This not going to be a historically accurate account. Partly because my memory has developed a few glitches. It is not that my memory has gotten worse. It’s my recall that seems to be the problem. I know the memories are in there somewhere; I just can’t remember where I put them. And that, my dear reader, is precisely why I am continuing to write these blog posts. Google does a better job of remembering where I put my memories.
A second problem has developed. When I search, Google doesn’t seem to understand my query. What I want to know and what Google is offering are related but not what I need. As the old saying goes, “close but no cigar!”
Dawn gave me an unusual gift for Christmas. It’s a gift that keeps on taking. She enrolled me in a writing exercise that will end the year with a hard copy in the form of a book. I get an email with a question as a writing assignment each Monday. The third week’s question asked me to talk about my favorite toys as a child. A part of my response prompted this pondering.
We lived in southern Indiana until just before I turned twelve. After that, we lived away from the city in a short cluster of five houses. I have no memory of our family having financial challenges. But we didn’t have many store-bought toys.
At some point, Dad taught us how to make “rubber guns.” They were made from his left-over wood scraps. Our version of a rubber gun usually consisted of two pieces of wood put together in the shape of a pistol. A wood spring-assisted clothespin was attached to the back, pincher side up.
Chasing a colorful rabbit for just a moment –Only two things of note happened in 1853. Elisa Graves Otis sold his first elevator, and David M. Smith of Springfield, Vermont invented the first spring clothespin.
We would make ammunition by slicing tire innertubes into rubber bands. First, the gun’s barrel length had to be adjusted to accommodate the tire size of the innertube. Next, the innertube loop would be stretched from the end of the barrel back to be held by the clothespin. Finally, we squeezed the gun’s grip, and the rubber was released, flying at the enemy.
Finding an innertube was always a challenge. And then the establishment messed us up! During WWII, natural rubber was limited, and as a result, synthetic rubber was used.
Our “rubber guns” worked great until innertubes were made with synthetic rubber instead of the real stuff. The synthetic rubber would stretch but not snap back to its original shape. The synthetic loops would not do much more than fall off the end of the barrel. Just so you know, our slingshots were also adversely affected by the artificial replacement. We could throw a rock further than we could shoot it. The synthetic worked as a suitable substitute for natural rubber for the tire industry but not so much for the entertainment of adventurous boys.
So here is what I think; as intended by our Creator, real-life was cast aside for synthetic life when Adam and Eve did their “fruit” thing. As a result, life, as it was created to be, as God wanted us to have, lost its snap, zing, and joy. Humans have been trying to develop a satisfying substitute. But, alas, there is none!
I also think my life has a turbulent history because I sought a synthetic form of Christianity which mostly looked for my church family to supply the missing essentials of happiness. Mostly I just had “Fredanity” that I hoped Christ would convert. Didn’t work! Still doesn’t work! And it will never work! As God created it, life cannot be found apart from the Christ, Jesus.
“For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4 (CSB)
Photo – This picture was taken on my phone last week. It was 6:30 am on Bethel Road and it was very cold. When in Alaska we called this “ice fog.”
Baldwin Heirlooms 