My Mom

Fot the past few weeks I have been remodeling my Mom's family room. Rippewrd out the panelling, mudding and painting the walls, etc. I probably wouyld have been finished some time ago except that I can only seem to find an hour here and there to get over there and work on it.
But spending time around my mom is kind of like a box of chocolates that should have been thrown out some time ago. You see, my mother grew up during the Great Depression (They call it that to distinguish it from the crappy one we are in now). As a kid, the philosophy at large was somthing like "Eat it up, wear it out, use it all or do without".
As a consequnce, she never throws anything away. Well, not much, anyway. She isnt one of those that you see on reality TV with banana peels and disposable diapers piled to the roof. but here are a few things we have seen her "saving" over the years
A small plastic baggie, tied with a twistie, containing 4 popcorn kernals
every utility bill she has ever gotten since she and my Dad bought the house in the early 1950, organised into binders chronologically
the plastic tree that held the parts to a model truck i tried to build in junior high, rubber banded to a few plastic drinking straws
some of those "punch in the letters" label tapes that had the names of all the kids in a family that used to live in the ward years ago
Rather than throw it out, she once poured a jar of pickle juice into a pitcher of Kool Aid. She said it tasted good, we took her word for it.
Every empty perfume bottle that she and my sisters have ever owned
Every disposable pen that has ever been in her possesion, still is. She claims that if you put them in the oven for a few minutes they will work again, but she just hasnt gotten around to it
And my own personal (very personal) favorite...a couple of years ago she presented me with a small ring of white plastic about 3/8 of an inch in diameter. I asked her what it was, and then came the horror....It was the little band used to hold the bandage on my hoo haa after my circumcision as an infant. YIKES!
Growing up during that period of time seems to have taught that generation how to make the best of thier rescources. But hey, they beat down the Nazis, right? Maybe that skill helped them do it. As you may know, our resources were streched pretty thin throughout World War Two, but they still pulled it off. Maybe they know something we dont. In fact, I am sure that they did. We live in a society where most things we buy come from overseas. Have you seen those HUGE container ships that come over from China? They sail back home empty. We dont make many things here anymore. ANd we certianly dont know how to fix anything anymore, whether its radios or cars. Back in the day if your radio (Which was a major investment) blew a tube, you took off the cover, replaced the tube, and went back to listening to Amos and Andy. Nowdays, when your radio blows a "tube" (Yes, I know they dont use them anymore) we throw it out.
I really think that we as a people need to learn how to fix things and make do. If something breaks, open it up and figure it out! If you dont think you can, try anyway. Its part of being self reliant.
Worse times are coming, folks. Learn how to take care of yourselves, strech your resources.
"Eat it all, wear it out, use it up or do without."