Friday, October 2, 2009

In the air

There is such a feeling of fall in the air, with even a hint of winter in the wind that seems to continuously blow. I think the day's high was 65ยบ .
Seeing all the pumpkins on display everywhere emphasizes that fall is here. I love seeing them, but there is such a feeling of nostalgia that there is just a bit of sadness mixed in with the elation of the beauty that is emerging. I just want to be outside ALL the time and SEE all that I can see.

And at times I wish I go back and visit with friends that have passed on....or visit with my mom and dad and sister. I'd like to see the home place as it once was...full of activity--with things kind of slowing down for the winter. We would be feeling thankful for the fruits of our labor. There would be a freezer full of food, along with jars and jars of stuff in the basement as well as a bin full of potatoes.

Grading tobacco and hog killing time would be yet to come. Along with killing hogs, came rendering lard. I helped with grading tobacco, but most to do with hog killing was done by Neal, George and Robert...and mom, of course. I did help with cutting up the fat for making lard. And sometimes stood and stirred it while it rendered down. Other than that, I don't remember helping much with it...I just enjoyed the fruit of their labor.

And as the weather cooled, us kids played more inside at the end of the day. I do not know how mom and dad stood all the noise. We had a homemade ping pong table in the basement...and believe me our basement was not a finished basement. But we had a blast down there. There was one dim, bare light bulb above the ping pong table, and one of my brothers came up with the idea of using a jar to cover it till we didn't break the bulb in our play.

I am not sure just how they did it...but they attached a jar lid to the light bulb socket. It was the kind shown here. Then they just screwed the jar to the lid over the light bulb and it was protected. This was later carried on the the light bulb in our hallway. I guess that hallway was where the most noise erupted.

I don't know how long that hallway is, but it was the scene of many good times for us. Our bedrooms and the bathroom were off that hallway, and to go in the bathroom, the door was inset a little....I don't know how else to say it. Instead of just an opening off the wall, it was inset about a foot and a half.

Two of us would play...each would take an end. (if there were more than two of us, the others would wait in the entryway to the bathroom.) We set down in the floor and set empty shotgun shells in front. I don't know if there was a set number or if we just divided however many we had...and we would take either ping pong balls or those little bitty super balls and our ping pong paddles and try to knock each others shells down. We tried to hit the ball back before it hit our shells.

I hope you remember what super balls are...they bounced every which way. It got really wild when we used them. And noisy! My goodness, I can still hear the paddles hitting the floor when we tried to 'kill' a ball. I can hear the balls bouncing off the wall. I can remember laughing and laughing with one of my nieces when we were in there playing.

And I wonder why it is that I look to the past so much, and others seem to look forward with hardly a thought to what happened before. And a few people don't even want to talk about the past...maybe it is because I see it through rose-colored glasses.

9 comments:

  1. I look back too--but to the happy times of childhood and now to the happy times with George. I sorta miss those years in the middle (from 1962-2000)--when my life was not so great.

    You had a terrific childhood. I think that families that have less actually have MORE---if you know what I mean. You had love, laughter, joy and a wonderful family. I love hearing about your childhood.

    I'm quite sad tonight myself. My sweet brother died today. He is with God now --and all of my family. As much of a blessing his death is, it is still hard. I'm struggling tonight.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  2. Me too, I love to remember times from my childhood, my growing up years. It's what made us the person we are today and to remember our memories is to honor our past. I loved this post, I loved reading your memories.

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  3. What a wonderful memoir. Your stories are fascinating and they remind me of many of the things we did while I was growing up. Thanks for the memories.

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  4. Lovely shots of fall Rose. I think when fall comes I think of the Autumn of my own life and that makes me look back.
    I had to smile at ping pong. My girlfriend's family had a ping pong table in their basement (unfinished) and I can remember playing with my girlfriends on sleepovers and with one of my dear male friends I still keep in contact with.
    Super balls - OMG - the fun.
    I was just visiting another friend's blog and she was talking about the past. She had a video of Diamond Rio's 'One More Day' - I'm sure you know it. I listened and wept.
    Thanks for taking me back to other times too.

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  5. I think it's interesting how people remember the past. My sister and I grew up together only 17 months apart in age and she remembers all the bad things and I remember the good.

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  6. You must have been out of your gourds!

    Nah, just kidding. Isn't it amazing how we used to find things to do and have great fun without TV and cell phones and all the other stuff that kids today seem to think are absolutely necessary for their lives to have any meaning?

    Nice, nostalgic post. Have a great weekend and a great fall!

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  7. :o) My kind of post Rose..
    I love your memories Rose, and I've said it before I hope you write these down for Lorelei Rose.
    I look back in such a way as you know, I look back at the good times and remember mum and dad, and my older brother now gone. I think the older I get I long for those day, they seems safer somehow... attitudes were so different and folks seemed to have morals....
    I have enjoyed reading this and seeing the post above about the covered bridge... and between them both I'm filled with a feeling of friendship as I leave here today.. Have a great week ahead.. ;O)
    Tom

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  8. I think that those of us that like to look back, are those that had a very happy idyllic childhood. I love looking back at the happy times and my family who are mostly gone now.

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  9. Your nostalgia was great, Rose. I enjoyed reading about your childhood and all the fun you had. Kids can play with almost anything and make it fun, if given a chance! Fall always makes me think of my childhood too.

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