Let’s have some fun with pass-words.
First, there’s the elephant in the room: The Password. Just like “Open Sesame,” or “Swordfish,” got you through the door to a Speakeasy in the 1920s, we’ve got to have a password to do most things electronic, two decades into the 21st century.
The Password is your entrance to anything on the Internet; and don’t forget the “phone password” to get anything done with a bank or corporation via the old-fashioned telephone.
In order to get past Hello, you must present your “secret” code. Then and only then can you move forward in the conversation.
Everybody has them, some of us have collected a whole slew of them. Or if you’re techno-shy, someone has several of them for you. “It must be at least 8 digits long, with one capital letter, one symbol, one number, and unique to this use.” Yeah, right. How many people still use 12345AbC or 000000Ab…?
Second, as a matter of comfort to the afflicted, we say “This too shall pass.” And, it does.
Third, we take the Bypass, to go around the main road into a town or city. This is an attempt to lose the traffic and congestion of the downtown, but can backfire. My husband and I in many a domestic road trip, have taken a pass on the Bypass around a city, which experience taught us is far more congested than our fluid passage right through the city center.
Or, we bypass “step 3” in the directions for assembling that IKEA furniture we bought at such a great price; directions written by a brilliant Asian guy, translated to English by an equally brilliant Swedish guy, that this English-speaking American doesn’t want to read in the first place. Bypassing step 3 just feels like the right thing to do. Don’t pictures speak a thousand words?
Fourth, we have the passing lane. Can I repeat, passing lane? Now, some folks don’t get the concept of the passing lane. It’s for passing, not for cruising. Enough said.
Fifth, the passport. Now, I think it’s funny that in today’s modern Pennsylvania governmental bureaucracy (atop the Federal bandwagon), we need either a passport (originally intended for foreign travel and access to countries not your own) OR the newly conceived REAL ID driver’s license to fly domestically. Mind you, the REAL ID costs $60.50 as opposed to the regular driver’s license at $30ish, for no apparent reason, because it’s valid for four years just like the regular one. Oh my.
Sixth, “Please pass the veggies.” Or, others may pass on that.
Seventh, many of us have been heard to say, “I nearly passed out when I saw my paycheck last week.” I’m fortunate that I’ve only nearly passed out. I know it’s a regular occurrence for some of you party animals. Personally, I’m not fond of losing control, nor am I nurse-material.
I once worked for a Podiatrist who arranged to have a few hours in a hospital for outpatient procedures. I was clearly an office assistant, not a nursing assistant. But on occasion, Dr. Podiatrist asked me to assist. I didn’t know which end was up on the blood pressure cuff and I was just as likely to get a reading of 70/40 as 260/120 on the same patient 5 seconds apart. Long story short, I was asked to assist with a minor operation, in a tiny, windowless room, dressed in my kitty-covered nursing scrubs. Once a certain amount of blood flowed, I fought with every ounce of my being as waves of blackness swept over me in 2 second intervals until I could escape the confines of that asphyxial medical cell, and not pass out.
Eighth, “The buck stops here,” popularized by President Harry S. Truman, epitomizes a certain humility with responsibility one would expect from a leader. But, passing the buck, blaming someone else, or even falsifying the facts, unfortunately seems to characterize too many of today’s leaders.
Ninth, I learned a song at the dawn of the 1970s when I was a teenager, called Pass It On.
The chorus goes like this:
It only takes a spark
To get a fire going
And soon all those around
Will warm up in its glowing.
That’s how it is with God’s love
Once you’ve experienced it
You spread His love to everyone
You want to pass it on.
Proselytizing, often associated with religious belief, is the act of recruiting or converting someone to your point of view because of your fervor over your personal experience with God. Some of us feel so strongly about our point of view that we literally can’t hold back the desire to spread that opinion, thus the share button on Facebook. Freedom of the press and “it’s a free country,” permit all of us ordinary folks to share away without censure.
But, sharing or passing it on, goes many ways. This is where responsibility comes to play. Referring to those lyrics above, it only takes a spark…and soon all those around…spread it…you want to pass it on. Do you? In view of recent events (COVID-19) perhaps we would prefer not to pass it on, spread it?
Tenth and last, but not least, we Christians and Jews celebrate Passover in a matter of days. I’ll leave the details of the theology of Passover (Exodus 12) to any number of qualified clergies: pastors, ministers, priests, rabbis, to elaborate on. But, one thing I know about Passover, like passing away, and it came to pass, is that it is about being released from captivity, slavery, and the pain and suffering inherent in life.
Can we agree that we all want a mighty move of Passover this year? Then, can we celebrants pray that the resurrection representative of Easter restores not just the old life we knew, but a new, improved, better version of this life?
Borrowed from our Jewish brethren – l’chaim– to life!