Staying Hydrated

We buy more than 10 billion plastic bottles of water per year! Clearly, we feel a need to stay hydrated.

Chances are that the people listening to the sermon on this the last Sunday of August have more than a Bible with them. They might also have a bottle — a water bottle.

Say "water bottle" and, if you're 85 years old, you might think this is a reference to a flat, red bladder into which hot water can be introduced, and which can then be taken to bed to warm up the sheets and body. Yes, this device (Google "red hot water bottle") was quite common in the first half of the 1900s when it was expensive to heat a house, and the cold nights and cold beds could be made warmer by use of the ubiquitous red hot water bottle.

But say "water bottle" to just about anyone else, and you know this is a reference to the even more ubiquitous plastic bottle containing water. If your audience is sporting a lot of water bottles, it's a sign that they fear that in the next 20 to 30 minutes they are going to be in dire need of hydration, and thus, are armed and prepared.

We see them everywhere —...