Re: Taking Simple Things For Granted

SaRina · ‎04-17-2015

The OP brought back a vivid memory of sleep-away camp. We camped in the woods for a couple of days -- built a lean-to and a latrine. I was 10 years old. I wrote to my parents, begging them to come and get me.

RedTop · ‎09-01-2010

I don't sweat the small stuff. I truly appreciate my modern lifestyle, but know I can go back to pulling water from the well in a bucket, using an outhouse, cooking on a wood fired cook stove, and using a wringer washer, because I've done it all before.

Because of iron water issues, I spent my 20's and 30's washing our clothes in a Maytag wringer washer, and line drying them in the basement or outside.

We lost power for a week during the early 80's when my kids were very young. I heated water and cooked on our wood stove in the basement, flushed the toilet with creek water, and used kerosene lamps at night. Life went on as usual for us. My neighbor who also had young children, dissolved in tears after 24 hours, and made her husband take her and the kids to her parents to stay until the power came back on.

Gram W · ‎01-22-2013

@Mz iMac. I have fun memories of visiting an aunt and uncle with 5 kids. They had a 3 hole outhouse and the Sears catalog. Junk catalogs did not go unused. The stories that still get told on the rare occasions that the cousins get together. Time passes on. Science and inventions bring major advancements that are supposed to improve our lives. All these are true and good but it appears to me that the more we receive the more we expect and the less we truly appreciate. The stories we tell the younger people find gross and discussing. They think our memories exaggerate the happenings. How do you exaggerate tipping the outhouse over or throwing a firecracker under it when your uncle is sitting inside. Tears are running down my face now as I type. I can still see the look on my uncle's face as he came running out with his pants around his ankles. Needless to say we all paid a price even if only 1 did the trick.

AngelPuppy1 · ‎03-13-2010

Reading some of the replies I am reminded of when I went to school. When I was learning commercial classes, as they were called back then --- we had only manual typewriters. Shortly before I graduated our typewriting class was granted 2 electric typewriters! Our teachers said --- who wants to work on these? Volunteers? No one wanted to use them, as everyone was afraid. So, my best pal and I put our hands up and off we went! Wow! We were truly pioneers! HA!

My first job, we had electric typewriters but at first there were no computers. There was a huge machine which was called a Memory Typewriter. I was delegated to operate it. That was something! Any long documents were given to me because they could be saved in it's internal meory and then corrected to a certain degree and re-printed. It had a limited cpacity though and printed the documents right from the typewriter -- no separate printer.

We then got 1 computer - just to try it out and we had to share! It was a huge Radio Shack model with a huge, loud printer!!! Oh, my! And it had the big floppy discs in it!

Later, we each got our own Radio Shack and printer. The noise was deafening!

We have come a long way, baby!!!

"A day without sunshine is like, you know, night." - Steve Martin

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

@Plaid Pants2 wrote:
Today I notified my landlord that my toilet was broken. The overflow valve wasn't working, and so the water was constantly running.

Not only that, but the shut off valve under the toilet wasn't working either, so that I couldn't turn off the water that way.

A plumber came out and fixed everything, and I now have a fully functional working toilet.

While I was waiting for the plumber to show up, I got to thinking about how we take something so basic for granted.

I mean, think about it, 150 years ago, we were using outhouses, and that was normal.

In Shakespeare's time, they only bathed once or twice a year.

Gross to us today, normal to them.

I can live without electricity and the internet, but I would hate to not have a working toilet.

I live among a large Amish population, some of the most strict of all the orders, and I see the things they live everyday without.

It is amazing what we don't need to survive, but how appreciative we are when something very basic, like inside plumbing fails us.

I have always said that the one 'modern' convenience I would not like to live without would be indoor plumbing. I love to be able to use and flush a toilet indoors, and turn on the tap for hot and cold water.

IF every other modern thing went by the wayside, I'd get by with just my indoor plumbing!

Plaid Pants2 · ‎03-14-2015

@Gram W wrote:
@Mz iMac. I have fun memories of visiting an aunt and uncle with 5 kids. They had a 3 hole outhouse and the Sears catalog. Junk catalogs did not go unused. The stories that still get told on the rare occasions that the cousins get together. Time passes on. Science and inventions bring major advancements that are supposed to improve our lives. All these are true and good but it appears to me that the more we receive the more we expect and the less we truly appreciate. The stories we tell the younger people find gross and discussing. They think our memories exaggerate the happenings. How do you exaggerate tipping the outhouse over or throwing a firecracker under it when your uncle is sitting inside. Tears are running down my face now as I type. I can still see the look on my uncle's face as he came running out with his pants around his ankles. Needless to say we all paid a price even if only 1 did the trick.

You're right.

I would hate to live during Elizabethan times, because their hygiene habits, or lack thereof, were absolutely D-I-S-G-U-S-T-I-N-G.

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

@RedTop wrote:
I don't sweat the small stuff. I truly appreciate my modern lifestyle, but know I can go back to pulling water from the well in a bucket, using an outhouse, cooking on a wood fired cook stove, and using a wringer washer, because I've done it all before.

Because of iron water issues, I spent my 20's and 30's washing our clothes in a Maytag wringer washer, and line drying them in the basement or outside.

We lost power for a week during the early 80's when my kids were very young. I heated water and cooked on our wood stove in the basement, flushed the toilet with creek water, and used kerosene lamps at night. Life went on as usual for us. My neighbor who also had young children, dissolved in tears after 24 hours, and made her husband take her and the kids to her parents to stay until the power came back on.

We had an ice storm back maybe 6 years ago or so. We lost power in many areas here for 5 days. It was cold, but not frigid (temps after the storm never really went even into the low 20's overnight) We have some friends who are a big scouting family, dad an Eagle Scout and one son almost there.

They left their home and went to a bed and breakfast, because they were not prepared to live without power for a few days.

Made me wonder what the heck they teach in scouting these days.

We fired up the wood stove, used battery operated candles (so much safer than oil lamps or regular candles even though we have those too), carried water from the well for the toilets, and after a few days, decided to fire up the generator for the fridge and freezers.

I just found it so odd that we were better prepared than they were (no scouts here!).

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

@AngelPuppy1 wrote:
Reading some of the replies I am reminded of when I went to school. When I was learning commercial classes, as they were called back then --- we had only manual typewriters. Shortly before I graduated our typewriting class was granted 2 electric typewriters! Our teachers said --- who wants to work on these? Volunteers? No one wanted to use them, as everyone was afraid. So, my best pal and I put our hands up and off we went! Wow! We were truly pioneers! HA!

My first job, we had electric typewriters but at first there were no computers. There was a huge machine which was called a Memory Typewriter. I was delegated to operate it. That was something! Any long documents were given to me because they could be saved in it's internal meory and then corrected to a certain degree and re-printed. It had a limited cpacity though and printed the documents right from the typewriter -- no separate printer.

We then got 1 computer - just to try it out and we had to share! It was a huge Radio Shack model with a huge, loud printer!!! Oh, my! And it had the big floppy discs in it!
Later, we each got our own Radio Shack and printer. The noise was deafening!

We have come a long way, baby!!!

In the 70's when I took typing in high school, we still had manual typewriters too.

My folks bought me an electric typewriter for Christmas one year, to use for high school work and college. Boy I thought that was the best thing since sliced bread. That and some erasable typewriter paper and I was set for all A's! And so much less force needed to get the typing done, compared to those old manual machines! Life was good!