May 10, 2010 Laying Around

On our recent drive back to Glendale, from Idaho Falls V and I had the chance to remember the different places we have parked our cars and our bottoms. As we drove home I was more aware of the different places people live, or have lived. As we drove I tried to imagine the different lives inside the dwellings we passed. There was someone who had a dream. Had a plan. Obtained the materials to build. They sweat and worked and built.

They planted trees, and grass, and gardens. They raised children. They had animals. I mean..... They had children and raised animals.

Maybe they didn't marry. Maybe they inherited their property. Maybe they were lonely.

I wondered if those people had felt heart ache, and joy, and frustration.

I wondered if they went to the hills to cut their Christmas Trees. Did they have Christmas Trees?

And most of all, I wished those walls could talk.

Did they plant apple trees, and dig a cold storage cellar like my grandmothers did? Did they store the apples, make pies and applesauce?

Did they have old scrub boards where the women washed the clothes? Did they have wringer washers which were filled every Monday morning, and washed all day? Did they hang the clothes out on the line in the warm weather, and around the house when it was cold?

Some of the homes we saw were portable. (We think we invented RVing. We think it is a luxury.) Some were not as lucky as we are. They didn't have gas refrigerators. Or gas stoves. They didn't have a potty. They didn't have a mattress or a weather proof roof. They didn't have a 40 gallon water tank. Or disposable dishes.... imagine.... no paper plates, paper towels, paper cups.

These people worked really hard every day as they went RVing. When I go in my "portable home" I lay around. I take naps. I read books. I scrapbook. I take photos. I walk my dogs. I putter while I cook. I stop and listen to birds sing, and listen for elk to call, or just listen to the silence. Work is doing dishes. Work is gathering fire wood. For them, it was a way of life.

Don't even get me started about the change in transportation over the years.

My very first car was a 1952 Oldsmobile. I paid my Uncle Dean $25.00 for it. It needed a battery. The neatest thing about it, I thought, was when I turned on the radio the antenna went up. I had never seen that before.

That car was so heavy. It needed shocks. When I hit a bump the car would bounce for the next quarter of a mile. If I hit anything with that car, I know I would have won. I loved that car. I was sad when we got rid of it. To this day I think of that car and sure wish we had it! It would be worth more than $25.00, even if it needed a battery.

As we drove and we watched the scenes change before our eyes as we rushed by, we wondered about the changes we have seen in our life time. We have lived long enough to see new homes turn into old homes.

We have seen telephones go from big black heavy items. When you would pick up the handset you would tell the operator the number you wanted to call. I remember talking to my Grandma Ruby on those old phones. She was a telephone operator.

People shared a phone line. One house would have one ring, and the other house would have two rings. And yes, we eavesdropped on other people. As a little girl I didn't think anyone ever had anything important to say, so I didn't listen long, I would rather go play.

I remember telling the operator "Jackson 5" for the prefix of the number to my parents house. I don't remember the rest of the number. Later on our phone number was 522-5768. That was a very long time ago.

Then we had phones that had white circles on the front and a rotary dial. The phones made the best sound when you stuck your finger in the holes and dialed a number.

Then the push button dials came out. I remember being in a history class in High School, and we talked about the need of a push dial. I thought it would some day save a life. Just to imagine, we could dial that much faster, someday that could make a difference. Others disagreed. They wondered why we couldn't leave well enough alone. Now everyone had to buy new phones and the one they had worked just fine. All we needed them for was to communicate with someone else. Little did we know the changes we would see in our lifetime.

So, as our lives rush past us today, I hope we take a moment to count our blessings.

For our health.
For our homes.
For our modern conveniences.
For our technology that keeps our families close.
For our ability to be self sufficient and still have time to listen to the birds sing.