whatareyouthinking

A carpenter was constructing a deck when the homeowner pointed out that he cut one of the boards too short.

The carpenter replied with, “No sir, I shortened the length of that board on purpose. That was to make room for the steel reinforcement pole that needs to be put there in order to secure the deck in the event of high winds.

“Why would you only put a steel reinforcement pole only on the left side of the deck?” the homeowner asked.

“Oh, I actually planned to put one on both sides of the deck-but I couldn’t put one on the right side because a large rock in the ground prevented me from digging to secure the pole,” said the carpenter.

“That’s interesting, because you also built my neighbor’s deck-and I didn’t notice any steel reinforcement poles on either side of his structure,” said the homeowner.

“Well, I didn’t care for your neighbor that much because he was always haggling with me, so I didn’t go out of my way to do anything extra for him,” said the carpenter.

“That neighbor you spoke of is my best friend,” said the homeowner.

Finally the carpenter replied, “Thanks for pointing out to me that I cut that board too short.”

Many students only knew the principal by how the teachers spoke of him. Some teachers said that he was a scary man-anxiously awaiting the opportunity to punish the bad children. Other teachers painted a more favorable picture of the principal, stating that he really cared for the kids and had their best interests at heart. Some of the pupils chose to agree with one teacher over another, some even argued and fought about it amongst themselves. Nevertheless, the students only knew the principal by how the teachers spoke of him.

One time during the 1950’s a man picked a rural area and went door-to-door selling televisions. One resident didn’t understand TV, but the man still managed to sell it by convincing her it was the best piece of furniture anyone could own. Many of her neighbors criticized her purchase because they didn’t understand TV either. Some neighbors knew about television but still criticized her because they didn’t agree with the programming. Nevertheless, this resident stood by her decision and became very defensive of her television set. She went on to tell her children, grandchildren, and other members of the community that they should all own television sets—even though she never used hers!

One day a guest came to her home and, noticing the television, asked her why she didn’t use it as a television. She went on to tell her guest how she believed it was the best piece of furniture that anyone could own. But before she could say anything more, the guest turned on the TV and turned it to a clear channel. The guest watched as the woman was amazed at the bright light and rich sound emanating from the set. Then he proceeded to explain to her many amazing things regarding the television. But the woman got up, turned off the TV and said, “Well, if that’s the way you want to use your television that’s fine. But as for me, I’ll just keep things as they are.”

Several individuals were gathered around a house, pointing and arguing about whether or not Mr. Smith lived there. Some drew attention to the various decorations on the home and in the yard that were notably Mr. Smith’s. Some pointed to the mailbox and said, “See, it says ‘Smith’ on the mailbox in plain English, so it must be Mr. Smith’s house. Others appealed to various sources; neighbors, local lore, legal documents, and the like in an attempt to defend the fact that Mr. Smith indeed owned the house. But each attempt to prove Mr. Smith’s occupancy was thwarted by yet another attempt to discredit it. Generations of lectures, articles, and books were made available to all who wished to believe [or not believe] Mr. Smith’s home ownership status. But only a few knocked on the door to inquire.

A small town elected a new mayor. The townspeople reported, “A 400 pound black man has become our new mayor!” One individual disturbed by such distinctions asked, “Why must we make divisions amongst ourselves by labeling people? Now, why couldn’t we just simply say, ‘A 400 pound man has become our new mayor?’”

There was once a recipe found that was believed to have been written by the master chef. It was said to contain the ingredients for the greatest meal ever made. Should one experience this recipe in its fullness, the dish would be palatable, nutritious, and satisfy hunger forever. Since this recipe was written in various places and took many years to complete, some of its ingredients were difficult to gather without being aware of the environments whence they came. Since few persons understood what the recipe was really about, many of them isolated individual ingredients, added some ideas and shared it with others as if it were part of the recipe. Still others had their own idea of what the final meal should taste like, so they presented the recipe in such a way that made it seem as though the original ingredients actually supported their own ideal meal. Amidst the confusion, there were some learned in nutrition that provided a better understanding of many of the ingredients, although they didn’t believe the meal to be a reality. Thousands of restaurant chains were set up across the world. Each claimed they followed the recipe the closest, had a better understanding of the recipe than the other restaurants, or understood the master chef’s true intentions. As a result, many strange meals were served across the world based on each restaurant’s application of the ingredients. There were restaurants that produced a fairly good meal and benefited many. However, there were more restaurants that served dishes not beneficial for their customers; many became ill, went mad, and some even died from the bad food. Now few people believe the recipe had any significance at all.