How Much is it Worth?
Miss Mae
January 15, 2008
Today is my 36th wedding anniversary.
I hear a lot of, "Throw it away. It´s disposable", or "That´s not worth the paper it´s written on", and even, "It doesn´t grow on trees." (That´s not been thought through, obviously). In any case, paper´s been getting a lot of bad rap—no pun intended toward wrapping paper.
Now the word out on the street, in the news, on the internet, and over the back fence is, "Marriage is nothing more than just a piece of paper."
Paper must be bad, I guess. So bad that the institution of marriage is rejected rather than to be performed, recorded, and proudly displayed on a "piece of paper".
But we´re a fickle lot. If you´re scheduled for a heart transplant, or brain surgery, or even a ´minor´ nose job, one of the first things you do is peruse the doctor´s office walls. You want to make sure they´re covered with certificates stating he has the smarts to know what he claims he knows. You rest more easily at seeing one hundred of those framed bits of paper decorating his room.
And I´ve yet to hear of a thief emptying a bank of all their debit cards. He wants those thick wads of greenbacks called cash.
What about your children? Aren´t they excited when they rush home, their faces flushed and eyes shining with anticipation at hearing your praise when you SEE that A on their report cards?
How come some papers are still highly esteemed, yet the one that demonstrates to your family, the government, and the world-at-large that a commitment you pledge with someone before the sacred altar—till your dying day, no less—is reduced to nothing more than ´just a piece of paper´?
It´s an important question, and one I answered thirty-six years ago.
Lula Thomas copyright 2008
I hear a lot of, "Throw it away. It´s disposable", or "That´s not worth the paper it´s written on", and even, "It doesn´t grow on trees." (That´s not been thought through, obviously). In any case, paper´s been getting a lot of bad rap—no pun intended toward wrapping paper.
Now the word out on the street, in the news, on the internet, and over the back fence is, "Marriage is nothing more than just a piece of paper."
Paper must be bad, I guess. So bad that the institution of marriage is rejected rather than to be performed, recorded, and proudly displayed on a "piece of paper".
But we´re a fickle lot. If you´re scheduled for a heart transplant, or brain surgery, or even a ´minor´ nose job, one of the first things you do is peruse the doctor´s office walls. You want to make sure they´re covered with certificates stating he has the smarts to know what he claims he knows. You rest more easily at seeing one hundred of those framed bits of paper decorating his room.
And I´ve yet to hear of a thief emptying a bank of all their debit cards. He wants those thick wads of greenbacks called cash.
What about your children? Aren´t they excited when they rush home, their faces flushed and eyes shining with anticipation at hearing your praise when you SEE that A on their report cards?
How come some papers are still highly esteemed, yet the one that demonstrates to your family, the government, and the world-at-large that a commitment you pledge with someone before the sacred altar—till your dying day, no less—is reduced to nothing more than ´just a piece of paper´?
It´s an important question, and one I answered thirty-six years ago.
Lula Thomas copyright 2008
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