My Uncle Ed told me this story years ago, he’s gone now. Before the big war, WW2 he installed his dads first electric water pump and was digging a trench to the house to pipe it in. You got to remember this is a long time ago. His dad laughed and laughed at him telling him it would never work. When he got it all put together and working, just cold water to a sink in the house mind you, his dad was amazed. My uncle told me with a smile on his face that, for the rest of his dads life, his dad would giggle every time that water got turned on. His dad didn’t have to carry water buckets anymore. Think about it a minute and about how good we got it now even the poorest among us compared to what our ancestors had to do just to survive.
The good ole Model T. The old timers used to say best truck ever made. lol. In the winter they would jack up the rear end because it would make it easier to start with the hand crank if the rear wheels could spin. If a rod started knocking you could pull off the road and use a chunk of your belt for a temporary fix in a hurry, the bearings were made of leather.
Before World War 2 there were still a lot of horse drawn wagons in use, they didn’t really disappear until after the manufacturing boom of the late 1940s. Roads in the country would get so muddy and rutted the people would change what ones they used back and forth. A lot of the little stores you used to see in the middle of no where were watering holes half way in between towns for the the horses. Many of these blips on the map were towns at one time, all burnt down years ago. My grand parents would talk fondly of going to watch a movie on the side of a building somewhere or a local dance where most of the neighbors and people in the area would gather in forgotten places in the country that once were towns. Even the farms were not so consolidated, every where you see lilacs there was probably a house at one time, the old timers used to press the flowers for perfume.
In my memories as a young child I can still hear that old wooden screen door slapping shut by a spring all day long from all the visitors. The neighbors and relatives had coffee and laughs all day long. They knew their neighbors back then and they were always lending each other a helping hand. You can hear some interesting stories from an old timer, why don’t you visit one today and bring him or her a treat along with it.
My grandma Anne lived on the farm as a child and would tell great stories about life in the old days. They used to go to town once a month for supplies and trading. ( What? Only once a month?) In the winter they would hitch the horses to the sleigh and her mother would heat the irons and put them under the blankets to keep them warm.
Her mother would barter and trade with home made soap, fragranced with home made lilac perfume, pressed from lilac blossoms, home grown honey and home made pillows, made from goose down, to name a few. The children looked so forward to it because they would get a pennies worth of candy sticks for a treat. (What? Candy only once a month?) They were self reliant and produced all their own food. They stored it in root cellars and with crocks and canning and larders and also you could cover root vegetables in the garden with straw and eat them late into the winter. My grandpa would say the meat could be so salty out of the crock that you had to boil it once before you could use it just to get the salt out. (What? No refrigerators?) At night grandma did her home work by an oil lantern. (What? No electricity?) She would always say the old timers died so young because they worked themselves to death, morning to night just to survive. Historically before the modern age life average expectancy was only forty years. Go visit an old timer maybe they got a great story for you too, and even if they don’t life is rough so go see them anyway and take them a treat.
Breaker, Breaker one nine, you got a copy? Do you remember the CB craze of the 70’s! Everybody wanted to talk trucker on the CB Radio, Come back! You got your ears on? Roger that. over. Then how bout a good ole trucker song to go along with that. Roll on….eighteen wheeler roll on. On the road again….We gonna do what they say can’t be done. Pig pen pull that rig to the back of the convoy and give me a radio check… cause we got us a convoy.. Go bandit go.. them Smokies are on your tail..and a There’s bear in the air. Know how you tell a trucker? They always got a little extra lunch on the front of their t-shirt. lololol We are all drivers and truckers and love the freedom of the road, that’s America. Salute to the Great American trucker keeping the USA great. God Bless You and keep the Smokies off your tail. We will catch you on the flip flop little buddy!
Was just out mowing lawn and snapped a pic. These violets remind me of my grandma Anne every time I see them. I just happened to be around and helped her plant them maybe 50 years ago or so. She’s been gone 25 years now and most of her old flower beds have faded away. These violets have spread all over her and Grandpa Steve’s old home stead though. Then the lilac’s come in bloom and do the same thing, the smell reminds me of days gone by. It would be nice to have a coffee and a chat with them again. A certain smell or feeling reminds me of my dad. A certain way some one lays their hands on the table remind me of my grand dad. A certain dream when it seems like they were just there. A certain fire burns in my heart knowing I’ll see them again over there. A certain smile reminds me of you now and then. I hope and pray you are making the safe bet on Pascal’s wager, I am.