VALUABLE ASSET? ASK THE MAGNA CARTA

What is the most valuable asset we possess?

I believe it is self esteem, self worth.

In fact, I count on it in myself and others.

Good self esteem in others means they know how to behave themselves in public.

I was thinking about it during a recent Costco run that included a chat with the Cutco Knife lady.

She had a set of knives all laid out on a table, along with a hand held knife sharpener.

 

Me: You’ve got a great set of knives.

Lady: These are the best on the market.

Me: I had a Cutco knife and the first thing I cut was my finger when I washed it before using it. The thing was like a piranha hiding in the sudsy dish water.

Lady: We all have scars at first. There’s a learning curve.

Me: May I see one.

Lady: A scar?

Me: No, a knife.

Lady: Of course.

Me: It’s a beauty. I haven’t seen any other knives on display.

Lady: I hope not.

Me: I know. Look at the crowd. Would you trust any of them with a knife?

Lady: 

Me: Anyway, I’m looking for a knife sharpener and figured you’d have one for your sharp knives.

Lady: Yes, we do.

Me: I’ve got a hand sharpener. Do you recommend an electric brand?

Lady: I feel you lose too much steel with a mechanical sharpener.

Me: Every knife would end up looking like a filet knife?

Lady: They wouldn’t lose that much.

Me: Maybe I’m doing it wrong.

Lady: You are if you don’t do it like this: Six strokes with a medium heavy hand, then four with a light hand, wipe, and cut.

 

I’d been doing it wrong.

The Cutco Lady was my valuable asset that day.

Now I’ll have sharp knives without sending them out, or taking them somewhere.

Call me The Blade.

 

The Right Way Is Not An Experiment, It’s Experience

Just like sharpening knives can be a learning experience, so can using a knife the right way.

Portland Cook Shop has just the class.

My wife is a fan of knife class.

She brings it up as often as she does our dull knives.

 

Wife: You’ll cut yourself with a dull knife more than  you will with a sharp knife. 

Me: I’m not cutting myself with any kind of knife.

Wife: Is that why you keep your knife box hidden.

Me: I don’t have a knife box.

Wife: Then what’s in the box on the left side of the top shelf in your office?

Me: Knives. But they’re not hidden. If I hid them you wouldn’t find them the way I find all of the cookies you try and hide.

Wife: Then I’ll try harder.

Me: Or not hide them at all.

Wife: What if I need one of your fighting knives?

Me: Because you might get into a knife fight?

Wife: You never know.

Me: You have a kitchen full of weapons.

Wife: Not for a knife fight.

Me: You don’t bring a knife to a knife fight.

Wife: What then?

Me: You bring a gun.

Wife: A gun. You’ve got a gun? 

Me: No, but that’s the saying. “Don’t bring a knife to a gun fight.”

Wife: Do you want a gun?

Me: No thanks, I’ve got a knife box.

Wife: Are they sharp?

Me: I don’t know.

Wife: Maybe you should know.

 

The Valuable Asset Of Reason

Why do people misbehave?

Either they don’t know any better, or they gain something.

One way or the other, people got tired of morons acting out over and over, and greedy shits who can never get enough of what they think they need at any given moment.

Think about the basics, the human basics of food, shelter, and clothing, and more.

Food is food, whatever you put in your mouth. It goes along with clean air and clean water.

Shelter is a safe place to sleep; clothing a way to stay warm.

Once things tilt too far one way and leave people without the basics, something happens.

Civilization slowly changed from marauding hoards raping and plundering their way from town to town, to making rules.

One of the early set of rules was the Magna Carta.

 

The 1297 document represents the transition of Magna Carta from a brokered agreement to the foundation of English law, establishing the idea that people possess certain unalienable rights that cannot be overruled, even by a king.

Magna Carta also guaranteed due process of law, freedom from arbitrary imprisonment, trial by a jury of peers, and other fundamental rights that inspired and informed the Founding Fathers of our nation when they wrote the Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution, and Bill of Rights.

 

Standing with the Magna Carta was a tingling experience for me.

It felt like history in the making between my hands.

The shot came during a condition report by a museum conservationist.

Since it was in my museum I got to sneak in for a quick click.

I knew better than to expose it to excessive light, but it was a work in progress for a short time, and I found a moment.

That’s my excuse.

Should everybody get to hold the Magna Carta. No.

But it wouldn’t hurt to review some of the concepts:

 

The Magna Carta’s legacy can be seen in many modern democratic institutions, including the idea of checks and balances to protect people’s rights.

 

After that quick review I feel my own self esteem and self worth pumped up.

Imagine how it felt to the masses who’d been living under less than ideal conditions.

Writing down grievances and remedies proved to be a valuable asset for the rest of us.

Luckily we don’t have a king like Bruce sang about in Badlands.

 

“Poor man wants to be rich, rich man wants to be king, and a king ain’t satisfied till he rules everything.”

 

Are you feeling lucky?