I had a humbling experience this morning. I decided to share it because it directly relates to A Question of Focus, published one week ago. Also, it reminded me that I could sometimes get a bit full of myself. Third, it was just downright funny!

A Question of Focus is a little homily on the value of staying focused; without being so focused, you miss something important. The blog’s inspiration was a humorous comment posted on a group I follow, which I turned into the image below.

This morning, I backed out of the garage around 6:30, heading for my workout. As usual, I was careful because my neighbor’s fence comes up to the edge of my driveway. I watched the mirrors and the backup camera and waited to hear the backup warning if I got too close to the fence.

The radio was tuned to a local station giving the weather and traffic, just like every other morning. Then I stopped, put the transmission in drive, and the volume on the radio increased significantly.

Yes! Some weeks ago, I downloaded an update for my navigation and warning systems. The new programming added several features to the system. New features were on the map, and the programming automatically lowered the volume if the radio was playing when you put the transmission in reverse.

When I first noticed the change, I clearly remember thinking it was to help drivers avoid being distracted while backing up. Then I promptly forgot it until this morning. Yes, every time I backed out of the garage, a parking space, or backed up for some other reason, the system reduced the volume, and I thought nothing of it.

I was doing the same thing I caution others not to do, be so focused on one thing I missed or forgot another. Also, I could have used the software upgrade to support my point that sensory overload can be a problem.

© oneoldcop.com 2022

@jacksonseric