It's a boat!

The topic of judging a book by its cover has come up several unrelated times lately. I won't go into the theory that the first line of marketing a book is to have a good cover. That is pretty obvious. That's not where I'm going with this.

As our world view expands - thanks to the internet - we try to be open minded, but we still slip and judge people by appearance. Biases learned from our parents are challenged or affirmed. It is easy to be dismissive. I'm always teasing that I'm smarter than I look. (There is no good way to respond to that without getting into trouble.)

There is a joke about a guy who hears a report that the river is rising. His neighbors evacuate and urge him to come. He says he is a Christian and God will take care of him. Later, as the waters rise, a rescue team comes through his neighborhood in a boat - looking for people who did not leave. He sends them off ... Christian ... God ... Later, the waters rise so much he is forced onto the roof of his house. A rescue helicopter comes. He sends them away...

The guy drowns, goes to heaven, and God says, "What are you doing here!?"
The man complains, I have been a good Christian, I thought you would take care of me."
God says, "I sent a warning, I sent your neighbors, I sent a boat...."

Lately, I have tried to pay more attention to the people who come my way and ask, "Is this person a boat?"

And the best question, "Am I their boat?"

A book cover is just a book cover. Be a boat.