A Well Coiled Life

Back in my community college days I attended a rather large college church group. I’m sure there were good lessons taught there on community, and morality, and Christian living, and connecting with God. I know the worship music was well done as far as late 1990s church music goes.

But the lesson that has stuck with me from those days was a time that I helped a friend put away the sound equipment.

My friend ran the sound for the evening meeting. This included guitars and other instruments, and vocal microphones for worship music and the speaker. One night I offered to help put away cables, speakers, monitors, and other equipment. I probably started wrapping up a cable lengthwise around my forearm.

Wound Up Right

My friend stopped me and she patiently taught me the correct way to wind up a cable.

Essentially, every cable is designed to wind up in a particular orderly manner. If you hold one end in your hand and then lightly twist a short section of the cable between your fingers you will feel the cable line up as it’s supposed to. Turning or twisting the cable between your fingers will not merely twist it; it will begin to wind into a coil. It will “give way” to an order as though it desired to be orderly. Continuing this, in an over/under pattern, will result in a cable, neatly wound up right.

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Repost: Language in America - 3

Every other week my blog will feature a reposted work. I had been a contributor on two different sites that have since closed or no longer include blogs. I will be reposting pieces that had originally been featured on one of these two sites.  

This was originally posted June 10, 2011

This is the third installment of my review of the book Language in America published in 1969.

As I said in my first reflections on this book:

I’d like to encourage you as my reader in the ways that I was challenged through reading the book.  That challenge is, to pay attention to the words you use.  Take care to mean the words that you say in the way that you say them.  Be aware of the implications of the slang you use and what it might indicate. 

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Secrets, Identities, and Power

One Halloween, when I was in middle school, I was trick-or-treating with my brothers and some other kids stole our candy.

My brothers and I were about five blocks from our house, walking up a street between neighborhoods, away from any houses. A car pulled up next to us, older kids jumped out, there was a scuffle, and they took our bags of candy. My brother had been picked on at school; it may have been those kids and their older friends and brothers. It may have just been a random act of meanness. 

We walked and ran the five blocks home.

I was scared. I was frustrated. And I was angry.

I was scared.

I open with this story because I want you to know that I have very vivid memories of being scared walking home at night.

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Repost: Language in America - 2

Every other week my blog will feature a reposted work. I had been a contributor on two different sites that have since closed or no longer include blogs. I will be reposting pieces that had originally been featured on one of these two sites.  

This was originally posted June 7, 2011

This is the second installment of my review of the book Languagein America published in 1969.  I would like to thank the Indiana Wesleyan University library for their book check-out policy for full time staff.  I think I’ve had the book for over a year.  It was worth every minute. 

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The Meaning of America

In 2010 I (knowingly) heard my first Taylor Swift song, and I loved it.

The song was “Mean”.

It’s upbeat. It’s catchy. It’s a bluegrass/rock make-you-move-to-the-music kinda song.

Its message of the hope of vindication over haters resounded with me.

The video is below. You should watch it.

I’ll wait.

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Repost: Language in America, Part 1

Every other week my blog will feature a reposted work. I had been a contributor on two different sites that have since closed or no longer include blogs. I will be reposting pieces that had originally been featured on one of these two sites.  

This was originally posted June 4, 2011

I just finished reading Language in America: a report on our deteriorating semantic environment.  It is a collection of essays on, well, language in America.  It was published in 1969 and it’s out of print (used copies are available on amazon).  One of the editors is Neil Postman who is most famous for Amusing Ourselves to Death, a book that will change your life in magical ways.  I’d like to share a few thoughts from the book if you’ll bear with me.

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Exceptional, Except

It may have been on the way home from India, maybe it was a trip to California, all I remember for sure is that Papa, Mama, and Isaiah were in an airplane.  Our boy was unhappy and loud, as small children often are while traveling. We did what we needed to do to get through the trip and convince him to calm down. My wife processed the experience publicly through Facebook, sharing something like:

“I hope I’m not a bad parent giving my kid this much chocolate on the airplane”

The resounding response from our friends and family was that, even for great parents, exceptions are permissible during airline travel.

It would be chaos, anarchy, and foolishness to live without guidelines, standards, and even rules. We should all aspire to The Good. Parents should not give children large amounts of chocolate.

On the other hand, all of these rules need to allow for exceptions. Compassion, necessity, or wisdom will reveal times when the rule must be suspended.

…Like on an airplane with a three year old.  

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