Don’t overlook the best
February 19, 2009 (Thursday)
When this country was young, the vast western portions were sparsely settled. Contacts were made by travelers in behalf of others. After a while, there was mail service. Later, there was the telegraph, generally following the expansion of the railroads.
The telegraph offered something brand new: instant communication. Wires were strung between poles that were erected between cities and towns. A small electrical current was sent through the lines, which were connected to hand-operated devices that disrupted the current at timed intervals, triggering a response from other such devices along the route. Each disruption of the current produced a click in the devices, commonly called “telegraph keys.” Combinations of clicks were recognized as letters of the alphabet, and in this way a new method of communication was born.
In time, the “telegraph” became the “telephone.” One could talk into a device that turned the straight-lined current in the wires into curvy shapes. When the curvy shapes reached a similar device at the other end of the line, the current was turned back into sound.
After some years, the idea behind the telephone was used to send sound through the air instead of through the wires. We called it “radio.” People could talk with each other by mean of radios. Then somebody got the idea of sending the sounds out from tall towers that ran on greatly increased power. Everyone could hear those broadcasts at radios in their homes.
Then came “television,” when pictures were sent through the air. In our day all these ideas have been blended into little devices we carry in our purses and pockets. We call them “phones,” but they can do much more, like take pictures, send them through the air to anyone we want, and while they are at it, connect to the internet. My, oh my, we live in an extraordinary age!
As this revolution in communication was taking the world by storm, there was another system of communication that has always been available to people. Listen to this: we can communicate with the God of the universe! It’s called “prayer.” You don’t have to have a phone, and every contact is instantaneous and free. It’s by far the best deal around.