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Rapunzel’s
Tower
Did you ever have something you wanted to keep safe? How did you protect it? Did you put it in a tower and lock it away
from the world?
Did your safety measures work?
I used to work in the aerospace industry with solid rocket
fuel. I remember discussions about keeping
the fuel and engines loaded with fuel safe from contaminates. And then there were the reports that even in
special, clean storage facilities insects got into the engines…Our attempts at
keeping the fuel clean failed.
The wicked witch’s attempt at keeping Rapunzel safe failed
too.
My great-grandmother made pillows as gifts for my brother
and me. Each had an animal
cross-stitched on front. They were fun
pillows! They were just the right size to lean against for reading, comfy to
hug, and dense enough that they were GREAT pillow-fight weapons. Unfortunately, my grandmother was visiting
when one of our pillow fights broke out.
Oh, the scolding we received! The
take home message from the scolding was that we should treasure these gifts and
keep them safe. I don’t think my
grandmother knew that we did treasure them.
We used them, we loved them, and we made great memories with them. Eventually, they wore out. The physical
pillows are gone. The memories remain.
I wonder about all the things we keep safe. Are we doing ourselves a dis-service? Are there other ways to keep something safe
and to protect it, while still allowing it to function? I wonder what we will change because we have
considered Rapunzel’s tower.
Keep safe! Stay
warm! Enjoy the journey!
Jessica
Madsen
Fiber
Artist/needle felter
1/30/2014
