Tuesday, January 5, 2010

The Good Old Days?


Last night was a fairly easy night. I actually had a helper in frozen foods, which is rare. Most of what came in was for the end doors, so it took us longer to sort the cases than usual. They were a little short handed in grocery so I was asked if after we were done in frozen we could go stock the bake aisle. I told our manager that wasn't a problem. I did half of frozen and then left my helper to finish up. While working on the bake aisle my mind started wandering, which actually is not very unusual. I started thinking about my Grandma Bagby. Why exactly I am not sure, but that was what was there. Part of it was due to the cold streak we are experiencing. The other morning when I came home it was 19 degrees. The people I work with were complaining about it being so cold. I checked on the weather where Mom lives in central Illinois, and it 3 degrees below zero. Times like that I am very glad I live in Georgia. I do not like cold weather. My hands were frostbit when I was 13 and I have not cared much for cold weather since then.

So what was I thinking about my Grandma? It occurred to me exactly how rough she had it. She passed away in 1973. She never had indoor plumbing in her house. When it was cold like that her bathroom was outdoors. Some people want to claim the the old days were better, but I disagree. Indoor plumbing is a great thing. So is electric or gas heat. Grandma had a coal stove in her front room to heat the house. To cook she had a wood burning stove. Does anybody want to go back to that? I have some great memories from being in her house, but I am glad I don't have to live like that.

3 comments:

Caron said...

NO WAY. I can barely get from the house to the car these days. I would use a chamber pot before I went to an outhouse in this weather. :)

Al Penwasser said...

See? This is the same kind of thing I was talking about in my post. People getting all sweaty about a Sonic coming to town and their chance to do something that we did when we were kids-eat in our cars. Next, I bet they'll get nuts about a new chain coming to town, "Bed, Bath, Toilets and Beyond The Back Door In the Yard." Talk about Soap On a Rope! How 'bout "Corn Cob On a String?" I'll stay indoors, thank you, where it's warm.

Volly said...

Yikes, I am so not looking forward to the 36-mile drive down I-75 tomorrow morning with ice (and morons) on the road.

Y'all be careful, wherever you are. Because you've most likely got similar weather.