GOOD MORNING, FRIENDS

A REMEMBERAMBLE NOVEMBER 6, 2025

Well, look what the cat done drug up! A brand-stinking new Thursday, free for the takin.' Here, have one, there's a'plenty to go around for everybody. I want to say this, for most of my life I have loved the old ways, the old things, and treasured learning of and seeing any and all remnants of the old life our near antecedents lived. I was not keen on ancient history, nor even Georgia's earliest history.

I loved the things that were slipping away, fading from life, and I felt should not only be lamented, but also preserved. For most of my life, I held grudges easily against folks who had inherited old homes, old barns, outbuildings, all of the dependencies that made a farm, grist mills, and almost any old structure, or piece of machinery, any old thing that represented that era, that did not try to keep those things in good repair, to maintain them for my viewing pleasure, as it was.

I felt they owed a debt to our past and present to spend the money to maintain those remnants. It took many years, and a more mature attitude for me to see past my wants, and understand that no one has a right to expect anyone to spend money to maintain private property for the benefit of others' sense of nostalgia. Now, that did not stop me from wishing they had, or for seeing those things go away with much sorrow and sadness.

Even now, there are a few families who own exceptional structures, who could well afford to keep them well preserved but choose not to, and it is hard to let go of those exceptions in my mind. But, it is wrong for me to harbor those niggling grudges. I am working on those, even now, as God gives me peace about those things. There are a few such edifices that I choose to not look at when I pass, nor chronicle the latest stage of their deterioration.

If you are as I was, let me remind you of a sad truth, few things can exist beyond the need for them. For instance, we have all seen houses that folks rarely spent money on, but the old place stood for as long as it was needed, but when it was vacated for good, it fell into disrepair quickly and returned to the soil from whence it came. An old Irish folk belief held that a house has a spirit that is there for as long as it is occupied, but the spirit goes away when it sits empty, and the house dies.

Think of old wooden hulled sailing ships, they had to remain in the water in order to maintain its seaworthiness. If it was placed in drydock for very long, it would dry out, its hull timbers would shrink and leak, and it could not be put to sea ever again. The same is true for iron ships, if they sit docked and not used, their various systems deteriorate, it rusts, and in time it is beyond salvation. The only way to prevent such an end is to use it continually, no other method will work, it is use it or lose it.

If you see an old steam locomotive on static display, if it has been there long, it will be beyond saving as a working engine. Yes, if enough money were spent, it could return to the rails, but at some point it would be worn out once more and the process would need repeating, or it could be parked again, and be an item of interest only, thereafter. This applies to almost anything men build to use for a purpose, once it is no longer going to be used for what it was intended for, it is almost impossible to keep it in good order.

This is true of industrial looms, gins, mill machinery, wooden rowboats, sawmills, cars, trucks, brooms, mops, outhouses, hog pens, toy boats, dog houses, cat houses, bridges, railroad tracks, schools, roads, vineyards, footballs, hockey pucks, saddles, bumper jacks, fishing rods, corn cobs, bird houses, and mule lots. I wonder if any of you ever enjoy it when I get on a "tear," making lists like this?

I hope so, because it sure is fun doing it. I am required to always toss in a few zingers to make you grin. As long as I can make you laugh, cry, wax nostalgic, and contemplate, I know I can keep on writing. If the day comes when my writing means nothing emotionally, please tell me...

..... NUMBERS 6: 24-26, KJV

..... we boyz three, babee conway, lil merle, & me