By Virginia Kinley

For the Salisbury Post

These hot summer days take me back in time to my childhood. Back then, our only relief from the heat was an occasional cool breeze. Some days, the breezes were non-existent.

My mother cooked delicious meals every day on a wood-fired stove. She opened the windows in case a breeze was stirring. She had no electric fan, no air conditioning. We had no electricity during my early childhood.

When vegetables needed gathering from the gardens, the whole family usually did the job. Then Mama and Ma (my grandma) prepared the veggies, some for the day's meal, some to can for the winter months.

My youngest brother was born when I was 15, so I usually took care of him while Mama and Ma were taking care of the food preparation.

When electricity finally came to our neighborhood, we could see better at night with the electric lights than we could with the kerosene lamps we had been using. Wash day for Mama was better with an electric washing machine than the gas-powered one she had been using. Come to think of it, none of the appliances that would have helped us feel cooler entered our house for many years. The best I can remember, there was not an electric fan, air conditioning or an indoor toilet in the house I grew up in when I was married in 1946.I sometimes wonder if we appreciate all the things that God has allowed humans to invent for our comfort and pleasure. Do we appreciate air conditioners, freezers, refrigerators, etc.?

We should thank God every day for his many blessings, spiritual and material.

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