The great thing about heaven is there will be no more automobiles. I’m not sure how we will get around, but I know it will bring joy to those traveling. There is nothing in heaven that will frustrate us or endanger us. That means no cars and better, no traffic.
Going to work and returning home, I travel along I-20. I know the part of the interstate very well from Exit 84 to Exit 61 and back again. I know where Bienville Parish and Lincoln Parish have deputies monitoring our speed. There are moments of bumper to bumper traffic and then other times when it seems no one is on the road. The scenery along the road is also enjoyable. It is a great time to rev up for the day or unwind from the day.
The other day I noticed a recliner in the median of the Interstate. The reclining did not survive being ejected from a truck. How do I know this recliner was ejected from a truck?
Years ago, we lived in Lake Charles. Our eldest lived in Baton Rouge. We had a recliner that would no longer fit into the house into which we were moving. It was an almost new Lazy-Boy recliner. It was a great chair. She asked if we would bring her the recliner. We readily agreed.
One of our vehicles was a Ford Ranger pickup. It was a joy to drive and served us well.
We loaded the recliner in the back of the pickup facing the tailgate. It was pushed right up against the cab of the truck. My bride asked, “Should we tie it down?” My answer was, “The recliner is in here so tight and recliners don’t have good aerodynamic properties, so we don’t need to tie it down.”
My bride jumped in the driver’s seat, and I assumed the side seat driver position and we left for Baton Rouge. It was well after sunset when we finally pulled out. We were not on I-10 long when I happened to look back and noticed the recliner had moved. It was no longer against the back window. Not only was the recliner not against the back window, it was no longer in the bed of the truck.
Some place along that part of I-10, the recliner assumed aerodynamic properties and flew out of the bed of the truck. We back tracked to look for it. It had flown into a ditch that paralleled the Interstate. It was destroyed.
The recliner I saw the other day on I-20 and the one I remember on I-10 had all the markings of a man job. Some guy told another guy or his wife, “We don’t need to tie it down, it will not fly out.” I suppose recliners need to understand the laws of aerodynamics so they will quit flying out of pickup trucks traveling on the Interstate.
I think there is a theological truth in these flying recliners. “Be careful how you live.” The corollary might be, “Be careful how you load your pickup.”
Folks be careful out there!