COKIOWA-L Archives

From: Jackie & Zane Smith <>
Subject: [COKIOWA ] Now & Then
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 07:05:13 -0500

Hi List,
I received this from another mailing list. Hope you'll appreciate it as
much as I did.
Jackie

Ancestors: Now and Then

When Stephanie complained because she couldn't find a parking place near
the main door to the mall - her great great grandmother had to make her own
clothes and grow her own food.

When Buffy complained because she had to work five days a week and couldn't
go swimming every day - her great great grandmother worked in her garden
six days a week.

When Clara complained because she couldn't have a new dress for her date on
Saturday - her great great grandmother had three dresses, one for weekdays,
one for Sunday and one put away for her burial.

When Donna complained because it was too warm and humid at the picnic - her
great great grandmother cooked and baked for her family over a fireplace,
all year round.

When Erica complained because she had to walk three blocks to her friend's
house - her great great grandmother walked to town, five miles, and to her
closest neighbor's house, three miles, and back, carrying her toddler most
of the time.

When Flora complained because she had three children and only two bedrooms
- her great great grandmother raised seven children in a two room log house.

When Gayle complained because she had to take time to go to her
grandmother's funeral - her great great great grandmother buried her baby
in the field back of her house.

When Helen complained because her washing machine broke down and she had to
go to the Laundromat - her great great great grandmother washed her
family's clothes in a wash tub on a scrub board.

When Irene complained because she didn't have a computer on which to do her
homework - her great great great grandmother taught her children to read
from the only book she owned, the family Bible, and taught them to write on
a piece of slate.

When Joann complained because she didn't get a baby carrier at the shower -
her great great great grandmother carried her nursing baby three hundred
miles from Virginia to Ohio, and walked all the way.

When Kathy complained because her son's job required him to move to Texas -
her great great great grandmother knew when her son left, "to seek his
fortune in the West," she would probably never see him again.

When Linda complained because the store was out of her expensive facial
soap - her great great great grandmother used lye soap, which she made
herself from fireplace ashes and animal fat.

When Melissa complained because the store was out of her favorite brand of
plastic diapers - her great great great grandmother had six pieces of cloth
for her baby, which she washed as soon as they were soiled, so she would
always have a clean one ready.

When Nancy complained because her husband had to go to camp for his
National Guard service - her great great great grandmother sent her husband
off to the Civil War. He never came back.

When Olivia complained because she had to feed , water and walk the dog she
had begged for - her great great great grandmother fed the pigs and
chickens, and milked the cows before she prepared breakfast for her family.

When Pamela complained because she didn't have an espresso machine - her
great great great grandmother made coffee from chicory.

When Roslyn complained because the number she called didn't answer - her
great great great grandmother sometimes, if she was lucky, got one letter a
year from her family "back East," her only contact with them.

When Sharon complained because her wedding ring only had three diamonds -
her great great great grandmother sold her wedding ring to buy medicine for
her sick babies.

When Terri complained because the TV wasn't working - her great great great
grandmother watched the sunset for entertainment.

When Vivian complained because there was no hot water for her shower - her
great great great grandmother pumped water from the well, carried it
inside, heated it on the coal stove, bathed the youngest first and everyone
bathed in the same water.

When Wanda complained because she had to take the kids to the Doctor for
their shots - her great great great grandmother lost most of her children
to mumps, measles, cholera or diphtheria.

J. Wilms

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• [COKIOWA ] Now & Then by Jackie & Zane Smith <>