The Plumbline

I don't live in a wet climate, so my umbrella seldom gets used.  As a matter of fact, they can predict rain for days and days, but we will never see a drop, so my umbrella is kind of "superfluous" to my required "wardrobe" items.  I don't really have a "necessity" for it - at least the majority of the time.  I cannot say the same thing about shoes.  Since the sun beats down so intensely on our Arizona pavement and sidewalks, even a short distance to the end of the drive to pick up the newspaper can turn you into a long jump champion!   Let me just stop for a moment to tell you how much it can actually rain when it does rain around here.  The washes fill up in a matter of minutes - not hours.  So, even though I don't really "need" to use my umbrella the biggest part of the year, the couple of times we get the 'gully-washer' rains certainly make me glad I actually own a couple of them!   Some of us consider the "spiritual...

Direct:  The shortest course to something or someone; proceeding in an unbroken line.  If you have ever had "direct access" to someone by using a special "back line", you know this access has some special meaning.  In fact, if someone trusts you enough to give you the "back line" number, this says much about the relationship, doesn't it?  In healthcare, we have some remote monitoring capabilities these days, allowing an individual to observe a bank of monitors, video feeds, etc., all in the interest of observing the condition of the patient.  One of the features of this type of remote monitoring is the capability of reaching someone immediately when changes are observed.  It is imperative to have a "back line" feature built into this type of monitoring capability.  Why?  Changes occur rapidly and to intervene in the right timing, with the most purposeful and accurate actions, access must be guaranteed.  I wonder if the same applies with chang...