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March 18, 2003 - "Old Shakey & The Spiders
Welcome to 2TheHeart!
"Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy." ~Author unknown
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SPRING BOUTIQUE! Our Spring Boutique is online with wonderful gifts for Easter and anytime! Our 2TheHeart family members have worked hard to share their talents online, so come and support them at our Boutique! www.2theheart.com/Boutique
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PATRIOTIC PINS! Show your support by proudly wearing one of the many lapel pins created by US Pins. The new Space Shuttle Memorial pins are now available, as well as the yellow Support Our Troops, many unique 9-11 pins, Flag Heart with doves and other collectible pins that show your American Pride. http://www.qksrv.net/click-404250-9486958
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I was delighted to find a new story by our good family friend, Chuck Dishno! Chuck has many stories on our Funny Friday page (www.2theheart.com/funnyfridays) and in the archives. His writing has been missed!
"Old Shakey and the Spiders"
by Chuck Dishno
When I was about 7 years old, my house burned to the ground. We were living in the small logging town of Bly, Oregon where I was born. The house wasn't much, just three tar paper shacks butted together but it was all we had and times were tough during the great depression. The fire occurred on a Sunday afternoon in July 1940 and we lost all our possessions. Being a small town, the hard working loggers and saw mill workers would come home from work each day and help us clean up the lot then rebuild our house. The local store had a "fire sale" benefit for us and the sawmill donated all the lumber for the new house. I think it only cost my Dad about $500.00 for everything. What an improvement the new house was over the old shacks we had been living in. We didn't have any hot water or indoor plumbing. But the new one had all these and more! No more cold trips to the outhouse or frozen pipes and it had 3 bedrooms. It was easily the best house in town and all because the old one burned down. What a fantastic community and caring people.
My Pop was a hard working and well-liked man and was always up to trying something new. He loved my Mom and tried to make life easier for by buying labor saving gadgets. After the 2nd World War, came the advent of the automatic washing machine. These were not anything like we have now. They were big, noisy and shook like an earthquake. Well, Pop decided to get one for Mom and went to Klamath Falls to an appliance store to see what they had to offer. There was a new one on the market by the name of Laundry All. It was in the price range that Pop could afford so he took it home. When he got it set up, it ran great. It had a horizontal washtub inside that would rotate 12 times one direction and then 12 times the other for about 20 minutes then would go into the spin mode. That's when all hell broke loose.
It shook so bad that it started to "walk" across the floor and threatened to pull off the hoses. The only thing to do was to gather around it when it started spinning and try to hold it in place. The spin cycle occurred three times before the wash was done. Whenever Mom washed, she would keep an ear out for the start of the spin cycle and we would all rush to the kitchen to help hold the machine down. Pop finally asked at the store what he could do and was told he should have bolted it to the floor. This seemed like a good idea but it was a long way through the wooden floor and the 12-inch floor joists under the house. Pop got four 18-inch long bolts with large washers and nuts. He then drilled through the floor and joists. This created a problem for Pop because it took two to do the job. One to hold the bolt and one under the house to put on and tighten the nuts. The crawl space under the house was too shallow for Pop's big belly so I was drafted into doing the mole job.
I would slide under the house on my back with a flashlight and find the protruding bolts. I soon realized that I wasn't alone under there. There were many spiders of all sizes and shapes and they terrified me. I would shine the light around and see these eyes looking back at me. I know now that none of them were poisonous and probably wouldn't bite me but at that time, all I could think of was my early demise. As soon as I heard Pop say that the bolts were tight enough, I got out from under the house in record time thinking the spiders were chasing me all the way.
The new washing machine still shook like crazy but stayed in place. The shaking was then directed toward the nearby wood cook stove and on at least one occasion the stovepipe with all its soot came down in the kitchen. The cupboard doors would come open and dishes would come crashing out. At the start of each spin cycle, Mom would call for help and we would run to the kitchen and hold the stovepipe and cupboard doors. It wasn't long before all this shaking broke some part in the machine and I had to go under the house with all my "friends" again to remove the nuts so we could take it back to Klamath Falls for repair.
After a week or so, Pop would get the call to come pick it up. Oh, how I hated that call. It meant another trip under the house and before long it would break again and the procedure was repeated. I don't remember how many years this kept up before the appliance store came to the rescue and replaced it with another make that didn't have to be bolted down. To this day, I can't see a spider without thinking of those monsters under the house. I believe that God protected me from them, at least I asked him to do so, but please don't bless those spiders.
Chuck Dishno copyright 2003
dishgov@mcn.net
I am a retired printer living in beautiful Montana with my wonderful wife, Roz and our two cats, Amy & Max. We spend our winters in sunny Yuma, Arizona. I love to write but haven't done much lately. I am back in the mood and am trying to put down more of the memories of my life so that my children & grandchildren will have something to remember me by. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ANDTHATSAWRAP! Join 2TheHeart in supporting our brand new site partner! Personalized candy bar, lifesaver wrappers and MORE are a fantastic way to celebrate birthdays, weddings, graduations and promote your business! We at 2TheHeart have our very own candy bar wrapper and it's gorgeous! Designer Anne Goodrich of OhAngel.com is spreading her wings and soaring with this fabulous new business! To learn more, visit www.andthatsawrap.com !
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The Letter Box:
Annette
What a wonderful story....and soooo true.....having found myself realizing the same thing some years back...I now try to always keep in the forefront of my mind ( which is enclosed inside a real hard head) that GOD is drivin, and HE knows where I am supposed to go....enjoyed it ! Sandy Smith
Dear Annettee,
What sage advice and look how our words can travel further than we ever dreamed! Your story reminded me to remember what I say can have an impact - be it good or bad and keep in mind it may be passed to others! How beautifully written your story was. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Love, Joan
Hi Susan,
I'm a little behind in my e-mails and just read your story that brought tears to my eyes. AWESOME! I'm sure that restaurant you were in will remember something much more than their meal, for a long time.
Pamela Walck
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