The old ways

There are good practices, things from the past that we forget.  We forget them because for one thing we are a throw away society.  This subject came about last night as I was mentioning I cannot throw a container away.  If you are familiar with 'canning' you know about pint and quart jars.  I checked the price of jars just for the heck of it the other day and some run $1+ each.  I can remember mama giving canned stuff away and in a few weeks the jar was returned washed, with thanks. The only way a canner lost a jar was dropping it..

We are not as faithful as in the past at returning jars, but we try.

In my childhood a kid could earn some spending money by finding and saving soft drink bottles. If you took a bottle away from a store you had to pay 3¢. It still amazes me that anyone would throw a bottle out the window of a car that was worth money. But I have looked in ditches and found bottles enough to buy a Pepsi and a pack of crackers or go to a movie. When you found bottles and took them to a grocer he would give you 2 maybe 3¢, even muddy. That always amazed me because the Pepsi or Coke cost a nickel.

Many of the blogger readers who read 'Life 101' didn't notice back in the spring that Rick made a statement that dated him, it said, "Rick is OLD." Rick is a very good writer and has a pretty young wife (but he is old fashioned in some ways.) Last Spring he said, "It is time to break out the garden tools and RUB THE HANDLES DOWN WITH LINSEED OIL.

That may not mean much to some. The practice could come from military training. Years ago when the soldier carried a rifle it had a wooden stock. To keep that stock in great condition we applied linseed oil to it.  

But most likely the practice was handed down by a dad or grand parent who still had tools in their sheds that had been there 20-50 years because they were taken care of..  I have several shovels, the handles are weather cracked. If dad were alive he would shame me and say, "Son you should oil these  handles."

WE should appreciate the past enough to keep some practices alive.  It doesn't have to be a physical act, but a personal act of trust or compliment.   Life is good, some of the old paths are good to walk down, like helping a neighbor or lending a hand to some one less fortunate.

I have blogger friends who every day remind me how wonderful life and people are.

Thanks Guys (you too Rick) and thanks for stopping by the Shipslog.

Nite Shipslog

A forgotten Luxury car

The Stutz  from 1911 to 1937  The most notable the Stutz Bearcat