Some of us remember the...
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Some of us remember the heyday of station wagons: those versatile, all-purpose vehicles
that preceded the minivan. It was an age of innocence, an age before seat belts -- so that
meant, as often as not, that a whole rabble of children would end up rolling around in the
back of somebody's station wagon, back where the cargo was supposed to go. Few
parents worried that, in case of an accident, their children would become flying
projectiles. Somehow, the station-wagon generation survived.
For many of us who lived through that era, the coolest station wagon of all was one that included an additional seat in the very back, looking out the rear window. You accessed that seat by opening a sort of trapdoor in the cargo area and unfolding it. The chief attraction was the view: You could gaze out the back window, and see the road behind you rapidly receding. It was a whole different perspective.
The view through the rear window was always entertaining, even if it was a bit strange. You never quite knew where you were going -- but you sure became an expert on where you'd been.
There came a point where the people of Israel, on their wilderness wanderings, became experts on where they'd been. Exodus 16 tells us, "The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness."
For many of us who lived through that era, the coolest station wagon of all was one that included an additional seat in the very back, looking out the rear window. You accessed that seat by opening a sort of trapdoor in the cargo area and unfolding it. The chief attraction was the view: You could gaze out the back window, and see the road behind you rapidly receding. It was a whole different perspective.
The view through the rear window was always entertaining, even if it was a bit strange. You never quite knew where you were going -- but you sure became an expert on where you'd been.
There came a point where the people of Israel, on their wilderness wanderings, became experts on where they'd been. Exodus 16 tells us, "The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness."
