Put a Motor on it

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Looking back through my treasure trove of old pictures from the early 1900s and beyond, I was reminded again and again just how difficult life must have been for the people who lived in that time period.

Most activities were done with manual labor. Anything from digging ditches to washing clothes required hard physical effort on folks' part. 

I cannot imagine sawing all the lumber for a house with a hand saw or digging the basements or foundations with a pick and shovel since I was raised in the generation where there was an automatic tool for just about every task.

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One Bottle Too Many

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Most of my readers know that in addition to being a Dad, I am also a granddad and I dote on them all with equal enthusiasm. Trixie, not having any children of her own, has to endure my constant bragging and occasional baby-sitting duties.

Now, I understand how daunting it is to be around kids. Just last week Ol' Dutch was called into emergency baby-sitting service for my two granddaughters, ages 3-year-old and 4-month-old.

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I was just thinking

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Back in the day when I was enjoying the life of ignorant wedded bliss, we were fortunate enough to have a house with a full basement.

For those of you who have lived in Kansas or are familiar with the tornadoes in that part of the country, you may assume that a basement’s primary use is that of shelter from the storms. And while that is what your spouse tells you when building a house, I soon found out that isn’t the primary use at all.

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