Pre-Story Ramblings

I'm getting all my ducks in a row, Per Se. A lot of my investigation is in place, and Jerry fixed up a lap top that I didn't even know we had! Blew some dust off the top, and it will work well once we get to the New Mexico cabin on Friday. Gee, I can even work on things in the car while driving! When I return to the Blog next week, probably Wednesday, I may have my first chapter!

Speaking of Blogs, and Computers, sometimes I see the merit of such conveniences. Ordering NetFlix by website, or even ordering a movie right off the TV to watch instantaneously! Writing future chapters of this dream while riding in a car! Visually talking to our son in Japan - through the aid of a web-cam and microphone to hear his voice. So many marvels in our time, but there's something melancholy about the way life used to be.

A time when life was slower-paced, kinder, fresher. I'm thinking about the way I used to help Mom put the laundry out on a line. Better memories yet... of when I helped my grandmother in Cheyenne, WY do her laundry in the basement of their home, on a wringer-washer. The silly machine would be agitating in soapy suds, then Grandmother would pull the plug, and the water would go down a hose into a drain on the floor. The tub would fill up again, the agitator going in full motion. This time, as the soapy water went down the hose into the drain, we'd take an item of clothing and run it through this wringer (hand-operated, mind you) which would squeeze every drop of water from the article of clothing. We'd fill that apple basket to the top with clean clothes. Oh my, the scent of fresh-clean laundry is still memorable!

Out to the clothesline Grandmother and I would go. In those days they had wooden pegs that held the laundry onto the line. I was tall as a pre-teen, so I didn't need a stepping stool to get the clothes hung. On breezy days I'd hear those sheets crack as they flew in the air.

Then there was ironing to be done. My Grandmother took in laundry to add to their income, and I always got to iron the hankies. Men's hankies were always white, and pretty basic to iron. BUT, ladies hankies were MOST fun! There were hankies that were laced all around that I took special care with the iron's heat. They were usually in the most adorable prints as well.

Grandmother would even iron the sheets and pillow cases, and the men's underwear; of course, I'd get embarrassed. I think even kitchen drying-towels got a lick and a promise of an iron, nothing was wrinkled in my Grandmother's house!

I remember growing up using a party-line in our house. It was mainly our neighbors we were tied up to, which was OK because we all knew each other and it was OK to pick up the phone, needing to use it, and interrupt the Armstrong's next door to say, "could we use the phone for a minute to make a doctor's appointment?" I miss that - people actually talked with each other, and we were always visiting the neighbors and taking over a pie if we made two.

I don't think I'll ever be a "texter". I don't like the concept at all; but lots of people find it's a time saver, and I guess these days, that's important. I rather like popping over to my neighbor Cheryl, or calling another friend a bit further away. We have a cell phone, but most our family and friends know by now that it's probably plugged in at home rather than being in my handbag. And we buy minutes instead of being billed monthly. It's like for emergencies. It's just the way we are!

Remember the old TV commercial for Calgon Bath Beads? "Calgon!!!!!.... take me A-W-A-Y!" I want to cry the same chant, but with emphasis on returning to the times when I was much, much younger - things were simpler, and somehow...kinder. Sometimes wallowing in "What Used to Be" is like a hot bath, filled with Calgon Bath Beads. "Take me away!!!!!"