Once upon a time and not so long ago in a land close by, young Tom Edison said, “Let there be light!” And lo! there was light. That was the beginning of the end of the simple lives that we had known.
Even the Amish have found they need the materials that they had - not so long ago - shunned as being against the Purpose of God and the godly. I suppose I should be ashamed of teasing an Amish woman I found in the market. Really, I meant no harm and forgot that she might not be up to my sense of humor (I’ve had two husbands warn me about my sense of fun).
I speak to Amish whenever I find the opportunity because most non-Amish are anti-Amish and it pains me in the same way that it pains me when all creatures are not being treated with love. So there we were in the produce section and I chatted her up by remarking how lovely were the fruits and vegetables at the same time I wished they’d stay that way longer.
She said, “Oh! I save them in the refrigerator in the basement.”
I grinned, saying, “You realize you’re going to hell,” my laughter ringing.
She paled, horrified.
I leapt into the breech, soothing her, “That was a joke! I was kidding! You’re not going to hell.”
Fortunately, I didn’t launch into one of my theological exegeses, any of which would have been lost on this lovely simple woman who didn’t need anything else from me. Then it was that her teenage daughter appeared. Forgetting my good intentions, I chirped, “Oh! How pretty you are.”
More bad news: The Amish do not address personal beauty in any way AT ALL! That said, the daughter was clearly pleased. I bade them good day and split before I showered them with more insults.
Now back to created power, created power that we so love that some of us spend money on what is powerful that we don’t truly need. And I’m writing on one of those luxuries. Of course, I need a computer. I’ve needed a computer since 1983, although at the time, it did nothing but process words. With the advent of the modem, all was lost and would never return: Our simple lives had been rent asunder.
The beginning of the end of life as we knew it: Electric light and the telephone and the radio; but nothing compared to the event of the automobile. We have been in yet another industrial revolution with the advantage of cyber space. Even the USPS (privately owned, remember) can’t stay above water. And yet, we do need postal service: Try sending cartons through the computer.
There is nothing wrong with luxury items - and those luxuries are what we take for granted UNTIL WE HAVE WEATHER THAT SHUTS DOWN THE OUTSIDE POWER SOURCE. And it’s happening more and more frequently. Whether it’s storms or merely the pressure of air conditioning, the grids are overworked - overpowered, in fact - until they just give up. In winter, it’s likely to be ice storms in the North, the South moving along nicely. In the sub-tropics, the hurricane season is most often over by then. And isn’t it puzzling that when hurricane winds and storm surges take out homes, that those houses and condos are built again - and sometimes, again and again? And in the same place that took them down before, and before that.
What I’m going on about is that most of us have no idea how to deal with hot and cold without created power. It was only a handful of years ago, that women did laundry beating clothing on a rock or by rubbing it on a washboard - or only with their hands.
Parents who can afford it, shower their children with more stuff than I am able to list. I suppose it’s cheap of me to remind those parents that there are more humans and other animals going hungry . . . even in the United State of America.
Question: Why are we spending enormous sums of money on political campaigns rather than putting food in the mouths of the hungry? Yes, I know the verse, and it’s been too often used as reasons for yet one more stained glass window: In the Gospel of Matthew, we learn: For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. This is a reference to some cranky person decrying spending money on stuff (specifically perfumed ointment to pour on Jesus’ head). To the Faithful, He is with you always, so there’s no reason not to spend money on those who need - genuinely need - help. There is little more breathtaking than man-made (okay, human-made for you fussy sorts) cathedrals. I’ve seen magnificent natural wonders - and of course, they are wonder-full. But to enter a magnificent cathedral is something else entirely, the experiences not to be compared. There is little that is intrinsically bad.
Planet Earth will never return to anything resembling health. We can only hope for enough to be accomplished to make it habitable.
Even the Amish have found they need the materials that they had - not so long ago - shunned as being against the Purpose of God and the godly. I suppose I should be ashamed of teasing an Amish woman I found in the market. Really, I meant no harm and forgot that she might not be up to my sense of humor (I’ve had two husbands warn me about my sense of fun).
I speak to Amish whenever I find the opportunity because most non-Amish are anti-Amish and it pains me in the same way that it pains me when all creatures are not being treated with love. So there we were in the produce section and I chatted her up by remarking how lovely were the fruits and vegetables at the same time I wished they’d stay that way longer.
She said, “Oh! I save them in the refrigerator in the basement.”
I grinned, saying, “You realize you’re going to hell,” my laughter ringing.
She paled, horrified.
I leapt into the breech, soothing her, “That was a joke! I was kidding! You’re not going to hell.”
Fortunately, I didn’t launch into one of my theological exegeses, any of which would have been lost on this lovely simple woman who didn’t need anything else from me. Then it was that her teenage daughter appeared. Forgetting my good intentions, I chirped, “Oh! How pretty you are.”
More bad news: The Amish do not address personal beauty in any way AT ALL! That said, the daughter was clearly pleased. I bade them good day and split before I showered them with more insults.
Now back to created power, created power that we so love that some of us spend money on what is powerful that we don’t truly need. And I’m writing on one of those luxuries. Of course, I need a computer. I’ve needed a computer since 1983, although at the time, it did nothing but process words. With the advent of the modem, all was lost and would never return: Our simple lives had been rent asunder.
The beginning of the end of life as we knew it: Electric light and the telephone and the radio; but nothing compared to the event of the automobile. We have been in yet another industrial revolution with the advantage of cyber space. Even the USPS (privately owned, remember) can’t stay above water. And yet, we do need postal service: Try sending cartons through the computer.
There is nothing wrong with luxury items - and those luxuries are what we take for granted UNTIL WE HAVE WEATHER THAT SHUTS DOWN THE OUTSIDE POWER SOURCE. And it’s happening more and more frequently. Whether it’s storms or merely the pressure of air conditioning, the grids are overworked - overpowered, in fact - until they just give up. In winter, it’s likely to be ice storms in the North, the South moving along nicely. In the sub-tropics, the hurricane season is most often over by then. And isn’t it puzzling that when hurricane winds and storm surges take out homes, that those houses and condos are built again - and sometimes, again and again? And in the same place that took them down before, and before that.
What I’m going on about is that most of us have no idea how to deal with hot and cold without created power. It was only a handful of years ago, that women did laundry beating clothing on a rock or by rubbing it on a washboard - or only with their hands.
Parents who can afford it, shower their children with more stuff than I am able to list. I suppose it’s cheap of me to remind those parents that there are more humans and other animals going hungry . . . even in the United State of America.
Question: Why are we spending enormous sums of money on political campaigns rather than putting food in the mouths of the hungry? Yes, I know the verse, and it’s been too often used as reasons for yet one more stained glass window: In the Gospel of Matthew, we learn: For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. This is a reference to some cranky person decrying spending money on stuff (specifically perfumed ointment to pour on Jesus’ head). To the Faithful, He is with you always, so there’s no reason not to spend money on those who need - genuinely need - help. There is little more breathtaking than man-made (okay, human-made for you fussy sorts) cathedrals. I’ve seen magnificent natural wonders - and of course, they are wonder-full. But to enter a magnificent cathedral is something else entirely, the experiences not to be compared. There is little that is intrinsically bad.
Planet Earth will never return to anything resembling health. We can only hope for enough to be accomplished to make it habitable.