The frequent weather changes in New England are excellent! After all, they give the locals something to chaw about and speculate on. In the midst of the heat wave last summer, with unbearable humidity, I knew that the day would soon be coming when we would not only have to pay for heat again but that we would play the insane game of turning the thermostat up and then turning it back down, again and again, trying to reach an optimal level of comfort. Hitting just the right temperature to suit everyone is always a challenge!
This morning at the breakfast table our thoughts turned to the drafty churches of old New England where people would file in to take up space in their own designated pew for which they paid “pew rent.” Accompanying them would often be a metal box into which had either been shoveled hot coals or a heated piece of Soapstone that holds heat and will radiate it for hours. The latter would have been the optimal choice in light of those ministers who could never seem to have enough time or enough words to really describe what Hell and its fires would be like and why people should live a good life, avoiding all temptations of liquor, loose women, and the waste of time and money. As a snide aside, I offer the reflection that our politicians today could take a lesson from their words.
I mentioned to Jim that Christmas songs celebrate the sleigh and yet the idea is such an anachronism today that young people probably just can’t even relate to the concept. We began talking about how long it took to get from here to there. I pointed out that Sarah Josepha Hale’s husband had died of pneumonia after struggling to reach home during a sudden blizzard in which he found himself, unexpectedly. Today, the journey he took from Guild to Newport, NH would take about five minutes in a car.
New Englanders are a rather self-sufficient lot. We like our baked beans, our REAL maple syrup, and people who can look us in the eye and not tell lies. We like situations that are straightforward and deals that are fair or “right as rain,” as we say! The old-timers among us still cling to their old ways of thinking including “a day’s pay for a day’s work,” “mind your own business,” and don’t covet material things that you don’t have. Make do, repair as needed, and re-create items that have become too worn to salvage.
We recycle everything we can. For example, my mother’s pride and joy was a Maple coffee table. It was lovely, sturdy and sat in a state of ruination for years because acid from the batteries in her radio had leaked and eaten through the finish on one end of the top surface. To buy a table that well made today, one would pay a fortune. It is rather handy being married to a man who can restore furniture. I saved this piece after my mother died, hoping that it could be refinished. Jim has been steadily working on this project and after several coats of finish, the table will be as good as new again to last for the rest of our lifetimes and with any luck, beyond. If you are a good steward of the items that have come your way, you will never “want.”
Winter time is a great time to be introspective, to enjoy being “home bodies,” and to not leave the house unless there is a compelling reason to do so. I am more than happy to work at home! The hatches are battened down so bring on the chill of winter, the snow, and the icing winds! We can take it! Oh! It’s not that I have not lived in warmer climes. They have their advantages, but I’m a New Hampshire girl at heart, born and raised in the Granite State, a state that makes REAL men and hearty women! I sing her praises and I would not consider living anywhere else again, for nothin’!
Patricia Cummings
