Options

Posted on Jun 14, 2016 in Uncategorized |

If you are in my basic age range (62) you remember the day when our options were fewer in number than they are today.

Many people had an outside TV antenna on a pole that you could turn to get 7-8 channels and better reception. Some had “motorized” antennas but in one house we lived in there was a bolt through the antenna pole and if we wanted to adjust the reception we went outside and physically turned the pole.  I remember being out by the pole in the winter and my brother saying “a little more to the right, yes – that’s better.” My grandfather bought one of the first color TV’s and the highlight of my week was going to his house on Sunday nights to watch “Disney’s Wonderful World of Color”.  Watching it on our black and white TV was anticlimactic, to say the least.  If someone had tried to explain satellite TV in the late 60’s we would have looked at them and thought their brain marbles must have hit each other way too hard.  150 channels?  On-demand movies?  Yea, right.

I remember going to Lima with the same grandfather to buy Lee’s Chicken and stop by Burger Chef (where the eastside Lu-Lu’s is now) to get 15 cent hamburgers to eat on the way home.  All the burgers had the same condiments – ketchup, mustard, and pickle. You couldn’t have it your way and no one would have thought to ask for anything else. 

Basketball shoes?  Fred Taylor Converse canvas and your options white or black, high-top or low-top.  My senior year we wore blue suede Converse low-tops – the first leather basketball shoes I’d ever seen.

If you went to a movie, you went to a movie theatre that showed one movie. No options and none expected.

Henry Ford’s famous statement was true in so many ways.  He said you could have a Model T in any color you wanted – as long as it’s black. A sublime green 2007 Dodge Charger R/T would have been unimaginable!

I miss the days when my uncle Ethan offered me a stick of gum and I knew it would be Wrigley’s (like Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs) Juicy Fruit and it was a long time until I knew there were other flavors.

While I like having lots of options and choices today, I find myself ordering the same meal at Cracker Barrel (spicy grilled catfish) or Captain D’s (kid’s shrimp meal and a side of clams).

My point is this: fewer options are less stressful. Too many options can easily create discontentment. If there are 35 kinds of candy or gum, what am I missing? 

I think it’s interesting that McDonald’s recently starting offering fewer options on their menu.

No wonder I feel totally relaxed in their drive-through!

 

Blessings!

Pastor Mark