Several years ago, Chris, our soon to be in son-in-law (at that time), was quietly amused by many of the things that he witnessed in our home. A prime source for his merriment was our flexible usage of the word “box.”
In our vernacular, box can be virtually any device that is electronic in nature:
- The answering machine was the box.
- The garage door opener was the box.
- The VCR was the box.
- The DVD player was the box.
- The DVR (digital video recorder) was the box.
- Each of our 5 remotes was the box. (We needed all 5, because the universal remote was actually only semi-universal.)
I want to give full and deserving credit to my wife for initiating and propagating this simple, yet curious naming custom. Yet, to be sure, I had easily and unknowingly adopted her minimalist identification convention.
Strangely, there was seldom any confusion as to which particular box is being referenced at a given time or situation.
Sometimes, my bride was able to skillfully use “the box” twice in the same sentence, but referencing two different entities, as in:
“I need the box (universal remote) if I am to turn on the box (DVR).”
Yet with all of our boxes, we seem to get along just fine—and give Chris a reason to smile.
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Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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