Marriage Moats-Cardboard Bike

Published: Wed, 05/01/13

Marriage Moats

Caring for Marriage

In college I wrote a final paper for my degree in education and psychology. Based on the work by lateral thinker Edward de Bono I did a research project in the elementary school. I asked three hundred kids to tell me all the ways they could think of to use a cardboard box.

Store shoes in it

Make a fort

Shred it and use it for stuffing

Make a book shelf

Cut it into a shield

Draw pictures on it

Make a drum

Slide down the hill in it

Sleep in it

Tell it your problems

Jump over it

Some kids grabbed one idea, such as storage, and only tweaked the contents. Others thought of novel uses, or nailed it with volume. I recall one child who rattled off two hundred ideas while I scrambled to transcribe them.

There is a clever guy who invented a bike made of recycled cardboard boxes. It is durable, waterproof, strong and costs nine bucks to produce. His intention was to make transportation that is accessible to people who really need it. Lower income folks in urban settings are well served by bicycles, but can not always afford them. Now they can.

There has been an effort in California to bring marriage education to couples across the state, regardless of income, ethnic background or religion. Couples with money to spare can afford private counseling or a cruise. But the majority of husbands and wives can't squeeze out the cash.

In the Sunshine State, help is as accessible as a cardboard bicycle.

Photo by Jenny Stein

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