Opus 2025-284: Bumpers and Plates: Pick

I don’t remember seeing this before.  On the back of a large 18 wheeler truck were two signs.  The one on the left said “Passing side”;  the one on the right, “suicide”.

Humor is where you find it.  Keep your eyes open.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-255: Bumpers and Plates: Makes You Wonder

Seen on a Jeep I was following, “Not all who wander are lost.”

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-145: Bumpers and Plates: Danger

Today I saw a bumper sticker that said, “Actually, guns do kill people.”  I had nothing to write on so I was not able to respond. I wanted to leave him a note under his wiper and remind him that car bumpers kill people too.  To that list I could have added ladders, bathtubs, vaccines, and even water can kill you.  I don’t think he would read the whole thing.

I also did not want his death on my conscience.  Once he realized that water could kill you he might stop drinking and die of thirst.  Whoever drives the car is probably a very nice person and since I believe in liberty, I would not want him to hurt himself because he has no sense of humor.

homo unius libri

Opus 2020-232: Personal Hangup

I am thinking about getting a MAGA hat.  It would be more of a collector’s item than part of my wardrobe.  I don’t like caps.  They don’t cover my ears or the back of my neck.  I also am not big on wearing advertising.  I avoid clothing with logos.

I have a long history of not liking bumper stickers.  I enjoy reading them on other people’s cars but don’t want them on mine.  For one, they are hard to get off when they get ratty.  For another it means I have to be really careful when I drive.  I don’t feel good about cutting someone off when I have a Jesus bumper sticker.  In today’s world there are a lot of bumper stickers that will get your windshield busted.

I can still talk though, and I can still vote.

Join me either way.

homo unius libri

Opus 2016-289: Bumpers and Plates: Esse Quam Videri

I noticed a license plate recently.  The bottom said, “To be rather than to seem”.  It was in big enough print for me to read but I couldn’t get the top line without running into the car in front of me.  It looked like some strange name.  I later Googled the phrase I had seen and found out it was from the Latin, “Esse quam videri”.   That looked like what I had seen at the top.  It turns out it is a well used phrase.

According to Wikipedia it is the motto of North Carolina as well as a long list of other organizations.  Evidently Machiavelli reversed it to videri quam esse (to seem rather than to be).

I am afraid that our culture is into Machiavelli.  At school I talk about it being smoke and mirrors.  We see the same thing in politics, the church, business and in our families.

The big question is the one dealing with what we can change.  Do we see smoke and mirrors in our own lives?  Are we being or seeming?  I think we can tell.  What is necessary is a commitment to be honest with ourselves.  We know what we really think.  We know when our words and public commitments are done out of fear or for show.  Hypocrisy begins in our hearts long before it is expressed by our actions.

I think we can change our world if we change ourselves.  James Dobson used to tell a story about a meeting he attended.  At the time he was the elder in the room.  Most of the rest were young women just getting started in life.  On a table was spread of coffee and whatever went with coffee in that venue.  They were invited to partake and one by one they said they really didn’t want any coffee until the question was asked of Dobson.  I got the impression he was the last one.  He said, “Yes, I think I would like a cup.”  As he walked toward the table everyone else suddenly got honest and declared they would have some also.

We may not have anyone follow, at least at first, but if we don’t start standing up to the count there will be noone to follow.  If you are a Christian then this is not really an option.  We are called to be witnesses for our God.  If you are not a believer then you might also have an inner moral fiber that is not happy with silence.

Lets begin to speak out.  But whether you are a believer or not the guidelines of the Bible are a good reminder of how to do it.

(1 Peter 3:15 NAS77)  but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;

Make a difference in your corner.  Esse quam videri

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-262: Bumpers and Plates: Warning Label

Seen in Nevada,

“I am the gun owning, God fearing person that the president has been warning you about.”

Maybe in the future that will be a required labeling.  All gun owners will need to be tagged and all serious Christians will need to wear a badge or funny hat.

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-52: Bumper Sticker: Einstein Strikes Again

I noticed a bumper sticker in a parking lot recently.  It said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge” and was attributed to Albert Einstein.  This is an example of why you should not listen to a mathematician for advice about life.

I have a pretty good imagination.  I need it to go into the class every day thinking that I can make a difference.  The problem is that my imagination keeps running into reality.  Remember when you were a kid?  Remember all the dreams you had?  I remember all the times I sank the winning basket from half court as the buzzer went off.  I remember the pass I intercepted and returned for a winning touchdown in the last play of the Super Bowl.  I remember I actually got a date.

Not really.

I could certainly imagine it.  I just could not make it happen.

We are developing a culture that is forgetting the value of hard work and perseverance.  You can just go so far with natural gifts.  You may go further than I will but you will never go as far as you think.  A computer programer wannabe may have a great imagination but it he does not have the knowledge to write it down he is destined to flip burgers and play games that other people developed. 

The person who knows where the treasure was buried is better off than the one who imagines the treasure.

homo unius libri