Random Thoughts......

May 16, 2009-

After a stormy night and afternoon, things are a bit cool, and calm now.  for a time there, I did not know what as going on.

The best electrical storm I can recall happened in New Vienna, Ohio.  We had just moved to new Vienna, a farming community.  We lived on the very edge of town.  I have no idea if it was East or West.  All I recall is that there was a lane which separated us from the country.  Across this  lane, the town ended.  There was a old farm house, and there were children living there, and they had a farm with goats,  horses, and cows.  I remember my Uncles, they were well drillers, drilled a well for them.  How they knew where to drill is beyond me.  I have a friend who bought property ,built a house and tried to drill for water, and got nothing.  he said he had five of the prettiest  holes he had ever seen, but no water.  That is a problem; too far out for city services, and  not able to get  water by other means.

Now getting back to the storm.  It was in the Spring, or Fall, I can't recall, but it was raining, and  lightning and I had this premonition that my Grandparents were there.  They had not called to say they were coming, but I just felt they were.  I told my parents, and they sort of ignored me.  Then I looked out a window, and with a flash of lightning,I saw my Grandpa, my Grandma, and my Uncle Kenneth, who could have been more than thirteen or fourteen at the time.  Grandma had Kenneth , her seventh son, when she was 45.  This was the last trip where Kenneth tagged along with his parents.  When they saw that I was right, they went out on the porch and called them into the house.

Some time later, the lights went out, and we were in the dark.  We got candles, and flashlights, and we kids had a good ole time exploring the old victorian parsonage in the dark.

I remember Grandpa sitting in the kitchen explaining to Dad why he bought an automatic shift.  He had a Liincoln Towncar.  He said that the machine knew  better when to shift gears than any human.  He then went on to praise Eisenhower on begining to build interstate highways.  In 1953, this project had just begun.  I was  8 at the time, and  it made little sense to me then.

Parsonages, something which most ministers don't have now.  I always thought that living in a parsonage was sort of akin to living in someone elses house.  It was not yours.  You could never decided to tear down a wall, or do major surgery on a parsonage.  you were living in quarters provided you by the Church.  I think the Church paid for everything, utilities included.  It came as part of  the salary.

This parsonage in New Vienna was an old Victorian house.  I do believe that it had once belonged to a member of the congregation, who had died and left the house and land to the Church.

The house had a wide porch.  It was painted blue as I recall.  There were four big steps leading up to the front door, which was all glass.  Even the door knob was made of glass.  A skeleton key was all that separated you from the outside world, but then in those days, that was enough.  When you entered the house through the front door, you were  in a short  hallway.  There was a place for coats, and a small table.  I do not know  the reason for the table. .  Straight ahead was a formal dining area, and to the left of the dining area was a large kitchen.  There was a room on one side of the kitchen which served as a laundry room, and mud room.  Of course, there was an entrance also to the outside too.

Lets go back to the short hall way, to the right was a living room.  The stairs were on the left, and they rose up to the second story where we lived.  I do believe there were four bedrooms.  There was also a bathroom upstairs.  It was  to the right of my bedroom.  The thing which intrigued me most of all was the big four footed tub.

One of the things which I loved was the den, the place where the TV was , and we relaxed on Friday nights.  Friday nights were good nights.

Downstairs, we had a coal burning furnace.  My job was to fill the stoker, and to remove the ashes.  I hated that job.  Although i did not know it at the time, this furnace was very dangerous.

We had a large yard, and a push mower.  It  was supposed to be my job to mow the lawn.  I think Dad promised me a quarter.  I never did mow it.  I tried, but push mowers are not meant to be used on huge lots.  Oh, we also have an apple tree, and some cherry trees on the property.  My other jobs was to pick up the apples which dropped to the ground, and Mom would make us apple pies.