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May 9, 2023
VIEWS
Current in Noblesville currentnoblesville.com
Do the eyes have it? Commentary by Terry Anker “Look at me when I talk to you,” proclaimed the exasperated mom to her sullen teenager. Like most of us, she ESSAY came to understand that visual connection is an important, if not critical, part of interpersonal linking. Likewise, the youngster intuitively was rejecting her admonishment by passively refusing direct engagement, almost as if to say what cannot be seen correspondingly cannot be heard. There is something about the optical handshake that elevates our accountability and dramatically enhances the exchange. So instinctive is it to we humans that children from the earliest stages of development will demand the embrace of eye contact. As they grow into the toddler years, every parent recalls their grabbing our faces with messy, chubby little hands to ensure that our gaze is fixed upon them as they share whatever they might need to impart. All is not to say that the best correspondents are those who engage in the practice of the lengthy death stare! Glaring,
scowling or simply peeping too long rarely leads to anything other than discomfort on the part of the object of the fixation. So painful is it that siblings often cry out, “Dad, Sis is staring at me — make her stop!” There is great power imbued in our countenance. In rightly decreeing that “eyes are windows to the soul,” the great 16th-century English playwright William Shakespeare paraphrased the biblical verse, “The eye is the lamp of the body.” It’s from Matthew 6:22-24. If bright and clear, the verse continues, then the person we see is likewise true and strong. Video conference has helped with time and distance, but is there a substitute, for those of us without impairment, for visual contact? Whether a vicious stare down or Burt Bacharach’s more delicate “Look of Love,” it appears that the eyes have it.
Terry Anker is an associate editor of Current Publishing, LLC. You may email him at terry@youarecurrent.com.
Flush with bathroom excitement Commentary by Danielle Wilson
ing to give us a new one, anyway (Thanks, Jeremy!) And we can’t paint until all the rest Here’s an en suite bathroom update: of this is taken care of, which means we We’re in our sixth week of remodeling and can’t hang mirrors. Much like the bathing still operating out of a kid’s room. I’m losing situation, getting ready in the morning is my gosh-darn mind. both a challenge and a hoot! I can blindly HUMOR The big-ticket items are apply eye makeup, but I really shouldn’t. done. We have a new tile floor The kicker was when I realized that I’d and swanky shiplap been providing on the walls, a toilet nightly nudie shows that flushes, and Much like the bathing situation, getting ready to anyone in the one working sink. in the morning is both a challenge and a hoot! nearby roundabout The plumbing is ba– DANIELLE WILSON who happened to sically finished, and glance up at our most of the hardwindow. My apolware and lighting are in. But we’re waiting ogies, dear drivers! Or maybe, you’re welon a shower door as well as a second tub come? I’d forgotten that the privacy curtain filler. Our first filler was apparently broken, has not been reinstalled. causing only cold water to flow throughout Anyhoo, I’m longing for the day when the house, and then after a tweak, switchwe’ll have our bathroom back, gorgeous and ing to scalding hot. Maintaining personal fully functioning. hygiene has been tricky, and at times, quite Peace out. dangerous! Additionally, one of our vanity countertops is cracked, and the repair job doesn’t look great. Of course, when I called Lowe’s Danielle Wilson is a contributing columnist. You may email her at to see about a replacement, I was told we info@youarecurrent.com. had passed the 90-day return window. Fortunately, they took pity on me and are go-