Yep, another one:
THE OUTHOUSE
By Wilton Strickland
A privy, toilet, or outhouse, a small wooden building sitting over a
hole dug several feet deep at the rear of the back yard was used “as
necessary.” I dug two of the holes in the ground for the privy - one as a
young teenager, the other when I was 21. Each of the holes was about 4 feet
by 4 feet in width and about 6 feet deep. Each time, I also moved the
building to the new hole. The building had a wooden bench with an
appropriate hole in it to receive “deposits.” Some of these privies had
multiple holes - there were many “two-holers,” usually an adult hole and a
child hole. Ours was always a conservative and more-modest “one-holer.”
In lieu of toilet tissue, which we had only in later years, we used
corncobs (too rough), newspaper (a bit slick) and pages from Sears catalogs
(way too slick). (Many outhouses even had a wire rack to hold the Sears
catalog.)
Not only was the availability and use of appropriate “paper” somewhat
worrisome, one also had to be on the lookout for black widow spiders and
snakes. A stick was usually kept in a corner to wave around in the hole and
under the bench to rid the area of spider webs and, hopefully, spiders. The
best defense against such critters, though, was to perch or squat up on the
bench above the hole while being careful to maintain good “aim.”
Several days after I had installed bathroom fixtures, a kitchen sink, a
water heater and an automatic washer for Mama in 1970, I stopped by to see
her one afternoon. While there, she asked me to help her burn a pile of
brush in the garden. The pile was near the now not-needed outhouse. I
suddenly realized this was the perfect opportunity to do something I had
wanted to do for many years - burn the outhouse!
When I told Mama my plan, she hesitated and said, “Oh, no, I thought we’d
save it.”
I asked, “Save it for what?”
She replied, “Oh, an emergency.”
I quickly convinced her, though, that it was a symbol of and a reminder
of a past hard life and sacrifices she had made for way too long, “Let’s
burn it in celebration of not needing it any more.”
We laughed and giggled as we pushed it onto the brush pile and set it
ablaze. We watched it disappear in smoke and flame as we each toasted it
with a glass of cold Pepsi - one of the most-fun parties Mama and I ever
had. I wish Daddy could have celebrated the occasion with us.
Wilton
_______________________________________
http://www.okiebenz.com
To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/
To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com