FILE PHOTO: power lines. Photo by C Dustin on Unsplash
In front of my home, an overhead power line stretches from pole to pole. At the top of each pole is a horizontal bar supporting the insulators for two different lines. There is also a street light, a transformer and a collection of other wires and doo hickeys whose purpose I do not know. This pole and its wires have been there as long as I can remember. I do know that the top bar with insulators is new; my wife talked the power company guys into letting us keep the old one as a souvenir. It’s now part of a backyard flower bed display. But I am pretty certain that the two single strand tightly stretched wires are at least 50 years old. Some recent utility work on those lines brought back a memory of when I was about 9 years old, laying on the grass of our front lawn.
The hot summer air could be cushioned by the coolness of the blades of grass, especially against bare skin. I would plop down on my back, taking a break from unavoidable chores or throwing rocks, arms tucked behind my head like a pillow usually out close to the curb and gutter where I would stare directly upwards to those two wires. I chose that spot for the view of what I thought was a caterpillar crawling on the wire closer to the house. About two inches long, hugging and appearing to slowly wiggle its way along the expanse. I knew he was moving, but yet everyday he was in the same spot?! How could that be? I even pointed the little guy out to my mom but she just humored me and acted fascinated by my keen observational powers and went back to her obsessive weed pulling.
As I grew older, my interest in the caterpillar dimmed. I think it was dad who one day solved the mystery for me by pointing out that the caterpillar was actually a splice in the line. An extra piece of heavy gauge wire wrapped tightly around two ends to secure it and maintain the integrity of the wire as it traveled to the next anchoring pole. That made more sense to me than a caterpillar living on that wire without access to water and food for years!
On a humorous side note, I attempted to recreate that supine on the grass posture once a few years ago to take a break from yard work. I had not laid there but for a few minutes when I heard a car pull quickly over to the curb and a man’s deep voice I did not recognize asked me with great concern, “Mister! Are you OK? Do you need medical help!?” I lifted my head, looked at him laughing, and replied, “No, I am fine. Just looking for the caterpillar.” He smiled back, probably thinking I was crazy and nuts, gave a friendly wave and drove away.
Here is where I wax philosophical: that caterpillar was moving, or so I thought. In reality, it was not. It was not even a real living object. Same spot, never progressing, just chillin like a hair on a biscuit. Pretty dull and boring existence right? Maybe our lives are sometimes like that two inch fuzzy worm like creature? We get stuck in one spot, not progressing, just existing, feeling bored and sluggish. Yet there could be a purpose in those situations of stalemate. Maybe we need a rest stop, time to reset, make a new plan, set new goals. Sometimes, rest is best. And in the meantime, maybe we are not that caterpillar on the wire but rather the “splice.” Stationary, firmly holding together the pieces of our lives or of our loved ones lives. Whichever it is, there has to be a purpose to both motion along the wire and in resting. After all, eventually a caterpillar morphs into a butterfly!