Scott Kamps
An anonymous old fable – referred to as “Cows Don’t Give Milk” – endeavors to provide the secret to life in a parabolic way.
In it, the father says, “Listen, son: The cow does not give milk, you have to milk it. You have to get up at four in the morning, go to the field, walk through the corral full of manure, tie the tail, hobble the legs of the cow, sit on the stool, place the bucket and do the work yourself. That is the secret of life: the cow does not give milk. You milk her or you don’t get milk.”
The moral of the story is you have to work for what you want in life; nothing in this life is automatic or free.
Indeed, everything costs something – even “free” stuff, whether we’re aware of the cost or not. It’s worthwhile to consider the real price of things, especially things without a clear price tag.
Consider the cost of living in our beautiful county. My wife and I moved to Graham County in 2001; we love it here. Not only is it geographically stunning, it’s also been a great place to raise (still raising) our children.
But, there are costs to living here that people don’t always realize. The small-town environment that requires over an hour drive to major shopping centers is one such cost. I’ve seen people come and go over the years, because they couldn’t adjust to this aspect.
The same is true for medical care – and if you need to see a specialist, it may require a trip to Asheville or Charlotte or the equivalent. This makes Graham County a difficult – or costly – place to live, with significant medical issues. While some people pay that price, many folks move to a more convenient place to live as they age.
One hidden cost of living here I’ve discovered over the years is the elevated price of appliances. While we pay the same up-front price for new appliances as others, we live in an area where it’s virtually impossible to get warranty service done. The life of appliances is now much less than decades ago.
Most of us born in the 1900s remember refrigerators that seemed to last forever; now appliances seem to need repair within a few years. I know some folks who’ve bought new replacement appliances just a couple of years after buying their first new appliances because it’s so difficult to get warranty work done. This greatly increases the cost of living in Graham County.
For those of us who can’t afford to buy new every couple of years, we are incredibly blessed to live in the day and age of the “University of YouTube.” I’ve learned to fix dishwashers, dryers and microwaves on Youtube, as have many others.
I’m not for hire, as it’s not my forte; I do it because that’s what it takes to live in such a special place – and while it’s not particularly enjoyable, it’s definitely worth it.
Scott Kamps writes a bi-weekly column for The Graham Star. He can be reached via email, thestableguy@frontier.com.