IMMIGRANT DAUGHTER 51

Here I am sitting at my new computer trying to get this post started without help. So far so good but I must tell you I tried first to play a game and could not  do it. Oh I got into the game program but did not know how to start the game even though it said start here by clicking here. As you can see I am not very computer savvy but I am willing to learn slowly. Sometimes I expect too much out of myself.

I want to thank those of you who responded and hopefully more will do so in the future. My stores are about me and my family. I have had a long full life and so much has happened in my lifetime that I hope it inspires you to keep a journal because it will make remembering easier for you as time passes.

I can remember my father telling me I will see for myself about this when I am older and sure enough he was right time seems to pass quickly. It is thundering and C’s dog is on the porch looking in wanting me to open the door. I just can’t do that as yet because she still brings in dirt and bugs from her roaming in the woods.

We use to collect antiques which I only have the memory of them, but yesterday I was looking through a metal box Carl received from our daughter that was filled with German cookies. To my surprise I had stored an old carpenters tape measure that was 50ft long that pulled out of a leather bound reel that had a small handle that folded down to roll in the tape. The sewed stitches are separating in spots because of age.

I also found an instrument that would cut off the tips of cigars that has  a piece of  ivory in the handle. I can remember my father having one of these, but most of the time he just bit the tip off. I understand it makes the cigar draw better when trying to light it.

I do not have anything that belonged to my dad except a small spy glass that is about 5 inches long and it extended out about 2 inches more and it fit into a soft sleeve so you can put it in your pocket. It is not much but it is a sense of satisfaction knowing he held this in his hands and now I am handling it in mine many years later.

I tried to take a break  and save this and it told me I posted and I certainly didn’t intend to please bare with me and my mistakes. I can better understand the mistakes Carl use to make on the computer and not knowing how to bring it back and my lack of patience of helping him makes me a bit ashamed. My DIL came home and straightened out my error and informed me I didn’t post and that was a relief so I am continuing .

Getting back to antiques  Carl collected ink wells and at one point he had 75 of them. They were unique and out of 75 only one was duplicated.  They were so different some were just the glass well and others has the glass wells resting in ornate silver or brass  stands that sat on the desk in the center where it could be reached easily.  When he traveled and worked in different towns he always went to the antique shops to see if they had any he didn’t have. It really reminded me how times change because the ink wells today have filled ink pens and pencils in the holders instead of ink.

I can remember having had penmanship taught in school and yes I did write with a wooden pen you had  insert the writing point in the handle to dip it in ink to write. I was a happy camper when new inventions came along like the ball point pen.

It took some time to to market a ball point pen that didn’t leak. I remember Carl’s white shirts always had ink stains in the pocket and it was a chore trying to make a white shirt white with no ink spots. Over the years ballpoint pens flooded the market because the Bic pens were cheap and colorful. They made pens with all colors of ink because they catered to the schools that purchased in big lots.

Ink filled fountain pens started to make a comeback and I remember giving Carl a pen and pencil set for Christmas one year.  There is an expression; What goes around comes around again and a good example of this is the style of automobiles over the years. It was always easy to tell a Cadillac it didn’t change style year to year and became a  status symbol.

When I was a young child of about 8 or 9.  A friend of the family took the four of us girls for a ride in  his Model T. Ford , it was like a big box with four wheels that had windows that rolled down with a crank handle. If I remember correctly the doors only had one big window in them and not two like we have today. He called his car a tin a lizzey. We had lots of fun going for rides in the country that the only cost was petrol (as he called it). He was a big Irishman who like to laugh and make others laugh too. I mentioned what was will be again, and don’t we have automobiles today that are shaped like a square box called SUV’s?

I hope you found some humor in this post because I enjoyed remembering, Until next time, I am Immigrant Daughter having fun.