Of the 21st Century and Clotheslines.

Here's a list of words:

Cellular phone, Internet, Digital, Wi-fi, I-pod, Palm pilot, Blog, clothesline.

In the midst of all the 21st century mumble jumble, there is something relaxing and soothing about hanging wet clothes outside on a very, very old invention-the clothesline. Hanging clothes forces me to slow down and let my child play at my feet while I hang item after item on the line.

As I carefully secure the laundry with old and sun-faded clothespins, I can't help but listen to the sparrows, robins, wrens, and cardinals.

And, as long as I'm outside, why not take a few minutes and toss a ball with Tony? Isn't that what motherhood all about; bushing aside the mumble jumble of today and helping kids enjoy a simple life?

Crossed Wires

It sat there, unused, for months, covered with a hand towel. It was disconnected, its wires lying nearly hidden on the floor. I would walk by and glance at it every now and then and think, "I really need to get back on that thing and make some contacts."

But all the old excuses caused it to fade from view as I went off to something else.

Today, I took the dusty old towel off and picked the wires up off the floor. But it had been so long 'since I had paid attention to it that I could not remember what wire went where, and I got them crossed.

Crossed wires aren’t good. It prevents communication from occurring.

The only thing I could do was to call for help.

Once the wires were straight, I could hear what it had to say, but the signal was weak and full of static. The wires had to be tightened and tuned for any real communication to take place.

The moral of this story is to make sure the lines of communication are straight, tight and in tune with each other.
--VJ, Amateur Radio Operator