Using what we don't know

 

Hayter for July 30, 2023

“Making use of what you don’t understand”

I seldom know what it is that will help me choose a topic for my article. Today, I was coaxed by an olive.

 

While preparing a salad this week, I thought to add some stuffed green olives I had purchased at Sam’s. These olives are big and they come in a 21 oz. jar. And, no, I have no idea why they added an extra ounce to a 20 oz jar.

 

So, I’m slicing one of the giant olives for my salad and it hits me. BONK! How on earth could someone invent a machine able to perfectly line up a long row of olives with the stem side out, and then run them through an array of automatic deseeders and pimento inserters? 

 

I imagine they had stuffed olives before I was born, yet, 73 years later, I still don’t have a clue how the creation of such machinery was conceived. I assume that if these olives were processed in China, it would require a more labor-intensive process. And, North Korea? Those poor people wouldn’t know a stuffed olive from a shelled almond. It reminds me of the old saying, “America, love it or stay here and improve it”. -- Okay, if no one ever said that, they thought it. 

 

Begs the question, which came first; the pitted cherry, pitted prune, pitted olive, or seedless watermelon? Of course, all of that is trivial compared to 21^st-century technology. For example, take a look at my cellphone… which oddly enough, is in the same room I am.  

 

Even dumb people can work wonders with this phone. I can call people, get the weather, find a Pizza Hut menu, and get the scores of different games. Right now, for your entertainment, I will find the capital of Mozambique. – Ready? --

 

Whoa! Before I could get to Mozambique, a pop-up informed me that Sinead O’Connor just died. By now, that’s old news to you, but I’m writing this in your past. From what little I know about Sinead, I sense that she was one sad individual. Fame can kick a person hard. That was just a guess. -- Oh, and the capital of Mozambique is Maputo.

 

To get the small amount of knowledge that I just garnered, some kind of electronic wave left this house and headed for a tower or Satellite, and asked for the capital of Mozambique. But, before it could do that, the satellite conveyed a message about the death of Sinead O’Connor. Do you have any idea how that happened in as little as three seconds? Nobody does! Well, perhaps three people. Kay may be one of them.

 

Here is something else that’s technologically weird? I’ve got a friend, Christine Gorhum, who just published a children’s book. The title is “The Adventures of Bunny and Boy.” I’m going to let Kay read it to me as soon as I’m finished here. She can sound just like a stuffed rabbit and a young boy.

 

Anyway, I purchased that book online from Amazon at noon yesterday. The book ended up on my porch at four this afternoon. Amazon publishes books by order. That means that when I placed my order, a machine printed the book with its illustrations and then put it on an Amazon Prime truck located in whatever city Amazon Prime prints its books. The truck, delivered the publication to the airport in said city, where it was flown to Houston airport yadda, yadda…

 

Bottom line, it ends up on my porch the next day at four p.m. That is scary. It made me think of my dad who passed away in 1980, at the age of 62. During his lifetime, my father accomplished some great things and witnessed many wonderful advances in science and technology. However, were I to die today, I would’ve witnessed countless more spectacles than Faris Hayter could have ever imagined.  

 

The good news is that Dad would not come back here even if he could. My faith tells me that he is in a place where time means nothing, and he can see as well as be involved in things that none of us can come close to imagining.

 

I think I’ll end on that, and head to the living room where Kay is eagerly waiting to read me a children’s book titled “The Adventures of Bunny and Boy” as written by my friend Christine Gorhum and illustrated by her daughter-in-law Erika Gorhum.

 

Short bio: Besides being an author, Chris is one of millions of photographers, only she takes photos without the help of sight. She has a similar malady as Kay’s brother Michael, who as a child had an operation on his brain that blinded him. He can see light, but it’s only a dim fog to him. The guy is sharp as a whip and has the ears of a bat. But, he couldn’t take a photo to save his rear. Chris has developed a method.

 

For now, I ask that you stay here for only a moment, while Kay reads “The Bunny and the Boy” to me. I’ll let you know my take on the Author Chris Gorhum’s children’s book. I’ll be back in a few. ---

 

Review: Throughout the read Kay and I were smiling and delighted. I may have gotten too deep into the story. A very pleasant story described by words that were so beautifully expressed. If you purchase this book from Amazon, I recommend you read it to your kids and your spouse. – Keep in mind, you won’t have to wait long to receive it. – Next time. 

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