home, I started up my truck and noticed the airbag warning light on the dash did not go off. Normally, the airbag system goes through a bit of a self-diagnostic routine to make sure all systems are go and then the light goes off. This time, the light stayed on.

So I decided to pull off the road (I was still on mine property), shut off the engine and restart it hoping that it would clear itself and the light would go off. It didn't. This time, it also would not shift out of park. There is an electrical connection between the brake pedal and a gear shift lock-out mechanism that prevents shifting out of park unless the brake pedal is depressed. Normally.

This was not normal. No matter what I did, I could not get it out of park. Brute force only makes things worse in these circumstances so I tried disconnecting the battery thinking that might force the computer to "reboot" these systems and clear out the problems. That didn't work. I tried shifting with brake on... not good. With brake off... still no good. It appeared I was stranded so I called Mom and put her on standby for a rescue.

A couple of mine employees stopped by asking if they could help but there was really nothing to do. It would not shift out of park no matter what I tried.

It was getting late by this time and I had a big day the next day and really did not want to deal with a truck that would not drive so I did what was left -- I prayed. It was a simple prayer asking the Lord to help me get my truck home.

Immediately and in quite a literal way, my eyes and my brain were directed to a small rectangular cover about one-fourth the size of a postage stamp next to the shift lever. I didn't know what it was but I was prompted to pry this cover off. There was a button beneath the cover. I pushed down on button and discovered that it was a mechanical bypass of the gear shift lock-out mechanism. After starting the truck, I pushed down the button and it shifted right into drive. It was an immediate and, under the circumstances, a rather dramatic example of knowledge (what to do) revealed through the Holy Ghost. Prior to receiving that inspiration/revelation, I did not know there existed such a thing as a mechanical bypass of the electrical lock-out. I was humbled by the immediacy of the answer to my short, but sincere, prayer.

It took a few days and dollars to finally get the electrical problems in my truck identified and repaired, but it is now working as before.

Jacob is in Utah. It's quiet here. We look forward to Jacob's return but are enjoying the quietness.

Bye for now.

Love,

Dad