[AlArchie]

Susan, I felt that same AHA MOMENT THE FIRST TIME kAREN TOLD ME TO DO THE DISHES!

aL

[Tom H]

Great story Susan, and a great lesson. A lesson that is not too late for us old coots to learn. Tom H

[Irish]

Al - an excellent point!

How many of the things that we do without thought or questioning are based on nothing more than socially accepted ideas and cultural tradition with absolutely no consideration of ability, competence, intelligence or even personal interest.

She does the dishes because her mother did and her grandmother did and her great grandmother did. In the evenings she quilts or crochets or knits because that's what the women before her did. Or even girls can't weld but they and only they make great chocolate chip cookies.

He fusses with the mechanical machines because his father did and his grandfather did and his great grandfather did. He became an accountant because all the men in his family are accounts ... or policemen ... or worked on the railroad. Or even men can't cook dinner but they are fantastic at changing the oil in the car.

So ... meandering here in my thinking ... are all wooden kitchen ladles manufactured to only fit women's hand and all screw drivers automatically made to fit a man's ???????

I am not sure that I believe in the common interruption of "Free Will" as I believe that free will only comes AFTER you start questioning everything. If you hadn't questioned or considered who is capable of doing dishes in your house before Karen told you "It's your turn!" how could you consider that perhaps you were not only capable of doing them but excelled at the task.

In fact ... you might have actually enjoyed that quite, relaxing task and now be a "closet dish-doers"!

Susan

[Irish]

Originally Posted by decoycarve

Sue,
What is the significance of the numbers beside the garage door?
Goody

Oh, please Goody ... not another 'why are the chicken coop windows crocked following the roof line 'question. I got into enough trouble over that!

They are old license plates nailed to the outside of the garage. I don't know where the habit started but way, way, way back when you used to get new plates every year ... not just new stickers ...

So when someone got new plates for the car they would tack the old ones up on the barn wall or garage wall. Sometimes the entire outside wall of a garage would be covered with old license plates.

I think it was something like collecting advertising thermometers .... and then nailing those to the barn wall too!

Susan

[AlArchie]

Then I had another AHA moment and bought a dishwasher! Good move!

Al

[Kenny_S]

Irish, Some of use collect those old plates instead of nailing them up on a wall, we attach them to book boards. Well that is what they are called and made in to a book display. Bricks, Bobwire, etc but the bricks aren't in a book.
Nice thread.

[Colin_Partridge]

Susan how right you are. I agree 100% those little moments are the very best. I was teaching the local school kids carving. Actually I was carving a cougar for their school. The whole school came out at different intervals to watch me carve. One little girl put her hand up and asked me how small I could carve with my chainsaw. I took a sliver of wood that I sawed off. Probably 6 inches tall and 3 inches wide. Placed it under my foot and carved a small face in the sliver with my chainsaw. Probably took me about a minute to do it. It was very rough but you could definatly tell it was a woodspirit I even put the eyes in with the saw. When it was all over and the kids went back to class, the little girl said "excuse me Mr Partridge would you mind if I kept the carving. That susan meant more to me than any carving I have been commissioned for, that little girl who clutched that carving in her little hand and headed off to proudly show her class mates what I had given her. So I can really relate to Michael and how much that meant to you. BTW at recess that day I had to carve another half dozen little faces and only too happy to do so.
Colin

[Irish]

Great story, Colin! And I bet you grinned through the 'another half dozen' carvings!

Kenny, I have seen bookends like you are describing. In basket weaving they make reed bird houses then fold an old license plate in half to create the roof. Somehow I don't think people throw old license plates away ... they are like the old keys that get thrown in a box somewhere even though you know the lock is long gone.

Susan

[Kenny_S]

Colin, Great story and yes, that makes a man's/woman's day.
Sometimes it is the little things that are the biggest moments.

Irish,
I use to set and admire the inside of myGrandpapa's garage as I think those tags were the only thing keeping the old garage together. But he had a slew full of them nailed on those old walls.

The things we keep!

[Mike_B-NY]

"Well ... why, Susan, are you boring us all with this prattle???" .... I didn't say that, and I don't think anyone else would either... I dare them. Great reading <as usual>, Thanks Susan.