I hit the random word generator for today’s blog.
And out spat:
Glue
Glue is one of those funny words. Both a noun and a verb.
But, if you say it out loud, slowly, or fast, it sounds nonsensical. Like a Seuss word. Glue. Gloooooooooo.
I’m not sure about my first encounter with glue. It either had to be Elmer’s White Glue-All, kindergarten paste, or rubber cement.
Does rubber cement count as glue, or are there technical differences? I had to wonder, so I looked it up. Yes, indeed. Rubber cement is considered a glue.
Well. Then. What exactly is glue?
According to Webster, glue is an adhesive substance used for sticking objects or materials together.
Or. In the sense of the verb, glue means to fasten or join. It could also mean that someone may be paying very close attention to something, especially a television or computer screen. I hope you are glued to your screen right now.
But back to the noun.
I used to love glue. Finding out that I could stick two things together with the stuff was a little bit of a miracle. It opened up new worlds for me. I used to love those old art projects when we could glue things. Anything.
Yet. If I had known as a kid what I was putting on my fingers and smearing on the paper? I probably would not have been so enthusiastic.
I learned later in life that during the 18th through 20th centuries, people disposed of old animals – horses in particular – to glue factories. Other animals were used, too, like pigs and cattle. It was their collagen that glue makers were after. But here we are now. Glue-making has come a long way since the days of horses and boiling pots. Today’s glue production largely revolves around synthetic materials — primarily petroleum-based chemicals.
My favorite glue today is Gorilla Glue. It is not made from gorillas but rather polyurethane adhesives. And they are based in Sharonville, Ohio, so it is the glue that is close to home.
I like Krazy Glue too. I put it on cuts, especially small ones. The Mayo Clinic says it is okay to do this as long as I keep things clean. So yeah. Patch it up.
The thing about glue is that glue is good.
It can put things back together that have been broken.
It can also join things that have never come together before.
If you think about the current divides in our country and in our world, it sure would be nice if we could find some big bottles of Universal Glue and fix things.
Yes, indeed, it would.
And that, my friends, is my story. And I’m sticking to it.
“”””””””””””””””””””””
Sometimes, reaching out and taking someone’s hand is the beginning of a journey.
At other times, it is allowing another to take yours.
― Vera Nazarian
“”””””””””””””””””””””
The only bond worth anything between human beings is their humanness.
— Jesse Owens
“”””””””””””””””””””””
I was reading a book… ‘the history of glue’ – I couldn’t put it down.
— Tim Vine
“”””””””””””””””””””””
It sticks. Like glue. Oh wait. It is.
