Hello to all, I'm a member of the "under 45" crowd, but I can still remember the days when outhouses were used. Of course, some weren't so fortunate as to have an outhouse. I was a child of the 60's and 70's, and I remember well the house that my grandparents lived in that had no indoor "facility". Their "facility" was a Folgers can. And, for more serious jobs, there was "the henhouse". As kids, we were usually outdoors romping and playing and, instead of running inside, we'd duck into the henhouse. Thanks to Grandmother's tales of encounters with snakes, of robbing the hens' nests and feeling something slick and cool to the touch, I made only the fastest of pitstops. Even though I curse a computer five days a week, I look back on those days with the warmest of affection. "Ma and Pa" lived in "a holler" that was peaceful and serene. We would bed-down on an old sofa that opened up to be big as a single bed. On those starless nights we'd bed-down there. Once the flashlight went off, it didn't matter how wide I opened my eyes, I could see nothing, not even the smallest glimmer of light. Kids these days want Pokeman and Digimon, the more techno- the better. Not for us. I guess kids today would think we were nuts if we suggested some of the games we'd play. We made games of what we saw around us. We three girls would play "house" or "tend-like". We'd pretend-like we were making dinner. We'd set an impressive table full of wild green onions and wild strawberries and anything we could forage from the drying and dead vegetable garden. And, we made the finest mudpies in the county. We'd gather crinoid stems out of the creek gravel and call it "Indian money". We'd pick the clover-flowers and tied them together into chain necklaces. Heck, we'd get at the top of a steep little hill and see who could roll down it the fastest. We'd gather arms full of autumn leaves and see who could throw them the farthest. Ma always let me feed the chickens or go with her to rob the hens' nests. I'd even look on as they skinned a squirrel or rabbit and beg for the fluffy tail. In the fall, I'd sit and watch as they cut apart the hog and set aside the fat. Later, we'd look on as they dragged out the big black iron "kittle" and render up "the hog-lard" over an open fire. We loved trying to catch the baby chicks just so we could pet them. And yes, mother had a sharp little beak. Seems there was always a litter of "huntin' dog" pups to hold and play with. I'll never forget that yelp they'd let loose when they "jumped a rabbit" for my Grandpa. And when the season would open, we'd look forward to a platter full of barbecued rabbit or squirrel. We girls could always be found at our favorite hang-out, the creek that meandered through the property. We'd gather water cress, and wade the creek during the brutal summer sun. Any fall or early winter would see us wandering aimlessly up through the hills behind Grandma's house. Often, we'd come back with a pocket full of hickory nuts or "horse chestnuts" that we'd use to play games. Whenever I think about burning the midnight oil to keep from losing an account or working toward an impossible deadline, I think back to those days and suddenly, life is once again in perfect perspective. Sherry

Sherry, Thanks for the memories. It reminds me of some fond memories of my own even tho I am from the "just under 70" group. Lowell Brown SFalcon555@aol.com wrote: > > Hello to all, > > I'm a member of the "under 45" crowd, but I can still remember the days when > outhouses were used. Of course, some weren't so fortunate as to have an > outhouse. > > I was a child of the 60's and 70's, and I remember well the house that my > grandparents lived in that had no indoor "facility". Their "facility" was a > Folgers can. And, for more serious jobs, there was "the henhouse". > > As kids, we were usually outdoors romping and playing and, instead of running > inside, we'd duck into the henhouse. Thanks to Grandmother's tales of > encounters with snakes, of robbing the hens' nests and feeling something > slick and cool to the touch, I made only the fastest of pitstops. > > Even though I curse a computer five days a week, I look back on those days > with the warmest of affection. "Ma and Pa" lived in "a holler" that was > peaceful and serene. We would bed-down on an old sofa that opened up to be > big as a single bed. On those starless nights we'd bed-down there. Once the > flashlight went off, it didn't matter how wide I opened my eyes, I could see > nothing, not even the smallest glimmer of light. > > Kids these days want Pokeman and Digimon, the more techno- the better. Not > for us. I guess kids today would think we were nuts if we suggested some of > the games we'd play. We made games of what we saw around us. We three girls > would play "house" or "tend-like". We'd pretend-like we were making dinner. > We'd set an impressive table full of wild green onions and wild strawberries > and anything we could forage from the drying and dead vegetable garden. And, > we made the finest mudpies in the county. > > We'd gather crinoid stems out of the creek gravel and call it "Indian money". > We'd pick the clover-flowers and tied them together into chain necklaces. > Heck, we'd get at the top of a steep little hill and see who could roll down > it the fastest. We'd gather arms full of autumn leaves and see who could > throw them the farthest. > > Ma always let me feed the chickens or go with her to rob the hens' nests. > I'd even look on as they skinned a squirrel or rabbit and beg for the fluffy > tail. In the fall, I'd sit and watch as they cut apart the hog and set aside > the fat. Later, we'd look on as they dragged out the big black iron "kittle" > and render up "the hog-lard" over an open fire. > > We loved trying to catch the baby chicks just so we could pet them. And yes, > mother had a sharp little beak. Seems there was always a litter of "huntin' > dog" pups to hold and play with. I'll never forget that yelp they'd let > loose when they "jumped a rabbit" for my Grandpa. And when the season would > open, we'd look forward to a platter full of barbecued rabbit or squirrel. > > We girls could always be found at our favorite hang-out, the creek that > meandered through the property. We'd gather water cress, and wade the creek > during the brutal summer sun. Any fall or early winter would see us > wandering aimlessly up through the hills behind Grandma's house. Often, we'd > come back with a pocket full of hickory nuts or "horse chestnuts" that we'd > use to play games. > > Whenever I think about burning the midnight oil to keep from losing an > account or working toward an impossible deadline, I think back to those days > and suddenly, life is once again in perfect perspective. > > Sherry