A Little Bit of Oil

As a boy I spent countless nights with my flashlight, reading science fiction in bed under my covers. I was fourteen when I read a short story that has always stayed with me.

“A Little Bit of Oil.” took place on a spaceship conducting the third ten-year expedition to the nearest star. The first two voyages had failed as the four-person crew neared Earth. Each time the spacecraft had mysteriously disappeared and was never heard from again.

This third attempt was different. One crew member was an enigma. Though he prepared meals and entertained the pilot, copilot, and science officer throughout the trip, it was clear he had no experience either as a scientist or pilot. The other crew members saw him as a misfit, especially when he dressed in a clown costume to make them laugh.

On this third trip, as the spaceship reentered the solar system, the human friction that had been building for almost ten years, heated to homicidal proportions.

It became clear that the crewmembers on the first two expeditions, had simply killed each other after ten years of close confinement. But on this trip, the misfit (who turned out to be a psychologist) successfully reduced the friction with humor and encouragement.

A few weeks after I read that story my family took a two-week road trip. It was a long trip for my mother, father, younger brother, and me. I loved vacations, but even an occasional Sunday drive back from a friend’s house sometimes ended with my father yelling at David or me for some transgression. I was sure that on our journey it wouldn’t take more than a few days for our family friction to heat us to the boiling point.

But this time, as we loaded our suitcases into the trunk of our turquoise Desoto, I decided that I would be our psychologist, our clown, the “little bit of oil” to ease the friction.

Our trip was a notable success, even when, one afternoon, my father locked the Desoto, leaving his keys in the ignition. I helped him fish them out with a wire coat hangar, alternately encouraging him and trying to be funny.

With proper lubrication a car engine will last for many miles. With proper lubrication from humor, a human relationship will also run smoothly for many years.

I suggest that we all lighten up a little. Don’t take everything so seriously. Remember to laugh and have fun. Not only will it improve your relationships, you’ll enjoy the journey more.

Alan