When I was growing up we didn't have running water in our house until I was about 8 or 9. At that time our little town got "city water." Mama had our house plumbed for water, she closed in an end of a hall and we had a bathroom. We also had an outside hydrant so that my uncle could water the garden. Water was then and has ever since been a luxury for me that I still respect.
It was one of my jobs to draw water from the well. Which I never did do joyfully I have to admit. This is a picture of what the bucket looked like.
(This is not our actual bucket, which I have hanging in the garage.) I can still hear the sound it made as I let it down into the well as it hit the sides of the 12 inch concrete pipe inserted into the ground. And I can still hear the sound it made as it hit the water and I as I hauled it up with the pulley. I would pull the release and the water would flow into an aluminum bucket. Then I would tote that bucket up to the back steps and then up onto the porch. There was nothing quite like that first drink of cool delicious well water drank from the aluminum dipper.
Running water meant no more going to the outhouse, no more drawing water, no more bathing in a #3 galvanized tub outside in the summer and in a smaller version inside in the winter. No more aluminum buckets and dippers, no more boiling water outside to wash clothes.......or inside to bathe.That summer that we got "city water," we had a month of free water, we were encouraged to run the water as much as possible to flush out the pipes, and boy did we! I had a ball playing in the water outside, making rainbows, playing in the sprinkler........it was great.
Even today I still relish and appreciate every single tub bath or shower, every load of clothes washed in the washing machine, and every load of dishes washed in the dishwasher.
There have been times when we were without water and all I could think about was water...I need to use the bathroom, I need to brush my teeth, I need to wash dishes, I need to wash clothes, I need water to cook...I need water! David can tell you that I almost drove him crazy...we finally got our water back, but we didn't have hot water...I was near the breaking point and I went to a motel....
I love the beach, I love looking out at the water in the gulf and listening to the waves, we live on a lake and I'm constantly looking out at the water, we don't have a swimming pool-but I want one.
This past weekend we went to Louisiana and crossed the mighty Mississippi at Natchez.
Water.......see what I mean? Things rattle around in my head.
4 comments:
I remember my grandmother havina a cistern-I guess that is the same as a well. It scares me now to think of the germs we must have consumed with this water!
Hey
I had to walk to a spring to get water in a bucket. I soon learned that carrying two buckets was easier. Just up the back steps would have been a breeze. Also, I was in my second year of high school before we had city water. When I would visit folks who had a well out back, I was envious knowing the short distance it was to get water. We also had a huge tank connected to the gutters to use for water to wash clothes, etc. So I truly understand your passion about water. Peace
I'm sure the people along the Mississippi River have thought a lot about water recently - too much water. I know the folks in western Oklahoma have thought alot about water recently too because they are in a severe drought. My prayers go out to all of them.
It's so sad in Louisiana--some farmers are getting flooded and losing their crops, and some farmers are losing their crops due to the drought that has caused my pond to become a mudhole. I grew up in southern California so of course we always had running water even back in the "olden times" 50's. We had to--Disneyland wasn't that far from us and they had to have water for the goofy Jungle River Cruise!
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