I sat down to write something wise and profound, but then decided to write something much needed now in these unsettled times.
I awoke this morning to the memory of our old wood burning stove having a heavy oven door that had to be propped with a forked stick to keep the heat controlled for brown biscuits. Daddy finally got the door latch fixed and Mama kept browning our biscuits.
Nothing unusual about a stove oven door propped with a forked stick from where I come from.
I married Lamar and his Mama propped her sprung Hotpoint oven door with a forked stick.
Her biscuits made me glad I said, " I do".
I never once questioned the idea of stove door propping.
American ingenuity...……
To the idea of old school ways I'm gonna share some things that made a dent in my memory bank that may give some pause and a reason to use in case of an emergency.
Somebody posted a poem about their cup running over from the blessings of life.
I am one of nine reasons my Daddy drank his coffee from a saucer...……….." His Cup Runneth Over ".
Before Duct Tape and WD-40 there was bailing wire and axel grease.
Shoe soles with holes can make the tops last longer if cardboard is cut for inserts.
Avoid at all costs if possible, chicken feet baked into a pan of dressing for a Baptist Homecoming.
It will go home with the cook.
To winnow dried peas, make sure the sack has no holes before beating the peas.
Okay, I get it, nobody that side of the Mason Dixon will understand, but Applachians and survivors of the Great Depression know exactly what I'm saying here.
That practice was shared to me by Grandma Minnie Smith.
Mama turned her flour sacks into pretty little dresses for her pretty little daughters and then when those Martha White dresses were used and reused until they were faded and held together with patches on patches she turned the remains into quilts that kept us warm.
Honeymoon coffee cans held bacon grease and table scraps and pots for starting tomato plants.
Wash water was used for scrubbing the porches.
If the milk clabbered, it was used as hog food.
Barter of an egg or two was the same as a nickel for trade on Red Henderson's rolling store.
Blue Horse note paper has two sides, and Daddy expected us to know that fact.
When the garden is coming in full tilt, share...…….not everybody makes a garden.
If you have no money and no job, get one.
If you have no money to pay someone for doing a job, then work out a swap deal...………….he can fix your car engine, you can cut his grass.
If somebody asks for prayer, don't ask " what for", God knows.
Be quiet and listen, you will learn more than if it was screamed at you.
Act on what you hear, not what is seen.
Hearing and seeing...…...big difference.
If someone is truly disabled, it will show.
Be wary of preachers wearing flashy jewelry.
A car that oodles along will allow the driver to see things differently.
Never burn a book, that took great effort on someone's part.
If someone does you wrong, let it go, let them carry that burden.
Bitterness will corrode the vessel that contains it.
Chew slowly and savor the joy of good food.
When you pray, don't try to explain, God knows your heart.
Be kind, be courteous, be yourself...………………….
Keep chipping at the corners, it will come out round after awhile.
