Shade Tree Wisdom 5/31/12

          The Golden Gate Bridge is 75 years old now, and it is an orange red almost by accident. When it was being built, designers debated whether to paint it black, white, striped, or what.  Meanwhile the primer coat to stop rust was applied, and that was a red lead paint. The sunset sparkled on the color, people liked it, and so the present hue, International Orange, was chosen. Almost by accident. Serendipity.

          Often things happen by accident. I read fried onion rings happened because a cook accidently dropped some onions ready to add to a burger into a vat of fat, fished them out, and a new eating snack was born.

          The St, Louis Worlds Fair in 1904 gave us the ice cream cone. A vendor selling ice cream ran out of cups, asked a nearby waffle maker if he could roll them up, perched a dip of ice cream on it, and viola, the ice cream cone.

          Muffelettas started in New Orleans when grocer Salvatore Lupe decided to make life easier for farmers at the nearby French Market. They’d buy some bread, meat and cheese, then sit and juggle everything. So, to make it easier for them, the grocer sliced a round loaf of fresh bread, put on salami, cheese, and olive oil with cut black olive, and sold this sandwich for lunch. Jason’s Deli features this as one of its offerings.

          Finally, I must tell you that the hamburger probably was started at the Outagamie County Fair in 1885 by Charlie Nagreen, who flattened a meat patty, cooked it, and put it on bread. (That county is in Wisconsin, by the way).

          Serendipity.

          Happenstance. Happens all the time.

          Because it does, it is good to know what took place centuries ago when Israel was on the march. When they reached the land of Moab, the king sent to the prophet Baalam and asked him to come curse the Israelites. Balaam replied that he could only do what God commanded, and added, “God is not a man, that he should lie; or the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?  Numbers 23,19.

          James says of God “with whom there is no variableness neither shadow of turning.” James 1,17.

          Jesus speaks and says, “Thy Word is Truth.” John 17,17.

          I point this out so we understand what the Bible teaches about our salvation in Jesus Christ is the truth, and we can depend on that for our soul’s welfare.

GPD 5/31/12