|
Viewing 82 - 90 out of 105 Blogs.
| Page:
|
|
10 |
|
|
What about the costs of things today? Terrible! I remember when Brenda just got her license to drive. You could get a learners permit at 13 then drive with a licensed driver for a while, I can't remember how long, then go in for a written exam and "Wala", suddenly you were a driver. Brenda got hers but I didn't get to do that because Daddy wanted to 'protect' me as he put it. I got to ride with Brenda though. "Protect"? I don't know about that. 25€ would buy enough gas to 'Cruise' all evening on Sunday. But get gas on Saturday because nothing was open Sunday. The fact that we had to stay on the dirt roads with dust flying didn't bother us much. Sometimes the dust got so thick that you couldn't see an approaching vehicle until it was going by. In rainy times it was mud that hindered a bit. I've seen ruts in that old dirt road deep as the tires almost. And don't ever try to get out of them just drive on till more solid ground was reached. Solid ground was hard to come by but the Denning hill was usually the closest. Everyone had better stay on their side of the road. We could get a coke for four cents and a huge Baby Ruth candy bar for a nickel, a dress for five dollars, and a nice pair of shoes for four dollars. Brenda and I were the same size then so we shared our clothes, well I should say we shared when it struck our fancy to share. We had some gang- buster fights over our clothes. We didn't have TV's in our rooms, in fact no TV in the house period. No radio or any of the fancy gadgets that kids carry around now. No cell phones, no phones at all. Heck we didn't have electricity until I was about 6 or 7 years old. We had outdoor toilets, I was married and out on my own before my Parents had running water and a bathroom in the house Maybe we should have stayed the way it was when I was growing up. Work hard and play less. Raise the food we eat. Walk more places. When I was in school lunch was 10cents and was a good balanced meal. No junk food. Also we rode the school bus or walked. We would not have been allowed to drive a car to school even if we had one back then, maybe a bicycle. I remember when they first allowed students to drive a car to school I was way on up in senior high. Very few had a car to drive. Most families had only one car and Daddies had those at work. Entertainment was all the kids gathering at someone's house for a fudge party. Grandma's and Mothers made our clothes out of pretty flour sacks you could buy at the local store there was also some pretty ones that Daddy got chicken feed in. Brenda and I loved going with our parents to pick out our patterns. We tried to get them alike. Pollution had not even been invented yet. We breathed in clean air and ate undoctored food. Milked a cow, gathered the eggs, canned our own food we grew out in the garden. ect. I heard about a family getting picked on by the law for selling fresh cow's milk. It is supposed to be unhealthy. Come on now I was raised on fresh cow's milk after I was weaned off my Mama's breat milk. Fresh churned butter and oh the wonderful thick cream on a bowl of strawberries or blackberries. Yum Yum my mouth is watering. Fresh milk contaminated? Maybe, maybe not but just give me a big glass of it now and I'll drink it on down. PROGRESS? Is that what they call it? Things are certainly not better to my way of thinking. Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed all these modern conviences in the second part of my life. But do I miss the way it was? YOU JUST BETCHA!!!!!
Tags: Fresh Food Milk Gasoline Dirt Roads Dust Mudd
I had never realized how very Blessed I was until I started to school and became more aware of my surroundings. I learned very young that it is not 'stuff' that you have but the 'stuff' in your heart that really counts. That was a lesson I learned at home and how was I to know that everyone didn't know it. HUH? I've always heard that kids can be so cruel. Well that is not necessarily so. It is what you learn as you are growing up that shapes your character. I learned from wise wonderful people, my parents, my Pastor, and other family and friends that we were close to. Not everyone I was to come in contact with had the privilege of that. Yes kids could be nasty which I very quickly found out. When I'd go home telling my experiences my Parents would say to me "Always give everyone the benefit of the doubt, Don't judge a book by it's cover, when others are talking about someone always find something good to say about them" . "What can I say Mama"? "Well just anything say what a pretty blouse she has on, or how pretty her hair is". Well there was this one girl that just irked me out. My friends and I were talking one day at recess and she walked by. Her clothes were ragged and dirty. I said Oh what a pretty blouse she has on!!! My friends looked at me like I had two heads. Coulda' been cause she had a dress on and no blouse in sight. Thing is it kept them from talking about her at that moment. Hey it works I thought. But now it is a differer story when you are the one being rediculed. There was a girl who started making fun of me and my parents advice went by the wayside for a spell. YEP! Hey this was different. I didn't tell my parents about this and later I wished I had because they would have helped me handle it in a better way. She had pretty frilly clothes, always had a nickel to spend at the candy store, and was a little snot nose as far as I was concerned. It was raining one day and I came to school with a bread sack over my head like a head scarf. Now I thought it was pretty. Mamma cut it open and it tied under my chin. On the wrapper was red, yellow, and blue balloons. I thought I was up-town now. The cats Meow!!!! When I proudly wore it to school she said, "Well look at the poor little hillbilly Clydene, can't even afford a real rain coat". Tears welled up in my eyes but also red fire mad welled up inside me. I looked at Brenda and saw a mirror of what my face must look like. I whispered to Brenda, "We are gonna get her", "Yep"' Brenda answered. And get her we did!!! Both got spankings in school and again at home but by golly we shut that little smart elec up good!!! Now we never intended to hurt the little snot nose but it happened that we did. JUST A LITTLE He he. What we decided to do was take her goofy ol' raincoat and hide it from her. We didn't have cloak rooms in our little school. We had to hang all our coats in the hall on hooks. We watched where she hung that ol' raincoat and hung our coats over it. We planned to get to it before she did at recess and take it out with us. Which we did. So far so good. Someone saw us get the durn' thing and told her, she told the Teacher and the jig was up!! We were on the playground just giggling and feeling proud of ourselves as we watched for her to come out without her raincoat, gettin' all wet and we were gonna holler, look at stupid ol' _ _ _ _ _! Cant afford a raincoat. She did come out but she had on a pretty rain hat and the teacher was waiting on the porch, (without Her rain hat). She ran up to us and was gonna' snatch the raincoat outta' our hands. "Teacher said come right there", she said. Well of course we were stubborn and wasn't a gonna turn lose of the darn thing. It ripped and she went berserk. She flew at us and we were too fast for her. One of us threw the raincoat over her head and spun her around. She stumbled and fell face down and busted her lip and the howl was on! She kept thrashing around there on the ground and succeeded in ripping the raincoat and her stupid arm. We were laughing till we saw the Teacher comin' tward' us and figured we'd better just be quiet and sweet as we could. Didn't help, still got spanked at school and again at home. Heck fire anyhow! She was just a spoiled brat. It wouldn't a hurt us. She was just one of those snooty little girls that couldn't take it. Lessons are learned every day, then and now. I was taught to ignore things like that but with a kid it is very hard to let things pass. I was so indignant about the whole thing that I told my Pastor about it on Sunday. I thought I was going to get support from him for what I'd done but heck no he told me basically what my patents had told me. I was very ashamed and that lesson is one I'll never forget. Matthew 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Tags: Raincoatnastyschool
|
|
Moods
Posted On 08/24/2013 20:13:29
|
My moods are as bad as Arkansas weather. Up, Down, all around. Why do we get in and out of these moods? Why can't we just stay on an even keel of sorts. I'm me, you are you. We are all so different but yet the same.
My Grandma used to tell me I was moody and she was right. There are so many different moods to be in. I have come to the realization that we make our own moods. I went grocery shopping this morning, not my favorite chore I must say. The store was crowded and noisy. They had moved things drastically since the last time I was in there and of course I got frustrated because I couldn't find anything. Nothing was where it should be. Why do they do that anyway. I always was told, If it aint' broke don't fix it. Now who was the smart person that decided to put the dad blasted sour cream up by the butter. It has always been back with the yogurts, cottage cheese, etc.. I liked it there, I was used to it being there, why in the heck move it?! I got to thinking about the little store where my Mama shopped when I was a kid. Nothing moved there. Everything stayed put. It was a cracker box shaped building made of sheet iron. One isle up the middle, meat box in the back, by the side of a pop machine. The pop machine was like a chest type with bars at intervals across it. Pops were slid in these slots with only the bottle top showing. On the cap was the flavor. Pop Kola, RC Cola, Coke in 6oz. Bottles, Root Beer, Cream soda, Nesbitts Orange,Grape, Strawberry, and on and on. You put in your nickel something triggered and you could slide the bottle of your choice over till you could pull it out then open it with a bottle opener hanging on a cord. On the left side was a candy display case. The candy was all in boxes in the glass front case. No wrappings, just lying open in the boxes. That was penny candy and you could get a candy sack full for a penny. Across from it was the candy bars. Baby Ruth, Butterfinger, Zag Nut, Zero, Power House, and they were big. They cost a nickel. On the other side of that isle was shampoos, lotions , hair oils in three kinds. Prell Shampoo, Jergens Lotion, and Wildroot Cream Oil hair oil. Hall Parks stood behind the counter with a pencil and paper. As you laid your items on the counter he wrote it down and listed the price. When you finished he then licked the lead in the pencil and went down the figures counting in his head as he went, then he would write the total at the bottom. It was all faster than any store now. No waiting for Price Checks or the blamed machine throwing your credit card back at you. Well heck fire, it is as plain as the nose on your face why our moods are changing for the worse as we get older. Things are too fast now. Hurry, hurry, hurry. That's it I have decided. We didn't have as much to choose from then, the store was small, no walking for a long time just to find an item that they have moved. No waiting on price checks. No waiting on a stupid machine that wont work. It was not a major endeavor just to buy groceries. Simple, Simple, Simple. That's what the difference is now, nothing is simple any more. No wonder my moods are jumping here and there all the time. My brain is still in 1950 and it is 2013. Yep! I got it figured out. Times they are a changin' too darn fast. I'm in slow gear trying to function in the fast lane and I'm too old to change now. Heck I don't wanna' strip what gears I've got left! Nope!!!
Romans 12:2
Tags: Storechanges
I always followed my Daddy everywhere. I was on his heels, in his way, and under foot always. I always loved to go with Daddy to feed the chickens, slop the hog, and feed our horse Ol' Dixie . I just loved to throw out that corn and watch the chickens scramble to snatch it up. If I got too close with my bare feet I'd wind up sometimes with blood coming out of a toe or two. Same with my hands when I searched under a hen for the egg. If the hen was wanting to set she never appreciated me taking her hatching egg. Next would be the hog. Now those things were smelly and sloppy but that never bothered me. I liked to see them roll around in the mud and mire, and loved to hear them grunt as they stuck their snout in the slop. I'm not sure what the slop consisted of. The bucket sat on the back porch. Mama poured dishwater, potato peeling's and other things in it. Daddy would then carry it out to the pen and mix some kind of feed in it and pour it in the trough for the hog. I think that is where the phrase, A pig will eat anything comes from. Next came Ol' Dixie and I liked this the best. I would run around to the other side of the barn and get there before Daddy did. I always reached in the big 100 lb. feed sack and get me a big ol' bite of that feed. I thought it tasted sooo' good. Still think it must have. What ever it was I guess it wouldn't hurt me cause' Daddy never said anything. One day I ran in there and was just about to put my hand in the sack when Daddy got me around the waist and hoisted me up and outta' there real fast. He put me down on the ground and said get the shovel. I ran and got it real fast and drug it back. Daddy didn't look away from the sack, just reached his hand out and I placed the shovel handle in it. I'd made the mistake before of handing Daddy the hoe by the wrong end and knew what to do this time with the shovel. "Now Get Back Clydene". By his tone I knew he meant Now, so I moved. "What's wrong Daddy", I said. "Be quiet Clydene", he said. I looked over at the feed sack then and saw it. I didn't know what kind it was then but was later told it was a Copperhead, a deadly snake. It had its head sticking up and its body coiled up ready to strike. I screamed then and Daddy didn't have The Look like Mama but he had the words and the way to say them and I clamed up. Since the sack was almost full Daddy had a clear view but by then I had my eyes closed and didn't see the whole scene but that snake met his 'waterloo', I do know that. Later as I heard the grown-ups talking about the incident they all agreed that an instinct had made Daddy aware of the danger. I had always got a hand full of that feed before, sometimes before Daddy even got to that side of the barn. But that morning Daddy hurried and got there. Said it was just a feeling. And they say only Mama's have that protective instinct. Heck! I know Daddy's have it too if they love their kids. And my Daddy sure loved us bunches.
Tags: Slophogshorsechickens
By Golly we had a swimming pool when I was a kid. Yep! We were up there jiving with the best of them. On hot days Mama would draw water from the well and fill a big wash tub. The tub was placed under the shady walnut trees in the front yard. Some people had fancy ones shaped like our modern bathtubs but we only had the tubs Mama used for washing clothes. We could play in or out of the water. Splashing around like ducks. Speaking of ducks we had two white ones. They loved our swimming pool too if they ever got a chance to get in it. In very hot weather another tub of water was placed in the sun and by the end of the day the water was heated just right for a bath. We were not supposed to play in it. When we carried it inside to the back room for bath's we usually had to skim the bugs off the top. Younger people might turn their nose up at this but you don't know what you missed. Those old wash tubs were used for so many different things. On special occasions they were filled with crushed ice from the ice house and cokes were placed in the ice. Wow! Those were the coldest cokes I ever drank. Yummy!! Any time Mama got a new one the old one was put to use also. Water was put in them to water the cow and horse. Sometimes the top was cut out for a shallow one to feed and water the chickens in. One with leaks was used to sew tomato seeds in the spring. Water was added to keep the dirt moist while they grew. Chicken manure was mixed in the garden dirt and placed in the tub. No potting soil and Miracle grow then. Around the first of June the tomato plants were planted in the black dirt Daddy had plowed up in the garden. Later tender plants were covered with the tubs in the garden if a late freeze was expected. I can distinctly remember putting my hands up to my elbows in that dirt, chicken manure and all, and playing in it after the plants were removed. Mud pies? Prooo-ba-blee, did I taste the pies? I really don't remember! We were allowed to be kids in the 50's and we didn't stay inside all the time. Even in the winter I remember being out more than in. Occasionally some women would use a leaky one to plant flowers in but that didn't happen a lot. Those tubs were too useful for them to get rusted out for just a flower pot. At least that's what my Daddy said and Mama agreed with him. We made use of everything in as many ways as we could. I have an old wash tub hanging on a nail out on the smoke house. People have tried to buy it from me to plant flowers in. NO WAY! That tub is going to hang right there as long as I have anything to do with it. So many sweet memories can be conjured up by just looking fondly on that old tub.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)
Tags: Wash Tub Bath Play
I was reading a book today and read something about riding a Ferris wheel. That reminded me of something that I hadn't thought of in years. I don't how I could have forgotten because it scared me so bad I shook. Ozark had a fair and carnival every year in September. My school at Altus took the school bus and some teachers and parents as supervisors and all who wanted to could ride to the Carnival on Friday. It was half price day and was in Ozark not very far from our school. They also took us to the state fair in Little Rock when we were older. Rides were a dime and you could get a hamburger, fries, and coke for 15 cents with half price. Daddy always managed to give me a dollar for the day which seemed a humongous amount to us at the time. I could eat, ride, and maybe something else in a day and boy did I love it. This particular time was my very first time on the Ferris wheel and I was not in very much a hurry to do it. Probably wouldn't have if my friends hadn't been there and most of them didn't know how scared I was of heights. Well little miss brave britches me wasn't about to admit to them that I was afraid of anything One of my friends and I decided to ride together. Now I knew She wasn't afraid so I felt a little more cumfy' with her. I stepped right up and got on that monstrosity like I had done it hundreds of times. She didn't even know it was my first time. When it jerked as it took off my nightmare had begun. Scared the snot outta' me and I screamed. Pat thought I was having fun and excited so she started rocking the seat which was positively against the rules. Well I didn't know nothing about rules but I was petrified. Completely spaced out and undone. When we went around a complete circle the first time I thought 'Wow, this is over. I'm getting' off this thing and I'll never get back on one as long as I live'. Well I guess you know I didn't get off. That thing just kept going and 'Uppp' we went again. I held my breath as we went down again but it stopped half way to let more passengers on. By golly I thought that dang thing was stuck and I was a doomed girl for sure. I was so scared that all I could do was breathe hard and nary a sound came out of my mouth but by golly I was screaming loud in my mind for them to get me off of that thing this instant. It went on around and this time it stopped when our seat was right on the top. I had gotten on there with cotton candy and Pat had a coke. I was hanging on tight to my cotton candy with one hand and the brace on the seat with the other hand. When the seat lurched as it took off again I slung my arm out and hit Pats arm. The coke and the cotton candy went flying out over the crowd. Pat said, “Clydene that stuff hit a man and a lady on the head and they looked up at us. If they see us when we get off we are in trouble”! I was too much in a hurry to get off that thing to be worrying about that so I just ignored Pat. The next time around it stopped and they let us off. Pat grabbed me by the arm and said , “Come on Clydene we gotta hurry”. Well she sure as heck didn't have to tell me to hurry up cause I was moving on. I don't know if the ones we spilled on saw us or not but Pat was convinced they did. She finally convinced me and we were both scared the rest of the day that those people were gonna' come get us and do something bad to us. I was so scared that I didn't enjoy the rest of the day. When we got on the bus to go home that evening one of the girls said that she got sick on the ferris wheel and threw up on a lady down below. When all was said and done we had no idea if it was the same lady we had spilled our stuff on but I'll bet the lady knew. I know I would rather have cotton candy and coke come down on me that a glop of puke!!! YUKKY Phil 4: 6. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Tags: Rides Ferris Wheel
Every body has a smile. Some use it until they have wrinkles around their eyes. Some use it less often than others. I hate to say it but I know some who I just don't think they ever use their smile. A smile doesn't cost a cent. You can give it away all day and have plenty more left over. There is no one no matter how mighty or how rich that doesn't benefit from a smile. No one can steal it or borrow it from you but if you give them one you have enriched their life beyond measure. Money can't buy one, power can't take one away but I can give millions away and never be the poorer for it. I might even heal a heart, dry a tear, or comfort a grieving soul with one quick smile. I know this is true because I've had many smiles given to me at just the right time to lift my spirits and make my heart soar!!! There was a time in my life that if someone had just smiled at me I know I'd have felt so much better. Another thing that we all need is hugs. Nothing more therapeutic than to be down in the dumps , sad, or hurting emotionally, and have someone give you a big warm bear hug. I am a touching, hugging person. I have to be careful because I have ran across some people who don't like to be touched or hugged. All I can say is if you don't wanna be hugged stay outta' my way cause I can't help myself. Not very long ago I encountered a lady in the grocery store who I had gone to school with. I hadn't seen her in a very long time. I walked up to her with my arms wide open meaning to give her a big ol' hug and she dodged me big time. I mean to tell you she took off in the other way fast acting like she didn't see me. It took me a few minutes to figure it out but that lady didn't want a hug and she certainly DID' see me. I followed her all over the store trying to at least talk to her a bit. Finally I said, “Well forget it then. I wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole”. Good grief! I don't understand that at all. Especially since we used to be good friends. Everyone needs a pat on the back now and then too and it don't hurt me a bit to do it. Heck a pat on the back doesn't even have to be a touch of any kind. You can tell someone they did a good job, they look nice, or sometimes they just need someone to say, It's Ok, It'll be fine, or just, Hang in there, I'm here for you. It only takes a few words to make someone's day better. Now something that is good for us all is a good giggle or a full blown belly laugh. One of those tear falling ones that opens up and pours out all the pain, or fear. A good laugh washes all the gross stuff out of your mind and cleanses you all over. I love to laugh and I love it when I can help someone else laugh. That is another thing I missed for years. I had a dog (Bo Jangles) for 16 years who was my life line almost. He loved me unconditionally. I used to cry a lot. Bo Jangles would get in my lap, look me in the eyes, and cry with me. He even licked the tears from my cheeks. Everyone needs someone or some thing like that. No one can make it in this old wicked world without, A Smile, A Hug, a pat on the back, A good Belly Laugh , and a Friend now and then and I plan to give as many of these out as I possibly can. So Honey Don't get around me if you don't want any of these things. OK?
Tags: Pat On Back Hugs
When I was growing up there were not many Holidays that we celebrated. But then I don't think there were as many holidays then. Were there? Heck I don't know. Labor Day? Just like any other day in our house. It's the same for me today. Seems like there are too many so called Holidays' now. Most of them don't mean a thing for anyone but a picnic and a three day week-end. I seriously doubt they even know what the celebration is all about. The Holidays we observed when I was growing up were for Family, Love of God, and everyone coming together in harmony and appreciation. Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving were the main ones but Valentines day was celebrated mostly in school. The only thing I remember about Labor Day is that our new school term began the day after Labor Day. We didn't need days set aside for picnics. We indeed had picnics often. Our Picnics were just anytime we could all get together with a big wash tub full of ice and cokes, sandwiches, potato salad, pork and beans and something like cookies for dessert. YUMMY! The picnic would be in somebody's yard with everyone contributing. On the 4th. Of July we all took our picnic to Turner Bend where there was a place for swimming and everyone was there from everywhere. My Papa's (Grandpa) birthday was the 4th of July so the day was more special. And Yep, we knew what the day was set aside for and the meaning. I guess I'm just getting too old and set in my ways but I think most of the so called Holidays are just a reason for picnics that can turn in to something that doesn't even resemble what I call a Family picnic. Also have you noticed how many Holidays have been changed from the real day it originally was to Mondays? Three Day Week-ends??? Yep!
Tags: Picnics Familylove
My Parents taught me that I could do anything I wanted to do. They said try, reach for it. If you fall get up and try again. They said don't worry about the future or even tomorrow because Today is all we have. Do your best today and the future will take care of it's self. The falling is what makes us strong, or does us in. We can lie there and wait for tomorrow or get up and finish out today. They taught me to get up. There is no future if you don't get up. I have friends and family who are in such a hurry to get to tomorrow they forget about today and now. You can ask them to come for a visit but they don't have time because tomorrow they gotta have this or that done. How very foolish. Look what they are missing. I want to live in the now. Tomorrow will take care of it's self if indeed we have a tomorrow at all. When I get up in the morning's I sit as long as I want to before I get up and start my chores of the day. I love watching the sun rise over the barn right in front of my eyes. When I had to go to work I set my alarm enough early to take my time with my coffee. I would relax and not worry about the day of work to come. It's a habit that probably started when I was very young. Mama or Daddy would wake me earlier than needed to give me 'dwallding' time. The hurry up could come when my work or school day officially started. Now I'll admit I'll was one of those hurry up kind of people now and then but not as much as some I know. I had a dear friend who never could even be still long enough to have a phone chat with me. She had been that way all her life. She thought I was lazy I am sure because I took time to enjoy today. My house wasn't always spotless but you could eat off her floors if she would let you walk on them. I refused to have to take my shoes off every time I went in her house. Therefore we lost touch. She died a few years ago. Still in a hurry to get somewhere. If she had only slowed down and looked to today. She didn't seem to realize the future would take care of it's self. I am slow now because I have to be. I neither know or care about the future. I live today to the best of my ability. That is what my Parents taught me and I'm still here. I'm still slow but I still enjoy the sunrise. When God calls me I'm ready to go but I sure aint gonna hurry the going none!!!!
Tags: Fastslow
| Page:
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
