Lost and Found

How can two of the most important things be lost in a small studio apartment?  I watch for them while unpacking and organizing.  A few months after moving all by myself and taking time to recover, I realized phone photos of container contents would have been a simple solution to my pathetic problem.

However, I am grateful for what I have found, including pills, food, my wife Kay’s journals, and my favorite paring knife.  With hindsight, lessons for future moves.  Finding my load is lighter with each “mission transfer”.

Consider what you learned from your moves.

To Learn More

January of last year, I had been listening to a public radio station, hearing commercial encouragement to, “Learn more at (whatever) dot com.”  (Posted about it.)  Now it’s still the thing — maybe more so.  “Information available at …”  What would life be like without the Internet and instant access?  (Really a rhetorical question.)

This year we can get a restaurant menu by scanning a QR (Quick Response) code on the table … instead of having a friendly waitress bring one with a smile and suggestions.  (The tip may be the same.)  Learn more about the deceased with QR codes adhered to cemetery markers.  Instead of printed information for instant reading on posters, it’s “in the cloud” via QR codes, now ubiquitous (everywhere) … to help us learn more … using a smartphone as usual.

FamilySearch Centers let you do it on Discover big screens to see ancestors, famous relatives, and facts about the year you were born.  It goes on … and discoveries are emailed to you.  Then ice cream may be served at the snack bar — one reason I will go to learn more.

Recharging

Are you old enough to remember personal devices that did not need recharging?  As a teenager I had a solar-powered transistor radio that only worked in the sun or artificial light.  Most of my life I enjoyed radios plugged into an electrical outlet (and had no Internet connection!)  In the 20th Century we had telephones cabled to a wall.  Until a few years ago, my favorite wristwatches ran on a battery that never died.  Starting with a “portable” in 1982, my computers were simply plugged into an outlet.  My wife Kay and I used disposable cameras for many years, being careful with our choice of subjects. 

Now it’s a challenge for me to keep everything recharged: my phone, watch, radio, laptop computer, Bluetooth headphone, desk lamp, flashlights, and camera (for a major project).  The list could go on.

More importantly, I need daily recharging physically, mentally, and spiritually.  Especially for Kay, recall our favorite place for renewal: Cannon Beach, Oregon Coast.  Exercise, rest, continuing education, service to others, prayer and scripture study work for me at home in Ogden.  Recharging should be so simple.