Yea..Every once in a while I get sentimental

OT? Is life ever OT?
After seeing all the people who need help I get that way sometimes.

A great way to look at it.


I grew up in the 50-60’s 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 summer's night, in the warmth of the hospital 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... its 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 cl***mate 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!





..It’s not what kind of car you drive. It’s how many people you drove who didn't have transportation.

..It’s not the square footage of your house. Its how many people you welcome into your home.

..It’s not about the clothes you have in your closet. Its how many you help to clothe.

..It’s not what your highest salary is. It’s about sharing your wealth.

..It’s not what your job ***le is. It’s whether you performed your job to the best of your ability.

..Its not how many friends you have. It’s about how many people to whom you were a friend.

..It’s not in what neighborhood you live. It’s about how you treated your neighbors.

..It’s not about the color of your skin. It’s about the content of your character.

 

A men.

 

Wow!

Gave me chills just reading it -brought back a bunch of warm memories from childhood. Excellent post!

 

Thank you for the reminder. Every once in a while we need this type of reminder whether we are young or old. Thanks again.

 

you are a wise man.


and you are lucky to have grown up back then. i envy the hell out of you but your words ring true for any age so i get the message.


the reason your parents recycled is cause they grew up in the depression. i remember my great grandmother was like that even when she did not need to be careful.

 

Not OT at all.
Very well put my friend.

 

There is no better writing than that from the heart.

Well done.

 

Well put....so true.. thanks petejoe

 

Thank you for that. It means alot in a world where people replace things before their time, people included. If more people valued the things they had; money, a home, clothes, a car, people, what have you; then people would notice alot more what their neighbor doesn't have...and hopefully ammend it. Our throwaway society is going to pay dearly when we collectively come up short in the near future.
My father always taught me that if we've been blessed with enough to feed our family and take care of ourselves, than everything beyond that was given to him to p*** on. He wasn't a frivolous spender in the traditional sense, but he had no problem giving, and we weren't rich either.
He valued what he had, and knew how much it would mean to someone doing without. He gave his food, his money, his time, his clothes,and plenty of times my stuff too...but always in a way I couldn't complain about. I knew my Dad worked hard to keep us cared for. Another toy or bike or pair of shoes wasn't as far away for me as it was for the kid down the street.
Here's hoping we can get back to that, I know that's how I'll raise my kids someday

 

That is a beautiful piece of writing. So true.

Petejoe, you're a gentleman in the old sense. I am honored to be on the HAMB with you.

 

I haven't been misty-eyed for awhile. Thank you for the reality check.

 

Amen! Well said.

 

Great post! Now we are in the days of climbing debt, $40k new cars that we lease, interest only loans on our homes, maxed-out credit cards while paying minimum finance changes, etc. I like to think that I'm still a little old-school and my parents as well, because that's how I was raised. It still doesn't seem to be "mine" unless it's paid for, just like the old days. When will we ever get back to that? I'm not thinking anytime soon unfortunantely. Nice post Petejoe, really makes you think and be glad for the things you have!

 

Thanks a million Petejoe...I needed that!

 

Thanks! I too grew up in the forties and fifties and I would give anything to go back to my grandmothers porch and sit on the swing with her and listen to those wonderful stories one more time. Sentimentality beats anger any day of the week.

 

very poignant and well thoought out, really helps put things in perspective, which sometimes gets skewed. Thanks for the reality check

 

Thank you.

In a time when so many people are in such a hurry a gentle reminder of what's truly important can go a long way.

I'm a real estate appraiser and I've been in $40,000 houses in the ghettos of Chicago's West Side to $1,000,000+ houses on 20 acre lots in the country and I've learned one thing in these houses; it's who lives in them that makes them a home. Some are just houses, some are homes. Most of the people I've dealt with have been great but it seems that more often than not, those with the least are the most generous with what they have. Giving away kindness doesn't make you poor, it makes you rich.

My goal for my life is to a be good man and have enough to retire on, someday. I'll probably never quit working on something but I'd like the freedom to be able to do so. I want to see my sons grow into fine men, I want to hear my grandkids laughing while chasing fireflies, and I want to hold my wife in my arms as we sleep, knowing that everything physical is temporary, but kindness and love are forever.

 

Thank you, well said. It's good to check the priorities every so often.

 

I read this post and then set there and thought about what you said. It seems that sometimes we forget how lucky we really are, and how much we have to share with others.

 

Thanks PJ, very well written. Brings a tear to the eye of a guy that grew up in the same atmosphere.


BB

 

Thanks for posting... Truly beautiful...

TTYL.

Later, peace...

Troy.

 

It is nice to know at the end of the day that love for freinds and familly is so important over anything else.

 

Hey man a few things on the HAMB have hit a chord with me lately,ok i'm only 40 but i'm old fashioned.My best mate and his wife have recently split up .Both are my best ever friends and i'm having as much trouble as they are dealing with it.They have split for the wrong reasons and all hell is breaking loose with me to pick up the pieces on both sides and i hate it.This place it is easy for me to forget as you all help me and i can get away for a while.Thanks to Ryan for this refuge(i will do and auction soon i promise)without it i don't know what i would do at the moment.Ok so a load of old blokes (knowlegeable) gather round thier computers and chat **** but thats the thing that helps.Everything you have said is right ,i was brought up by my Gran as my Mum split from my dad when i was young and she had to work.I guess this helped me have morals and appreciate old music and cars and old stuff................Marq

 

Makes me ponder. Rome wasn't built in a day, but how low did it take to unbuild it once the afflence of knowledge turned into the affluence of ignorance resulting in decadence and decline? Wonder what stage we are at?

 

PJ, thanks so much for your taking the time to write down your beautiful words.They have reminded me of the really meaningful things in life. I, like you, grew up in the forties and fifties and am thankful every day that I did. There were so many things back then that didn't cost a penny but gave millions of dollars worth of memories to me on the backside of my life. It is my sincere hope that my daughter has learned those values and that she is able to p*** them along to those she loves.
Damn, thanks again for reminding me what the real priorities in life are.

 

Thank you for taking the time to write this,and thank you,Ryan,for allowing an occasional O/T post to continue and thrive.I suspect all who read this will appreciate it in their own way.Unfortunately,sometimes it takes a great loss to realize,too late,way too damn late,what really IS important in this life.....
I am the poster boy for this **** ....my kids are finding out,I hope,what is important in this world,by watching the destruction of our family through divorce.
You touched a nerve with me.....I'll print this one..Thank you

 

Thanks man. And I thought we were normal. My mom washed out wax paper sandwich bags, and wasted nothing. She was also a product of the depression.
Who remembers a clorox jug with burlap sowed on it for a water jug, you didn't run out and buy one. She had a basket that had all the stuff for mending worn socks, would "darn" the heels over a light bulb. All day Monday was laundry day with a wringer washer and a cloths line. When I was a baby she had a maytag with the gas engine, which was quite a luxury when dad traded a calf for it.

 

PJ, well written and well put.

Recently, at a family dinner, my mother-in-law pulled some foil out of the trash and re-washed and folded it. We're always giving her a 'hard' time about it, with a chuckle.

She grew up in a home with six kids, and during the depression, she's very frugal. Both of my in-laws are still living in the fifties.

Sometimes I wish we could go back, for a while at least.

JayD

 

The topic sure struck a nerve and so did a lot of replies, es****ally by MattB and Hotrod1940. I really wish I could start my life over, im so deep in debt and cant figure out how to get out, I try to explain to my family about how we don't need to do something exciting every weekend, I explain how when I was a kid all my relitives would meet at my grandparents out in the country and we would all stay there all weekend, when my kids ask "what did you do"? NOTHING! we all sat on the front porch and talked, we went for walks, we played horseshoes and we ate like theres no tomarrow, home made everything, tons of cookies and apple pies made with the apples from the tree in the back yard, we caught lightning bugs and had a lot more fun then spending $8 for a movie now. We went fishing down the hill in the creek and used cheap rods and live worms we caught the night before, we snaped beans and picked peas, we sat and enjoyed the smell of uncle Willies pipe....................

Thanks, Jeffrey

 

WOW!!!! I think this was posted just at the right time. We have great examples of how temporary our "posessions" are by turning on the TV and watching the reports from down south. In the end it's about our families and friends and our relationship the God that will see us through the bad times.

As many of you know I can ramble on and on. In this case I'd suggest going back and rereading this post in it's entirety, there are real jems of wisdom here. Thanks Petejoe, your timing was perfect.

Frank