On a beautiful day like today, it would be great to be able to preserve it forever.  Day after day of blue skies and sunshine.  There’s also no humidity here in the Northwest because it all drains out in the form of rain during the other half of the year.  Add the beautiful weather with the fact that I’m happily retired, and I could live in this moment for eternity.  Let’s just freeze it!

I’m reminded of the J. Geils Band and their 1981 hit song, “Freeze-Frame.”  I had a home and a lawn back in Indiana to take care of back then.  I just hated to mow the lawn, but the voice of my dad was in my head, and I had to do it perfectly:  cross-cut, edged, and weed-free.  After I was finally done blowing away the clippings from the driveway and sidewalks, I felt a sense of pride in home-ownership, until a few days later when it needed to be mowed again.   There weren’t headphones back in those days, so lawn work was a lonely, hot, boring experience until the snow finally fell.  I would joke with my friends about developing a product that would preserve that “just mowed” moment.  Once you were done with all that hard work and your lawn was just perfect, you would then spray it with “Freeze-Frame,” and it would look that way forever.

Walt Disney supposedly had his own version of “Freeze-Frame,” preserving his body to eventually enjoy a first-hand experience of “Tomorrow Land.”  Cryonics is the science of using ultra-cold temperature to preserve human life with the intent of restoring good health when technology becomes available to do so.  The Alcor Life Extension Foundation is a non-profit organization located in Scottsdale, Arizona.  I assume it’s a storage facility for human “Popsicles” like Walt Disney, and I hope it works.

We have photographs to preserve our memories, recordings to preserve our music, and freezers to preserve our food.  My mother was the master of frozen food and a pioneer in microwave cooking.  Her freezer should have won a “Frozen” award for organization, with stacks of frozen meats, soups, pies, and vegetables.  It was a model of efficiency.  She would actually freeze soup in the shape of the bowl, neatly wrapped and labeled in Saran Wrap.  It was microwave ready, once it was unwrapped and placed in the matching bowl.  I’m surprised I don’t have some form of radiation poisoning from all the microwave food I was subjected to eating.    If it wasn’t in Saran Wrap, it was stored in Tupperware, both brands that simply made things last longer.

I remember a humid, Midwest Labor Day.  We were out on Lake Decatur in a boat trying to stay cool, in anticipation of the annual band concert.   We had several friends who played instruments, so we were there to support them and enjoy the music, while sipping on a Fresca.  Dozens of other boats were anchored around us, and people gathered along the shoreline in lawn chairs or on picnic blankets.  We were laughing about how all the food was packed in small, water-tight containers that we jokingly called, “Rubberwear,” to keep it dry and fresh.  It occurred to me that all of us should be sealed in some kind of preservative, to keep us young and vibrant:

Rubberwear

.

At an outdoor concert,

Enjoying music while afloat.

Tried to share our brownies,

With friends on another boat.

.

Didn’t want to start the engine,

Interrupt the show.

“You’ll never get it there,”

“They’re out of range,” you know.

.

Someone soon suggested,

Throw it if you dare.

I told them not to worry,

They’re packed in Rubberware.

.

The brownies shifted inside,

And fell a little short.

But someone made a diving catch,

I’m happy to report.

.

There was a giant splash,

An arm soon stretched out.

“I think he saved them,”

Came an anxious shout.

.

The concert stopped abruptly,

Everyone turned to stare.

The brownies all stayed dry,

Safely sealed in Rubberwear.

.

Applause broke out around us,

The band began to play.

A picnic saved by Rubberwear,

One sunny Labor Day.

.

Rubberwear got published,

An Urban Dictionary word.

The famous brands got jealous,

That’s the story that I heard.

.

Rubberwear is now a must,

In containers big and small.

It preserves the contents,

Helps the aging process stall.

.

It gave me a great idea,

Something profound to share.

Perhaps you’d like to join me,

And be sealed in Rubberwear.

.

Copyright 2009 johnstonwrites.com

Whether it’s “Freeze-Frame,” Cryonics, Saran Wrap, Tupperware, or simply Rubberwear, there are times in our lives that we want to preserve forever.  We don’t want the everyday hassles of life, but rather blue skies and sunshine.  I’m enjoying my retirement and being able to share some of my favorite memories through the stories and poems that I write.  Freeze It!