Yesterday, when I put a load of laundry in the dryer, and turned it on, the sound was beautiful. It was quiet!! Recently, our dryer had been crying out in despair due to some of its worn parts. At first my husband commented that perhaps we should just get a new dryer, because we have had a few repairs made to it over this past year. No way. If I can get it fixed with a reasonable amount of input, I'm fixing it. The dryer is 15 years old, but it was expensive at the time, so it should last. I'm so happy I have someone to fix it. Apparently, fixing appliances is not very glamorous, because he's nearing retirement age, and needs someone to pass on the business. It's a good business, he says, but not one young guys want to take on, because first, it isn't nearly as exciting as some fields, and it demands a lot of work and commitment, and it may mean the repair guy has to work on Saturday. These thoughts led me to wonder whatever happened to good craftsmanship. People used to take pride in their creations, but I guess with automation and factory production, that kind of falls by the wayside. I dread going into most chain type furniture stores. It's expensive, and it isn't really all that great. We bought a couch from a Leon's outlet five years ago. It's already almost bit the dust. I guess I'd rather spend a bit more for something that will last.
I've noticed that people are talking about Tiger Woods. Christians are commenting about it. Why is it that the aspect of culture that evangelical Christians comment on has to be pop culture? Do we know more about what's going on in Hollywood than other parts of the world? Do we care more about entertainment than ethics or science? Why do we care so much about celebrities? I guess it's a symptom of our affluence that everything must take on a entertainment type appearance, including news, worship, and sports. Why do Christians care about Tiger Woods' personal life? I don't. I don't even care about his golfing. Personally, I am finding it more and more curious that people get maid millions of dollars for playing. Sports has lost is pleasure for me at times, because when it becomes more about the celebrity and the money and less about the love of the game, it doesn't seem fun anymore. I liked it better when athletes weren't celebrities.
I also heard someone talking about some guy named Adam Lambert. I have no idea who he is, and when I asked, the information I was given did not inspire me to find out more. I have a suspicion he must be from one of those "Idol" shows. I have decided that I don't like those idol shows anymore. I have had enough of the promotion of the talent of individuals who don't have to work as hard as others to get where they are going. My son sings and plays the guitar and is a musician; I would never want him to go on one of those shows. And the same goes for my daughter. If she had ever wanted to go on that kind of thing, I'd be very worried. The producers of the shows can take a wholesome-looking girl and turn into a little Lolita in order to give the people what they want and give the girl a competitive edge. No thanks.
It's hard to keep our minds stayed on Christ when there is so much competing for our attention. I have found that limiting television time has helped me a lot. I watch "House" when I can (which reminds me, I missed it on Monday, and if I want to see it, I have to watch it online or wait for reruns), and I try to catch "The Office" if it's possible, but for the most part, I don't watch much anymore. I'm always amazed at people who have their television sets on all day, even if it is news. And by the way, just because we watch five hours of 30 second news blips, and hear the talking heads attempt to wax eloquent about things does not mean we're well informed. Information is not understanding. If we want to understand something really well, we need to do more than tune into (heaven forbid!) CNN or Fox News. When you think about it, CNN and Fox type news formats are kind of like "Sesame Street for Adults." You know; little bites of information. And we wonder why we don't have long attention spans?
And of course, all of this pondering is nice, but there is a day ahead, and I must get ready for mine. Recently, a commenter said in my comments box, "I don't want to be cool; just faithful." I think that is going to be my new motto. I just want to spend more time on things of value than wasting it on momentary, fleeting "stuff."
