Oftentimes at family gatherings we talk about fun times we had when we were kids. We talk about the annual Modoc County Fair, Surpise Valley Elementary School and our favorite teachers and not-so-favorite teachers, the SV Hill, and the Brumbaughs and the Gooches.
But it never fails that we dig up memories about how poor we were. I don't think it was that we were poor (or were we?), I think it had to do with the fact that we didn't have video games or more than three channels on the television. We grew up using our imaginations and learned to be resourceful with our environment and make the most of what we had. Here are some examples of how poor we were:
Disclaimer: this is by no means a dig at how our parents raised us. I think I speak for each of my siblings when I say I am grateful of how I was brought up and I have no regrets.
*We bathed in the same bath water. Usually the last child bathed in cold, gray water.
*Speaking of cold, gray water, when Michael and I would do dishes (did we really do the dishes?) we would play with the leftover chunky dishwater. We called this "Talatta". We pretended it was our secret recipe. Recipe for what, I don't know.
*We didn't have a basketball hoop until we moved to Texas. Before that, when we'd play basketball in the driveway, we'd put a frisbee on the roof and pretend that was the basket. We'd call an official time-out when the frisbee would fall off the roof.
*We played with dirt. There was this dirt pile in our back yard. We played on it daily in the summertime. We sledded down it in the wintertime. We lost lots of tools and utensils in the dirt. We even tried digging our own secret underground tunnel.
*My friend Pascha and I would roller skate in the middle of the street. We only had one pair of skates between the two of us, so she'd wear one skate and I'd wear the other and we 'd roll around skateboarder style.
*Speaking of the middle of the street, we could spend countless hours popping tar bubbles. The heat of the sun in the summertime would cause bubbles to form in the tar that was in the middle of the street. We popped them like pimples.
*This doesn't really fall into the "we were so poor" category, but one time when our septic tank backed up, we had to keep the toilet flushing to a minimum. To help us remember not to flush unless it was necessary(ie poop), Dad came up with a little ditty: If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down. To this day, it's one of my favorite poems.
I'm sure there are more "we were so poor" moments, but I can't think of any. Can you guys think of any more that you want to add?
12 comments:
We were so poor you guys played with the brown grocery sack we brought home from Klamath Falls holding several hundred dollars worth of food in them...you guys ate A LOT. You would stack the empty sacks up and would play like you were running through brick walls. While we put away the groceries (remember our pantry - it was huge!) you would want to eat everything (well, mostly the cookies, etc.) right then. We only went "big" grocery shopping about every 6 weeks because Klamath Falls was a 2 hour drive up and back, so it took us all day. We may not have had lots of money, but we do have some pretty good memories (unless you get on Jason's blog...I may need therapy).
That should have said SACKS, not sack...back then you needed more than one sack to put several hundred dollars worth of food in.
That should have said SACKS, not sack...back then you needed more than one sack to put several hundred dollars worth of food in.
How'd I do that????
Poor, I will tell you what poor is.... your mom and I had to walk a mile to school, in the snow, with no shoes, and it was up hill both ways....
Remember what I've told you kids about your Uncle Larry.....
We were so poor that when your mother an I got married We didn't have much entertainment ........... Now you know the dark secret, you are all the sideffects of entertainment, and fortunately turned out to be entertaining in your own right.
Have you ever wondered why poor folks have so many kids?
It is nice to know that we are constellation prizes....
Well I remember that in the first house in Hurst, Aaron and my bedroom was the family room. We didn't have bed frames, so our beds were just the box srpings and matresses.
Jason, we were "constellation" prizes? Is that like star prizes or something? Oh, I get it, you meant CONSOLATION prizes. ;)
Larry, you mean you wore shoes in the snow??? Weird.
hahahaha I used to always say the whole if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down when I was younger and it would gross my sister out...she said...nooooo, JUST FLUSH IT!
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