Tapping into the Past

Thought for the day:  Many people have sighed for the 'good old days' and regretted the 'passing of the horse', but today, when only those who like horses own them, it is a far better time for horses. [C.W. Anderson]

When people talk about the good old days, they're usually not talking about outhouses. Lots of neat things about the past, but a smelly outhouse ain't one of them. Even though I most definitely  prefer indoor plumbing, I still cling to some things other people might consider old-fashioned. Some of those things speak to me... and their sounds are music to my ears.

                                            Um, no ... I'm not THAT old-fashioned...

But I do hate electric can openers. Far as I'm concerned, they're nothing but a noisy nuisance, and take up way too much counter space. I mean, why use THAT...












                                        When THIS not only does the job, but fits in a drawer?

Not a big fan of electric knives, either. I've got plenty of knives, but none of them plug into the wall. It'd be kinda fun to have an electric fork, though.

Anybody know what this is?

A cow horn. An honest-to-goodness cow horn. Or at least, part of one.

It's for making Polish kielbasa. The casings go on the smaller end closest to my hand, and the sausage mixture gets shoved into the larger end of the horn and into the casing. Pretty neat, huh? I've been using that horn for more than forty years. Works great, too.

                                                       
                                                                                                  But....  check THIS out!

Cool, huh?

My brother sent this jerky and sausage maker to me right before we went to Maryland. It'll give me a whole new way to fill those casings... with a nifty-looking gizmo that kinda looks like a grease gun. (And it doesn't plug into the wall, either!) Now, THIS should be fun to play with. And as soon as we eat all the kielbasa that's already in our freezer, I'm looking forward to giving this puppy a whirl.

Okay, how about one of these? Miss them? 

Well, I don't miss the nasty job of changing a ribbon. (Remember the ones with black AND red ink?) 

Don't miss the aggravation of typing a full page, only to make a mistake on the last line, either. White Out to the rescue. Sorta.

But I do miss the feeling of rolling the paper onto the carriage, the cheerful DING! at the end of a line, the rhythmic clackety-clack of the keys, and the feeling of pulling out a completed page.

Then again, a modern day computer can do a lot of things our old typewriters couldn't do. Correcting errors is a piece of cake. Cut and paste is one of the best things ever. And, of course, flat keyboards make ideal napping spots for our feline friends.

But computers opened up a whole new world of headaches, too. Remember the dreaded blue screen of death? And why, oh why, can't someone invent a computer that does what you WANT it to do instead of what you accidentally TELL it to do...?

But no matter how wonderful today's computers are,  there is ONE thing no computer, no matter how modern and sophisticated it is, can do as well as a good old-fashioned typewriter. Make music.                            

[That music isn't exactly new. Leroy Anderson wrote it in the early '50s. He wrote a lot of light Orchestral music, much of which was introduced by the Boston Pops. But I'm betting the music is new to most of you. Totally cool, isn't it?]

Wanta see another take on that same music? This is a classic Jerry Lewis skit from the good ol' days:

So, how about you? Anything from the good old days you prefer over the modern conveniences? What's your favorite modern invention? (In these 100+ degree days, the air conditioner's looking pretty darned good.) What's the dumbest modern invention?

                                      Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.