03/19/2024
Thoughts While Shaving
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Wish my mom was still living … for many reasons, but main topic would be about how her family survived during the depression in the 30’s and about rationing of food and other items in the 40’s, the early days of WW II.

I remember her telling about how they used a smokehouse to store pork products after a hog-killin’, and remember seeing her or my dad purchase a 25 cents piece of ice from a man serving the neighborhood from a mule and buggy, selling ice and fish, and, occasionally, vanilla wafers. He came calling about once a week, the ice was buried in the ground wrapped in burlap and sawdust, if my memory is not playing tricks. I remember the end of WWII as a youngster, hearing the bells ringing at churches, celebrating the end of the war. … News traveled slow … no TV, very few radios and no newspapers at our house. … It was pretty much by word of mouth … or what you learned from the nearby small country store … the truth as they remembered it…

Among the items rationed were food products, tires, fuel … etc…

I was aware, but too young to comprehend it all…

Now, wish I could remember more, and mom would be a good one to tell the story. … She was born in the early to mid teens, as I recall … transportation was by mule or horse and wagon…

I was the first of 6, and bet they can remember better than I do. … My mom had too much pride for her own good. … She was never overly impressed by any type of government hand-out. … She ‘preached’ that you earn your keep by the sweat of your brow. … I am proud of my genes … do not disagree greatly with her on many of her thoughts and ideas … and if I did disagree, was not going to tell her … she was a survivor.

And, when mom passed away in 2004, she had enough Campbell soup to survive for several weeks, maybe months … granted some had passed the recommended date of use … but, bet if needed she would have used it…

We sometimes complain … because we have never seen it like it is now … but the older folks lived it for years. … Hopefully, our ordeal will be over in a few weeks, maybe months…

“Tough times don’t define us, they refine us…”.

“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing our enthusiasm.”

“Keep your head up … God gives his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers.”

robert g hester
rgh4612@gmail.com
910-876-2322

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