Sunday, June 28, 2020

HUMEROUS OR OTHERWISE FAMILY STORIES

Escaping the ever-present effects on our lives from “the virus” – that viral one in the atmosphere and the other one in the White House, my mind has taken respite in all sorts of humor-eliciting matter – cartoons, satirical writing and viewing performers whose perspective on daily life often reveals a bizarre point of view reminding me of just how crazy life can be. 

Also, crossing my mind are recollections of laugh worthy events or circumstances I’ve experienced.  I am reminded of stories generations share that are unique to each family contributing to the special bonds to one another we feel. 

My mother shared a few tales from her early nineteen hundred’s young life that titillated our family.   We were still primarily an agrarian society just beginning to give way to becoming industrialized.   Small farmers prospered as did her father.   Homes were gradually becoming modernized with electricity, telephones, outhouses giving way to indoor plumbing, likewise well water pumps were placed inside the kitchen.   

My maternal grandfather was considered progressive, so his neighbor farmers sometimes razzed him by asking when he was going to get one of those new-fangled automobiles.  He would respond that he was waiting to get an airplane. 

Mother would relate neighborhood tales that aroused her community at the time, such as one Halloween some enterprising young farm boys thought it would be hilarious to upset one farmer’s outhouse, so they did.  What they hadn’t counted on, was that someone was in it at the time.

Then, there was the young niece who took great delight in explaining to all who would listen who the relatives were that were pictured on the wall.   All would wait to hear her say, “And that is Grandpa Hall’s Hyde!” 

One of mother’s favored tales was about her father when their rural farm community finally had a telephone system – one with party lines shared with a few neighbors.    Each person’s phone line had a different ring, such as one short and two long rings, or one long, a short and another long ring, for example.  The caller cranked their phone accordingly to reach the party they wanted.  If one party was on the phone, none of the others could make a call.

One day, some sort of problem came up for my Grandfather who felt he needed to make a call post haste.  He kept picking up the phone to find the same neighbor lady, known for using the line a lot, was on the line talking to another woman.  Considerable time passed and each time my Grandfather picked up the phone she was still on the line. 

Phone users on the line could tell if someone picked up the phone as there would be a click when they picked up their phone and another click when they hung up so this would discourage eves-droppers.  Also, it would indicate to the phone line user that someone else wanted to use the line, so as a matter of courtesy the user typically would make an effort to end their call quickly.

On the occasion of my Grandfather’s call effort, considerable time elapsed and she remained on the line.  Quite contrary to his character, my grandfather became quite exasperated.  Finally he picked up the phone once more, heard the woman say, “...so I washed down as far as possible and then ....” to which my grandfather interrupted by saying, “Well, why don’t you go wash possible and get off this line so I can make a call!”

I still chuckle to myself, picturing that scene, though I never knew my grandfather since he had died years before I was born. 

Are there stories unique to your family that are shared with great relish with one another?

16 comments:

  1. I enjoyed your stories of the old days. I've always loved my granny, who lived pre-radio, pre-autombile, arguing with the new fangled TV and its newscaster, appalled at the arrogance and ignorance, one of her expostulations was "Ah get on outta dat with you, your mother must be ashamed!" And right she was.
    XO
    WWW

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    1. I, too, enjoy stories of life in earlier generations. Enjoyed reading your granny’s admonition.

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  2. Loved your grandfather's line. I do remember those party lines and the problems they presented.

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    1. Still such phone systems in the early years of our lifetimes in some areas of our country.

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  3. It is my experience with rural party lines that I blame for my phone phobia. My family taught me, well, that the phone was only to be used for really important stuff - by adults! At 82, I still don't feel entitled, I guess. We rarely had to call someone on our same line; so, almost all of our calls, went through the "operator". Sometimes, our operator Nettie Emery would let me "help" her by pushing up the dropped metal tab that indicated an active jack.

    At our (engineering) school, an annual Halloween prank was for some of the guys to go steal an outhouse to set ablaze in the street intersection in front of the dean's house. I always stayed away from that part of the campus around Halloween!

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    1. By the time I entered the world we had dial phones. Long distance calls cost the caller lots of money so only important messages were sent via them, plus if it was a special occasion everyone took turns saying a few words. Yes, and operators did usually put the call through. Sorry for your phobia.

      Sounds like outhouses were a focus for pranks. When I was young and we moved to the country that’s what our properties still had though we did have water in the house.

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  4. Our family cracked a lot of jokes, but pranks were not permitted. My father was fond of limericks and funny rhymes - and excruciating puns.

    I remember when long-distance phone calls were not only expensive but had to go through an operator. And probably the operator would be listening in, hoping for a bit of juicy gossip.

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    1. Operators could do that. Limericks, rhymes and puns can be fun.

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  5. Ours is extended on both the parents' side and yes, there are family stories that keep cropping up in our whatsapp chats and when there are family get-togethers.

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    1. Every family seems to have some tales uniquely humorous to them.

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  6. Sadly I have lost most of the stories. My brother who did not leave home as early as I did, has most of the stories...but he rarely shares!

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    1. Oh, that’s too bad. Guess some can be more secretive about them as I discovered when I tried to elicit some from a paternal aunt who simply replied, “Better to let dead dogs lie.”

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  7. Party lines are how you got all the news!

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    1. How true! I miss readin’ your writin’!

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  8. Oh my! That is hilarious. I kind of remember party lines.... a long, long time ago.

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    1. You’re probably too young to have encountered the old crank phone. I was a mere child barely recalling my grandmother’s party line. Rural communities were probably among the last to get transitioned into the then new dial system — a technological advance people had to be trained how to use properly — very complicated — stick your finger in the hole on the dial over the first number you’re calling, then turn that dial all the way, let it spin back and then do the same with the next number and each succeeding number. Later we got push buttons. Finally the system we have now. What could be next?

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