By Mike Johnson
I collect Diamonds.
The matches, not the gemstones.
In a world of runaway inflation, wooden matches are still a spectacular bargain.
I enjoy the heft of the 300-count box.
The roughness of the powdered glass ignition strip.
The aspen stick in my fingers.
The sound of the strike.
The smell of the sulphur.
The flare of the fire.
The burning of the matchstick.
They cost little, they last forever and have many uses.
I use mine to light the fireplace downstairs and the coffee candle in my office.
If the world goes to hell there’s many other uses.
I feel like I’m pulling one over on The Man.
In a world where government is concerned about 30-bullet clips for rifles, any 10-year-old can buy 300 matches for less than a dollar.
A forest fire is a much bigger peril than gunfire.
Yet no one is clamoring for matchstick control.
Bicycle locks are another camouflaged weapon.
They can lock-up many other things too.
Like a stranger’s bike.
The high school bully’s car doors.
The bank building that denied your loan.
Give it a moment’s thought and there’s many interesting options.
Yet nobody’s demanding lock control.
I read about a man who walked into a convenience store empty-handed, then robbed the cashier by throwing cans of soup until he opened the register.
With a little thought, any common item has many constructive or destructive uses.
Creative thinking can generate both good or bad outcomes.
So it’s never the item that defines its use.
It’s the thoughts of the user.
Unfortunately, authorities ARE demanding thought control.
Which can banish everything.
This level of authority is never used for good.
Which means the process used to grant power-over-others, deserves the most control of all.
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