Why would I pick a nail? It seems like a mundane, uninteresting piece of metal, but when I thought of the endless possibilities that a nail can achieve, it puts a whole new spin on the worth of this little piece of steel.
The history of the nail goes back thousands of years. A bronze nail found in Egypt has been dated back to 3400 BC. There are currently over 2,200 varieties of nails being manufactured today. The United States is still the largest manufacturer of nails today.
Within the English colonies, nails were impossible to get. It was not uncommon for families to sit at night in front of their fireplaces manufacturing them for sale or barter. It was not just the ‘Common’ people either, that were producing their own nails, Thomas Jefferson was quite proud of his homemade nails.
In a letter he wrote, “In our private pursuits, it is a great advantage that every honest employment is deemed honorable. I am myself a nail maker.” Jefferson was one of the first people to buy the newly developed nail maker in 1796. It was able to produce nails for sale. Did you know that when a nail is pounded into a wood structure, it loses half of its holding power? It takes about a month for the wood fibers to wrap itself around the nail to get its strength back.
A nail, can not only build a house, but a home, sheltering its inhabitants within its cocoon, a lifetime of security and warmth. It takes a nail to construct the furniture inside the walls of the home. A nail will hang their memories showing off their family pride. This little piece of steel will build the tree house or a cedar swing set for their children’s outdoor enjoyment. Nails give peoples’ wealth through jobs, Creating strength and contentment to all that pound it on it.
The nail throughout history, has made the entire world prosper and grow. It has created, hotels, bus, train stations and airports, allowing the world to travel and explore other regions across the globe. Shopping malls are constructed with nails, enclosing within, a place people can browse for treasures or walk for their lives. Without nails Hospitals, schools, and houses of worships would not exist to support peoples mind, bodies and souls. It takes nails to build bridges and idyllic wooden piers that are spread out across the world, allowing people and cars to cross raging rivers and vast waterways to get to where they need to go.
On the other-side, a weakened or damaged nail can also bring structures toppling down with the raging forces of nature. A rusty nail haphazardly stepped on can take a person’s gangrened foot. A miss-placed nail can render your vacuum cleaner motor to churn and whine to a screeching stop. It was just yesterday when I grabbed my keys, purse and dashed out the door for a nail appointment. I left ten minutes early. The traffic, because the intense desert heat was minimal.
Everything was right on tract until, I heard “Pop”, I quickly pulled over to the side of the road and, yes, a nail had punctured my right rear tire. So I have one question to ask you about my essay, “have I nailed this”?
