Scary things

Technology is moving so fast that we can hardly get adjusted to one new thing before another comes up on the horizon. A few years ago we learned of a new devise which could be used in warfare. When a soldier is faced with higher ground this devise can tell him what is on the other side, thus making it safer for him to proceed.

I well remember the first time I saw television in Nashville Tennessee. I believe the year was 1950. Our landlord invited us to watch the Kefauver hearings from Washington D.C. Television was mind blowing to me at that time. Now we are hearing of autonomous cars. They are computer run and no driver is needed. The idea is that they will be safer and save time and money. I wonder if they will lower insurance rates? If so it will not happen for a long time!

Just recently, the Metrodome in Minnesoto collapsed from the weight of 17.1 inches of snow, on its roof. It is pretty amazing that such a building could be erected in the first place. It has been in use for 25 years with regular inspections and minor repairs. An architect told my husband that if our flat roof received 11 inches of snow it could collapse. Fortunately for us that is unheard of here in the south. But it is still scary to think about.

Scary is a subjective term. I am not afraid of insects, or snakes, but many people are. However, I am wary of some of them . I wear shoes inside my house because scorpions have been known to come indoors, through unseen cracks, etc. If I am stung by one, it is because I inadvertently stepped on it.

Young teen age kids seem to like to be scared by certain movies. Us older folks know that you need not go out of your way to be frightened, as life if full of scary things. The trick is to plan on avoiding them.

Perhaps one of the scariest things of all is something we do not think about; that is the absence of something. We do not think about the absence of good health, until it strikes out of the blue. We can drive along serenely, until we have an accident, then we realize how good it was to be safe. People do not plan on tornadoes, floods, or earthquakes. Sometimes the weather watchers may warn us, and we hope it does not happen; but if it does, it is very scary.

I can think of one thing that would make this world a really scary and ultimately unsafe place to be and that is the absence of love. We probably take the love of our family and friends for granted, until it is no longer there. Think of where we would be if emergency workers did not love (delight in )their work. Or scientists did not love spending their days investigating and discovering ways to make our lives better. This idea can be applied to most anything in life. I am just thankful that we are designed to love, as it is the oil that lubricates the way our lives mesh together.