Computer repair is this boy’s lemonade stand

From the Pastor: Computer repair is this boy’s lemonade stand

   A while ago I had some computer problems. Among the worst was that the cooling fan on my laptop was making such a loud noise that it was becoming aggravating. The last straw came when a Religious Sister from Africa called on Skype and she couldn’t hear me because the microphone was picking up the fan noise and drowning out everything else. The next night our youth group was meeting and one of the kids started speaking in advanced computer geek language, which is much more difficult to follow than Latin or even Vietnamese. I have known him for several years and know that he is quite proficient in fixing computers, ripping them apart, putting them together, salvaging parts and intermixing pieces from several old machines to build a new one. But it had never dawned on me until right then that he might be the one I should entrust with my own computer. You should have seen the look on his face when I asked him if he could fix it. It was a look of excitement that he was being asked, mixed with a look that said, “Of course I can fix it. Why would you bother asking such a silly question?” So off I went to get it. He turned in on and with great fanfare began a lengthy explanation of what was necessary to get it working properly again. I just stood there nodding my head as if I understood every word he said, but the reality is that if I understood it, I would have fixed the darned thing myself!
   I gave him the computer to take home with his promise to get it back to me as quickly as possible. He brought me a “loaner” the next day in case I needed one. Now, to put this into perspective, when I was his age (assuming there were laptop computers way back then), if my priest had given me his computer to fix, the first thing I would have done would be to mess with it somehow. I would have installed some gag screen saver with crawling roaches, or a program to make the mouse jump randomly every once in a while, or a spell check that showed a nun popping up with a ruler in her hand every time a word was misspelled, or something like that. Yet, while I would not have trusted a younger “me”, I trusted this kid with my computer. I tell you this because he did a superb job fixing it at a fantastic price, he got it done quickly and there was no monkey business done to it!
   I was so pleased with his work and his attitude that I told him I would write him up in the bulletin, but then I started a series on the Mass that I didn’t want to interrupt. So here is a long-awaited plug for young Mister Christopher Gonzalez. (As an aside, he would like to teach “old folks”--you know, anyone over 35--basic computer classes here at the parish and I will gladly give him room to do so if there are any requests for it.) He also has his own home business repairing computers and if I will trust him with my computer, I believe you can trust him with yours, too. Even if you don’t have need of his services now, file this article away for future reference. You never know when your computer will fall ill due to a virus, or you want an upgrade but don’t know how to do it yourself, or someone you know will be tearing their hair out because their machine quit working, or you just want to get a new computer for the widow lady next door. Now you know who to call. I have permission from his mother and father to post his name and contact information off of his business card, so please feel free to write it down (somewhere other than on your computer, since you won’t be able to get it from there if your computer breaks!) and use it yourself or pass it on to others. (By the way, Chris and his younger brother are altar boys, so you may already know him, and his mother, Liesa, is in the women’s guild.)

   His card says, “Gonzalez Industries International Computer Repair and Sales Broker” and gives his email as magictrumpet1998@verizon.net. His phone number is (561) 318-3391 and his website (currently under construction) is www.gonzalezindustries.webs.com. He does repair, installations, consultations, you name it. Give him a try next time you need any work done on a computer. You will be helping an enterprising young parishioner (who just may be your pastor one day, God willing!) and you will be well pleased with his work.

With prayers for your holiness,
Fr. Edwin Palka