Will lack of garage door maintenance spoil your New Year’s Eve?

And Have a Happy 2022

You and your spouse are dressed and ready to go. Then the doorbell rings. The babysitter is here, at last. It’s time to go – time to go to the last party of the year. After the lockdown version of New Year’s Even last year, you figure you’re due for a chance to let your hair down and enjoy yourselves.

You go over the list of emergency phone numbers with the babysitter, wish her a Happy New Year and promise you’ll be back not too long after the stroke of midnight. Then you head out to the garage. 

As you slide into your seats, close the doors and start the car, you both take a deep sigh of relief. All your responsibilities are handled. Now, it’s your time. It’s time to enjoy yourselves. It’s time to enjoy New Year’s Eve.

After a smiling glance shared between you, you hit the button to open the garage door. The door goes up, the same as it has done a thousand times before. But then, and suddenly, something goes wrong.

The rollers on each side of the top panel of the garage door fall out of the track. The garage door starts falling onto the hood of your car – your new car, the car you take so much pride in, that you clean and shine so regularly.

You’re still trying to come to terms with what is happening when you realize the door is continuing to fall, one panel after another, onto your car. You hit the button to stop the door. At first, nothing happens. You hit it again and, at last, it stops.

Looking out beyond the fallen garage door and the damaged hood of your car, you see the promise of a relaxed New Year’s Eve fading into the shadows of the night. Your plans have changed.

The odds that this story describes what will happen to you this New Year’s Eve are slim. The point is that, whomever this does happen to, could have avoided the problem and the havoc it wrought. All they needed was some timely garage door maintenance.

Here’s hoping you’ve had timely garage door maintenance performed on your garage door and garage door opener. And here’s hoping you have a Happy New Year and a wonderful 2022.