I am the king of my domain. I am the undisputed ruler of all I survey within the boundaries on my kingdom. No other opinion matters but mine for I am the great and powerful lord of my manor. My Kingdom is small but my authority is absolute. Where is this kingdom of mine? Within the four walls of my garage.
In our modern life we make a series of compromises in our daily life. We defer and confer on nearly aspect of daily life both at home and in the office. Greater society can not exist if we collectively do not agree to a social contract that keeps neighborhood, city, county, state, nation and world bound together by a thread of cooperation. But in my garage I make no compromises. My opinion is the only opinion that matters and I bear the responsibility of success or failure solely.
What color should we paint the guest bathroom? What restaurant do the kids want to go to? What are the boss' goal for our work unit? Do I get the final word in any of these questions? No. Heck, I am lucky if I get consulted at all.
But in the garage all matters are mine to adjudicate. I get to arrange the boxes of old clothes in just the manner that I want them to be in. I make the decorating decisions in the garage, that girlie calendar looks fine by the window. I stock the garage refrigerator with the beverages I want to consume. No off name diet cola in there by golly. Yeah that's right, I got the National Brand in there.
But most important of all is that I chart the course of repair and improvement on my hobby car. Change the exhaust system to sound like the hounds of hell are breathing out of my tail pipe? Yes I can. Change the suspension to a brain rattling stiff ride to maximize cornering potential? Yes I can. Toss out the radio and air conditioning to save precious ounces. Yes I can.
No conferences, no consultations. No begging for permission or begging forgiveness. I am The Boss. The final authority, Captain of the ship, El Numero Uno, the Lead Dog.
And I stay in command for as long as I like. Or until I get called into the house to finish my chores.