Miss Stella , your childhood sounds like the "Waltons".I used to watch that show and think how lucky they all where. Linda Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] (busbys martins) Date: Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:42:06 To: <[email protected]> Subject: [SOUTHERN-CHAT] Life then...and Now Key...it was hard work...but people knew each day exactly what they were going to get out of bed to do.There was never a shortage of food. The whole family worked, and laughed, and cried and ATE EVERY MEAL, TOGETHER. Life was so much less stressful...no telephones...no running to the school...no running to the grocery store...no utilities to go off and on, or have a repairman etc...if it broke you fixed it. You did not expect people to drop by...visiting was usually on a Sunday There was a day for washing...I guess in case of rain...these plans changed.I remember we had a line across the back porch...and at times if we needed something we washed it out, in a pan, on the water shelf, on the porch, changing waters to rinse it and hung it out there to dry. Wood was always in the house, as well as splinters to start fires. No shortage of wood or pine. The kids handled such chores. I look back on my young days and I am very thankful for them, I learned how to do everything, including cooking and sewing and caring for children. You did whatever was necessary to do. I can recall drying clothes spread over the old wooden ladder back chairs in front of the fireplace, and turning them aroundothe other side to dry,. Maybe I didn't have too many dresses for school, I don't know, but I sure remember that, could have been a rainy week...lol. But the wonderful smell of food...and what a treat when my Mother surprised us by making a desert that we didn't expect.Kids now...do not really appreciate things, like we did, we knew to take care of our belongings and respected other people's things..If you had a slingshot...and an old matchbox of marbles, and possible a set of jacks it was put away till next play period. We played ball with a homemade bat, probably...in the open broomsage patch across from our house.Sometimes the neighbor boys were there too. On Sundays..we might have the front yard full of kin- folks, to help eat Mama's fried chicken, and a big tub of lemonade. We had an oak icebox on the back porch...and daddy would go to the ice house in Maplesville and bring this big chunk of ice (probably 25 pound block) and that was so good. I think I had started school when he bought that icebox...before that, the milk was dropped down in the well bucket to stay cool. To us, it was cold...it was all we knew...to go stand in the shade was cool, it was all we knew...No air conditioning...we had never heard of it...no fans even, except the hand held ones...The sun didn't hurt us, then either, fresh water was so good. Now, we would be afraid to drink it. So that is a reason to feel that our life was better than now. We didn't have to lock our doors. if a stranger happened along...all the dogs let us know it long before they got there, lol. Stella ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message