Vol.II, No.22
www.renewssource.com
November 15, 2016
Are You A Ponderer? By Pat Farrell
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID San Antonio, Texas Paid Permit #1590
According to the dictionary pondering means to consider something deeply and thoroughly; to meditate (upon or over); to weigh carefully in the mind: to consider thoughtfully. There are many things in life that we have faced or will face in the future that may require us to ponder the pros and cons of our actions before we decide the direction we will ultimately take. For example, when graduating from high school we may ponder over going to college or not, and if so, what should be our major - should we choose a school near our home town or one in some other area of the country? That takes serious consideration - so we ponder. The people we serve in our real estate industry must ponder over whether they should buy a small home that suits their current needs or a larger one that will later accommodate the children that may come along or the parents who may need to come
live with them. They will also ponder over which area is best for them, whether they should buy a pre owned home or if they should have a new one built to their specifications. These are some very serious issues in life that require us to lengthily “ponder over them!” But there are also issues that do not require pondering or, for that matter, take much time at all to consider a course of action. If, for example, you are on your way home from work, are tired and prefer not to have to cook when you arrive there, then the decision to eat out on the way home or stop in at a store to pick up something microwaveable, or perhaps once home order a fully cooked meal delivered is really a no brainer! On the other hand, buying a car usually requires serious pondering. For example, what payment can you afford – should it be new or pre owned – what make and color is best for you - what features do you require as opposed to those that would be nice to have – should you buy or lease – which dealership has the best price? After all those considerations you will hopefully wind up with the perfect car for you. When I was younger I was a real ponderer because life seemed to hold so many things that required really deep thought to reach important decisions that had to be made, but now not so much, as that pathway has been mostly decided, so that leaves me time to ponder over things that really do not require an answer or are really not important enough put forth any effort trying to find one. While spending a considerable amount of time in doing online research I will often accidently come across things that others have to say that catch my attention and I have found items that others seem to ponder over like: Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?
I have always found the English language to be fascinating and especially word usage so I really enjoy questions such as: Why does flammable and inflammable mean the same thing? And how come “fat” chance and “slim” chance amount to same thing just like slow “down” and slow “up” mean the same? Why isn’t the word “palindrome” spelled the same way backwards and why doesn’t onomatopoeia sound like what it is? What is another word for Thesaurus and is there a synonym for synonym? Why is abbreviation such a long word and why are there five syllables in the word "monosyllabic"? Why does “cleave” mean both split apart and stick together and finally, how come, although the plural of mouse is mice and louse is lice, the plural of house is definitely not hice? If you get to the point where there is little else to worry about you might want to ponder over: why when pizzas are usually round they come in a square box or why hotdogs come in packages of ten when the buns are in packages of eight. If something is declared as “the best thing since sliced bread” what was the best thing before sliced bread, and if nothing sticks to Teflon how did they get Teflon to stick to the pan? Why does corn have an ear if it cannot hear and what sort of fruit do you suppose is in Juicy Fruit gum? Just curious - when someone ships Styrofoam what do they use to protect it during its time in travel and, if you have heard that all the world is a stage, do you know where the audience will be sitting? Should it bother me that my doctor calls what he does “practice” or that my bank will charge me a fee for insufficient funds when it is obvious there will be insufficient funds to pay the fee? What would you say to God if He sneezed or what would Geronimo
scream when he jumped out of a plane? Or, why are buildings, once they have been built, still called buildings? Do you know what a “whack” is or what is in a whack so we will know why it is a problem when something is out of whack? Before drawing boards were invented what did folks go back to when something didn’t work the way expected, and, why is it that the folks who stuff fortune cookies to provide you with the winning lottery numbers are still working at their jobs? How does anyone know when it is time to tune their bagpipes, or why they sterilize needles when they are used for lethal injections. How many folks do you know that leave their cars, worth thousands of dollars, in the driveway because their garage is filled mostly useless junk? When you meet a psychic why do they have to ask your name or if they can predict what is coming why haven’t they won the lottery yet? If a turtle doesn’t have a shell would he be classified as homeless or just plain naked? When you buy a TV set shouldn’t there be more than one? Do you think that since “con” is the opposite of “pro” that that explains why congress is the opposite of progress? Finally, can you explain how it is possible to have a civil war? Sure, we know that most of us don’t have the time to spend pondering those kinds of things when we have enough other issues to worry about or to keep us busy. But isn’t it fascinating to think about all of the things that go on around us that we don’t stop to question because at that moment they are not significant enough to bother with. One day I hope that each of us will have the opportunity to just sit back, with feet up, and let our minds wander to ponder over the imponderable!