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After a recent
storm, I found out what living without modern conveniences was like. I had almost forgotten how smothering hot summer
could be, and what it was like not to have air-conditioning. But during the week we spent without it, I
started remembering sleepless hot nights with windows open and sheets
wet with perspiration.
In what some
would consider "the olden days," our beds used to be
positioned close to windows, in hopes of catching breezes that might
happen to materialize on hot July or August nights.
After Bill and
I had children, and they grew a little older, they used to beg to
sleep out under the stars in tents fashioned from sheets. I didn't sleep well those nights. Yet, there wasn't the
fear there is today in allowing children such privileges.
In those early
days fans became necessities. If you had an
osculating fan you were doubly blessed.
Then window
fans became popular. What a blessing it was
if you had one. They always provided a
refreshing breeze to sleep under. You had to
pull the curtains back and away from the window, though, so they wouldn't get sucked into the fan blades and get
shredded to pieces.
Then later
there was the attic fan that worked much the same way as the window
fan. It was located in the ceiling and had
shutters that opened when it was turned on. I
loved the comfort it brought on those hot sultry nights; covers often
had to be pulled up before morning rolled around. There are times I wish we still had
one.
But, all those
cooling solutions were before humanity found themselves behind closed
and locked windows and doors. That was
before people forgot how to love their neighbors. That
was during the time people asked their neighbor if they could borrow
a cup of sugar or flour, not murder them for sometimes less than the
price of those ingredients.
During our
recent week-long power outage, I was
privileged to have my brother bring over and hook up a generator for
us. He knows how people with
multiple sclerosis can react to hot temperatures.
I was thankful
the little boy who once threw my baby kitten in the washing machine
had matured into a caring senior citizen! His
helpfulness provided the machine that powered fans allowing me to
stay home during that week - we'll all never
forget!
Yes, those few
days got me thinking back to all the different ways we used to try to
stay cool, and the fans we used before air conditioners. I remember those fans with their hums, whines
and buzzing; those were comforting sleep inducing sounds.
I know we have
ceiling fans these days, but they only help to circulate the air from
the air conditioning. We don't
usually depend on them alone during the hottest days of summer.
With all we
were without recently, we still had water – what a blessing! I was thankful, too, we had previously decided
on gas for our hot-water-heater! A cold
shower is not something I enjoy, even in hot weather.
I sure,
though, missed my electric stove and microwave during our recent
ordeal. I wouldn't want to go back to times
women cooked outside or over hearths or on wood-burning cook stoves,
but maybe I should rethink a gas stove
We were
blessed to have use of our refrigerator, with the generator, but I
know many did not, and they used coolers. How could we ever go back to the
days of the old icebox!
I found myself
flipping the light switches that week, and then remembering we had no
electricity. I sure wouldn't
want to go back before Thomas Edison!
Even with a
generator there were not enough cords to provide all the light we
were accustomed to, so out came candles and flash
lights from their hiding places.
How did people
manage before they had all the amenities we enjoy today – well they
did; we could again if we had to, but who of us would want to?
I will admit,
it wasn't easy, I found myself riding around
in the dark on my scooter using my head light to see where I was
going.
That brings me
to one of the most important modern conveniences I personally would
find it very difficult to do without - my motorized scooter. Without it I would more than likely be confined
to my bed or chair and have to have a helper while my husband works. Modern conveniences allow many like me to retain
our independence.
Had it not
been for the generator, after the recent storm, I would have been
without the ability to recharge my scooter, as I need to every night. I guess that means I better forgive my brother
for the "kitten incident!"
Well, needless
to say, I decided during that recent week, I sure don't want to go
back to the "Good Old Days!" How
about you? Have any of you had an
experience, similar to mine, when you came to truly appreciate the
blessings of modern conveniences?
2006 Betty
King
Email Betty at
baking2 @ charter.net
Visit her
website at w
ww.bettyking.net
Betty King is
an author of three books, her latest, The Fragrance of Life. She is a freelance writer, a Life Style and
Devotional newspaper columnist and a frequent contributor to the
Chicken Soup for the Soul book series and other anthology books. You can read excerpts from all three of her
books on her website www.bettyking.net
.
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Your editor,
here at Moments of Reflections Betty King - baking2 @ charter.net
Visit my website www.BettyKing.net
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