Throw Aways

[gtoracer]

I grew up with practical parents. A mother, God love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle queen, before they had a name for it... A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones.

Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away..

I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other. It was the time for fixing things.. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep.

It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy.. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there ' d always be more.

But then my mother died, and on that clear summer ' s night, in the warmth of the room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn ' t any more.

Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away...never to return.. So... while we have it..... it ' s best we love it.... and care for it... and fix it when it ' s broken......... and heal it when it ' s sick.
This is true. for marriage....... and old cars..... and children with bad report cards..... and dogs with bad hips.... and aging parents..... and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.
Some things we keep. Like a best friend that moved away or a classmate we grew up with.

There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special........ and so, we keep them close!
Good friends are like stars.... You don ' t always see them, but you know they are always there. Keep them close!

[badinfluence63]

I grew up with practical parents. A mother, God love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle queen, before they had a name for it... A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones.

Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away..

I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other. It was the time for fixing things.. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep.

It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy.. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there ' d always be more.

But then my mother died, and on that clear summer ' s night, in the warmth of the room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn ' t any more.

Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away...never to return.. So... while we have it..... it ' s best we love it.... and care for it... and fix it when it ' s broken......... and heal it when it ' s sick.

This is true. for marriage....... and old cars..... and children with bad report cards..... and dogs with bad hips.... and aging parents..... and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.
Some things we keep. Like a best friend that moved away or a classmate we grew up with.

There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special........ and so, we keep them close!
Good friends are like stars.... You don ' t always see them, but you know they are always there. Keep them close!

I agree with everything ut the disposable dog with bad hips...its the humane thing to do in some cases.

[Rainrider]

So well said Glenn. I'm off to bed with a sweet dream in mind of a day long since past and a future that we can preserve if we try hard enough!

Good night my HERD friends!

[MrMarty51]

A verry touching post,How I long for to have some of them times back,We were too poor to buy tinfoil so Mom would always clean the stuff,repaired shoes and everything else We had,back then I would think how"Lucky"them other kids were that lived in the neighborhood that had the latest and greatest and I would think"Someday" well "Someday" has come and now I wish I could go back to the simple life again when we thought that "Nothing" would ever change and the Hagers would always live next door and the fields where We played would always be there,never even dreaamed they would fill up with houses and buildings.we was poor,real poor but Mom was too proud to ever let us know.

[Happy Hours]

Excellent post man,things sure have changed in the last 50 years that's for sure.

we have it so much better than our parents but in retro-spec they had it so much better than their parents so it's all good.

Now if we can fix this country so our kids and grandkids will have the same is all we can hope for.

[JimP]

Awesome post, thanks for the reminder

[V-Girl]

Very true!!! Nice post....

To the dog with bad hips...my last Dobermann got the usual bad hips when he was 10-11...he could do most things even trot at not a bad rate, but just couldn't do steps, and we have steps! He got another 1 1/2 years by me carrying him up and down the steps, he was a big dog at over 90lbs.

Kind of reminds you of a certain song...one of my favorites >

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1KtScrqtbc

[Strat HD]

Thanks for the reminder here too. Good post GTO, good song V.

[Boss]

What a great song V! Playing it while I type my post.

Glenn:

I am fortunate that both my parents are around and well. Mom going on 70 next month and Dad is 71. I came from a recycling childhood environment. Here's a short story that I want to share. I think I was 9 or 10 years old.

My father's car was broken and sitting in the carport. When payday came around we both went to the auto-parts store and he got the part that he needed. When we got to the register to pay...on the side display where they have gum, candy and all the goodies....they had an "Etch A Sketch" toy. I told my father that I always wanted one of those and if he could buy it for me. He looked at me and said, I'm sorry son. I really need this part for the car and I just can't buy that for you right now.

It's hard for a child to understand these kind of things so I pouted like any other kid...

Next thing you know, he gave the "Etch A Sketch" to the cashier and had placed the part that he needed aside.

Once I grew up and thought more of that story, I figured out that so many years had passed but that particular incident changed me one way or another.

I truly can relate to your post Glenn. Thank you!

[Crocodile56]

Amen Brother!

[B-Man]

Great read!!!

[wndchsr]

I was always one of the "have nots" growing up which is why I guess I have worked and continue to work so hard to get where I am today. Now dont get me wrong I am still not one of the "haves" but we are comfortable and I always try and never forget where I cam from.

[Tick]

We got an indoor bathroom when I was in the third grade, I didn't care for it very much, couldn't see the stars when setting on the pot. My mother told me were weren't poor because there were people who had less than we did.

Thanks for the post, it's a good reminder.

[Bricks]

Great read!

[jirvin]

Great post Glenn!

[WideOpen]

I have my grandfather's pocket knife on my desk, looking at it right now. He passed away in 1963, when I was only 7. The knife handles are worn from the years that he carried it, and the blades from the many times it was sharpened. It cleaned more fish and squirrels than I can imagine.
I have a couple of boxes of pocket knives, perhaps 100 or so, and that after selling off many of the more expensive ones I had. But this was his one pocket knife. I keep it on my desk, in front of me, where it reminds me every day of just how much I have, of everything, and of the people who lived sacrifice as a daily way of life so that their children and children's children wouldn't need to.

[gruss]

Thumbs up on this thread !!

Thank you Glenn..................g

[gtoracer]

Thanks everyone. I am truly blessed and I'm pleased that this stirred some pleasant memories for some of my friends.............Glenn

[95sportychick]

Thanks Glenn, great post