Fri, Nov 27 2009
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Published June 20, 2009 10:14 pm - It was bound to happen sooner or later. I’m recycling a column. Bill and Benita Shields, of Carthage, when recently going through some boxes, unearthed an old clipping of mine from June 21, 1987. I didn’t ask if they were using it as packing material or were saving it as a keepsake. I figured it was best not to know. Carol Stark: Tribute made second time It was bound to happen sooner or later. I’m recycling a column.
Bill and Benita Shields, of Carthage, when recently going through some boxes, unearthed an old clipping of mine from June 21, 1987. I didn’t ask if they were using it as packing material or were saving it as a keepsake. I figured it was best not to know. Bill passed it along, and I couldn’t resist using it today as a Father’s Day tribute to all the men in my family. The incident I share with you today really happened at my house some 22 years ago, but I’m betting the same scene has unfolded in your home too. By the way, the accompanying cartoon by the late Nic Frising, makes this “oldie” all the more special. ——— When I was a little girl, my grandmother once took me aside and gave me some words of wisdom that have proved true time and time again. “Carol, being a woman in our family can mean only one thing. For the rest of your life, you’ll have plumbing problems,” forewarned Grandma as she led me down the outhouse path. What Grandma failed to tell me in her little proverb was the real reason behind our water downfall. It had nothing to do with our tubs, stools, sinks or faucets. Being a woman in our family really meant living with men who didn’t know a pipe wrench from a pipe cleaner. Since today is Father’s Day, I’d like to salute the men in my life who helped provide me with my sense of bathroom humor. First there was Granddad, who was great at passing out nickels and dimes, drawing pictures on his grandchildren’s tummies, and spoiling dinners with lots of cookies and potato chips. He died a few years ago, but I’ll always remember the way I felt about him when I was 5 years old. When I was little, he was the greatest granddad in the world. But you know, little things like drips under the sink and stools that wouldn’t flush just didn’t seem to matter to him. The important thing was whether his cows got water every day. He and Grandma moved around a lot, and every home had its own unique set of water problems. “Just a little rust in the pipes,” he’d tell us kids when we came over and took our baths in water that looked like orange Kool-Aid. Frankly, there were some of his houses that didn’t even have running water, but when you’re a kid, staying all night with your grandparents should be an adventure. Back then we didn’t even care. 
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