I know I said, “Grandfather’s” toolbox instead of some other name, but that is because I am a grandfather, but whatever you are, – a grandmother, aunt, uncle, or just friend, we all need a toolbox of stories and lessons we collect to save for just the right moment. Those stories become our “words fitly spoken” that are “like apples of gold in settings of silver.” (Proverbs 25:11). It becomes that wise story you can tell at just the right time.
We all need that toolbox, but how do we get them? The answer is that we collect them. We write them to ourselves. We store them for just the right time. Just the other day I told my son to write his stories down. I now say that to all of you. Write them down. One of the biggest lies that we tell ourselves is “I don’t need to write it down. I will remember.” Write down, not only your stories but also those you hear from others.
Each Wednesday, I will share one of mine for you to put into your toolbox.
Today’s story is called “Doomed”
A bunch of really smart people got together in 1880 to predict the future, according to Jeff Stibel in his book Breakpoint. These experts were called on to predict how the rapidly growing New York City would manage into the next century and beyond.
The prognosis was not positive.
NYC was a major source of American innovation in 1880. Skyscrapers, subways, stock exchanges — and it was doubling in size every 10 years. The experts were concerned by this growth, because they projected that by 1980, you’d need six million horses to transport everyone who would live there.
Well, that is one little story I collected along the way. Why don’t you send me one of yours?
Lonnie Davis