Waski_the_Squirrel
Resident of the least visited state in the nation.
I think I'm spoiled (something I actually have in common with most Americans).
Yesterday, I thought the shower was a little cool, but I was in a hurry. I got home, checked the hot water tank, and the pilot was out. I relit it...nothing. I'm waiting for the plumber to find time to get here. It's probably either dirt or a bad thermocouple. Either way, I can't figure out how to get in there without draining the tank and taking it out. (Someone wasn't thinking when they put it in.) The plumber isn't sure yet if he'll make it this week or next.
So, my first thought was how inconvenient cold showers and shaves are. This morning's shower was distinctly chilly and spent largely with the water turned off.
Then I got home today with dishes to wash, cleaning to do, and cooking to do. The dishwasher apparently doesn't work well without hot water. I finally took a lesson from my church (which has no running water), and heated a kettle of water on the stove for my dishes.
So, washing dishes "church style" got me to thinking: hot water is a pretty recent thing. There were people around here without plumbing as recently as the eighties. They wouldn't have grown up with a shower cold or hot. Dishes would never be done with a dishwasher. They would have had to pump water to heat it on their stove for bathing or dishes. Also, I'm currently doing laundry in my washing machine. I could easily be doing my laundry by hand just a few years ago. I might have had a wringer to help, but I still would have then had to hang the clothes.
And, you know, most of the world would look at me with envy. Why should I whine about a few days without hot water? Answer: I'm spoiled!
We really do take a lot of luxuries for granted. Just a few:
[list type=decimal]
[*]Running water that is clean and indoors (let alone hot water)
[*]Electricity: for all my whining, I'm sitting under a light and typing on a computer
[*]Clean Homes: Some might scoff at my tiny house, but I have a real floor, not dirt
[*]Easy transport: some days I whine about being so far from anywhere else, but it's paved roads (in a nice car) to most anywhere
[*]Easy access to information: I grew up prior to internet. Now I could never go back.
[*]Heat: I grew up in a home where we cut our own fuel, but this was a lifestyle choice
[*]Insulation: My house is fairly isolated from the weather. In many places this is not the case
[*]Employment: No matter how much I might whine about my job or wish I made more money, there are jobs here. That isn't true elsewhere
[*]Food: it's easily available and ridiculously cheap. Too much is more of a worry than too little
[/list]
What other luxuries do we take for granted as normal?
Yesterday, I thought the shower was a little cool, but I was in a hurry. I got home, checked the hot water tank, and the pilot was out. I relit it...nothing. I'm waiting for the plumber to find time to get here. It's probably either dirt or a bad thermocouple. Either way, I can't figure out how to get in there without draining the tank and taking it out. (Someone wasn't thinking when they put it in.) The plumber isn't sure yet if he'll make it this week or next.
So, my first thought was how inconvenient cold showers and shaves are. This morning's shower was distinctly chilly and spent largely with the water turned off.
Then I got home today with dishes to wash, cleaning to do, and cooking to do. The dishwasher apparently doesn't work well without hot water. I finally took a lesson from my church (which has no running water), and heated a kettle of water on the stove for my dishes.
So, washing dishes "church style" got me to thinking: hot water is a pretty recent thing. There were people around here without plumbing as recently as the eighties. They wouldn't have grown up with a shower cold or hot. Dishes would never be done with a dishwasher. They would have had to pump water to heat it on their stove for bathing or dishes. Also, I'm currently doing laundry in my washing machine. I could easily be doing my laundry by hand just a few years ago. I might have had a wringer to help, but I still would have then had to hang the clothes.
And, you know, most of the world would look at me with envy. Why should I whine about a few days without hot water? Answer: I'm spoiled!
We really do take a lot of luxuries for granted. Just a few:
[list type=decimal]
[*]Running water that is clean and indoors (let alone hot water)
[*]Electricity: for all my whining, I'm sitting under a light and typing on a computer
[*]Clean Homes: Some might scoff at my tiny house, but I have a real floor, not dirt
[*]Easy transport: some days I whine about being so far from anywhere else, but it's paved roads (in a nice car) to most anywhere
[*]Easy access to information: I grew up prior to internet. Now I could never go back.
[*]Heat: I grew up in a home where we cut our own fuel, but this was a lifestyle choice
[*]Insulation: My house is fairly isolated from the weather. In many places this is not the case
[*]Employment: No matter how much I might whine about my job or wish I made more money, there are jobs here. That isn't true elsewhere
[*]Food: it's easily available and ridiculously cheap. Too much is more of a worry than too little
[/list]
What other luxuries do we take for granted as normal?