LESSONS LEARNED AROUND THE OLD COAL STOVE #1

When I was a child, I spent a lot of time with my grandma and grandpa at their home out in the country near Sebring, Ohio. They lived on a small farm. They grew their own fruits and vegetables, at least the ones that grew in that part of the country. Their little farm was about five acres and was bounded in the front by a highway and railroad tracks at the rear. The time was the early to late fifties and railroads were the main method of moving goods around the country and the rails at grandma and grandpa’s house was a main line so there were trains back and forth all day and all night long. There was no inside plumbing so we had to bring water from the pump and hike to the outhouse for our other business. It was everything a little boy could dream of.
My fondest memories of my time staying with grandma and grandpa came from the time around the old coal stove. In the dining room, toward one side and centered stood an old, new then, pot-belly coal stove. After dinner everyone would pull their chairs around the stove and just talk. I got a large part of my education in that dining room, especially about life, people and moral conduct.
I will try each month to share with you some of the tidbits of knowledge that was passed on to me as they had been passed from generation to generation for many years. Some may not be original but were original to me, so forgive me if you have heard some of them before.
This month I will just toss out a little sample and will add stories and more bits of wisdom in coming months. I hope you will enjoy!
You can't unsay a cruel remark. Grandpa said this was one of the most important lessons I would ever learn. Of course it was many years before I fully understood the full meaning of this simple statement.
If your nose itches, someone's coming. I thought this was some kind of universal law and was probably in the sixth grade before I realized that there was nothing wrong with my nose itches. I just couldn’t figure out why no one showed up every time I had an itchy nose. I used to run to the window and watch to see who was coming and most of the time left the window sill disappointed.
Peace and Love to each of you.