November 5, 2009
Watch out for me. I’m powerful.
While filing some receipts this morning, I noticed these words printed on a Subway receipt:
“Thank you for making Subway the world’s best sandwich.”
I would have given Subway the credit, but, okay, they surely know better than I do.
What they mean, of course, is that Subway’s business is up; people are buying more of their sandwiches. So it would be much more accurate to print something like “Thank you for making Subway the world’s most popular sandwich.”
Ah, but popularity is fleeting. The “best” sandwich mean so much more! Is “best” really determined by which sandwich sells the most?
Perhaps instead of pondering all this philosophical stuff, I ought to kick back and enjoy knowing that I played a part in making something, anything, the best.
November 4, 2009
Driving by Baylor this morning on my way to Common Grounds Coffee House, I noticed a field of yuong, recently planted oak trees. Here is a picture of one of them.
Upon seeing this field, I remembered, for some reason, that it had once been occupied by a building. This building had once been a set of stores.
I observed that there are very few trees planted, and they are rather spread out. I wondered why they hadn’t planted more trees.
Then I recalled all the beautiful oaks that spread across the Baylor campus, and, indeed, across Waco. Full grown, they aren’t meant to grow too closely together.
This field is years, probably decades, from its intended beauty.
Then I thought of all the quick fixes we are so prone towards in our society. We want change, we want healing, we want things to be better, and we want it NOW.
By planting these young trees, Baylor University is saying that they are in it for the long haul. Beauty and presence over years, decades, perhaps centuries.
What are you and I in for the long haul? What kinds of “better” are we willing to work toward and wait for full fruition?