Another post without real rhyme or reason

I frequently mention how I am drawn to water -- especially to "big water" -- like a moth is drawn to flame, which is why this photograph is here this day. It is a screen shot from the Jon Bon Jovi video, "New Year's Day," that I used in my December 31, 2018, post. The image so captured my memory and my inner longings that I thought of using it then, but let stand the "time machine" illustration .... sort of a superstition I have about switching things out at the last moment. Together, the water/the boat/the sky in the photograph form my conception of what I would have life be for me and, very probably, the manner of life I would follow if I could do it all over again ....

 

The words in this post are some I wrote a few days before Christmas, but did not publish them then. I am running them now because it bothers me to "throw away" anything I have written, no matter how nonsensical or irrelevant it might seem. It sort of goes along with liking to hear myself talk .... hmmmm .... while that is true, actually and more importantly topics which are illusory and off the beaten path interest me because they are among those which form questions which probably can never be answered.

 

Accompanying the post is an old piece, "Salt of the Earth," by the Rolling Stones. I have seen the Stones perform twice and like a couple of their songs, although no one could ever accuse me of being a particular fan. The second video involves segments of the band's 2005-06 tour. No matter what one thinks of the music, the Stones' ability to be a vital element of the music scene for 57 (fifty-seven) years and a band which currently is on tour yet today deserves respect.

 

The salt of the earth

 

I began to think/wonder about the "salt of the earth" expression from the Bible a few weeks ago .... it probably had to do with the approach of Christmas. I do have a King James version I received on the occasion of being confirmed into a religious faith as a teenage boy, so I fetched it (how is that for a word?) and proceeded to do a bit of research. Here is what I found, according to Matthew 5:13, King James Version:

 

"Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men."

 

Utilizing the internet, I found a version "translated" into more contemporary words. According to the New International Version: "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot."

 

Again, from the internet: Matthew is quoting Jesus Christ and is describing a time when Jesus leads his disciples up to a mountaintop to teach them and there he tells them that they are the salt of the earth. Salt was a valuable commodity in the ancient world. Salt was expensive in those times and was a necessary part of food preservation and flavor. The Bible has many references to salt, which was even used as currency.

 

In contemporary times, "salt of the earth" has come to describe someone who is earnest, honest and down-to-earth.

 

I really have no idea where the notion came from, but at some point along the line I came to think of the "salt of the earth" as someone (in this case, a man) who grew to adulthood, followed his family business, got married, had children, went to church regularly, was a life-long community supporter, grew old, sort of retired after forty or fifty years at the same job in the same town, died a respected member of his community and everyone in town came to the funeral. How many people actually liked the individual really was of little relevance. In the case of the woman, she would be the counterpart to the man in this scenario.

 

Growing up in a small, rural community and seeing life as it existed around me probably was the seed from which that notion was born and evolved. My own conception of the phrase is pure speculation based on childhood observations of the community around me, and the idea of the origin of the root makes sense and is logical. Not to be overly factious, but I probably am closer to being among the "pepper of the earth," however, I have been unable to find a reference to who or what that might be so it would seem to be a moot point.

 

All I know with certainty is that no way can I be considered among the "salt of the earth" according to my own definition -- although I believe the words "earnest, honest and down-to-earth" are among those which do describe me.

 

Hmmmm .... sort of reminds me of another quote from the Bible -- the one about vanity ....