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| Little Heathens by Mildred Armstrong Kalish |
A dear friend mailed me this book for my birthday! I got through chapter 6 last night after receiving it in the mail yesterday and it was hard to put down! I'm going to try to refrain myself today and save it to savor each evening before bed to make it last longer. You might say, a "Charlotte Mason" approach!!
In the book, author Mildred Kalish describes in detail! her life and times of growing up during the great depression on her grandparents' Iowa farm. Her writing is easy to read, very entertaining - I had a hard time not laughing and hubby was asleep next to me in the bed LOL, gives lots of details but in an easy to read story!
This quote touched me last evening! From chapter 4 entitled "Thanksgiving" where she describes family get togethers back in the days of her childhood, the days of the Great Depression.
"These people genuinely liked each other. Whenever they were together there was an atmosphere of merriment and good cheer, with lots of joking, poking fun, and camaraderie. I loved the kitchen at these times. Tongues worked as fast as hands. Talk flitted amiably from one subject to another and none of it ever seemed too trivial. Anything you ad to report was considered interesting. Gossip, some of it whipered or delivered sotto voce, was eagerly dispensed. Do you know how frustrating it is to have some juicy tidbit and no one to tell it to? Now was the time to unload everything you knew. And so the chatter went:"
I do not quote this in praise of gossip or to give credence to it in any way. I was touched by this section in regard to the fact that these people liked each other and enjoyed getting together! They had fun and camaraderie - they never dreaded having the family over. My mind goes back to a simpler (albeit not easy) time where people enjoyed fellowship with each other and used these occurrences to relax and enjoy. Now-a-days all you ever hear about is the stress that getting together as a family brings. My heart breaks at what our society has become.
When the economy really tanks again and we have another "great" depression, when the world revolts against Americans because we've lost respect from the world, when (notice I don't say "if") hard times hit with gale force winds - it makes me wonder what it will look like. How will people band together to survive with others that they don't really like?
My grandmother and grandfather took all 7 of her brothers and sisters into their home during the great depression. It's what you did, you banded together to help anyone and everyone survive. I can't wrap my brain around what it will look like with families spread across the nation now and many of them estranged to each other besides.
Give a hug, call someone today,..... after all relationships is what life is all about!
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This is so true! My grandmother tells me similar stories and how families all lived together in just a few small rooms! Even though I love my family members, I find this hard to imagine. Sounds like an interesting read. I may have to add yet another to my ever growing list!
ReplyDeleteGreat post - what you said is so true. And I have that book too! It's a great read and she sure speaks the truth! :) This is MamaTea at A Farmish Kind of Life and I'm so glad to have you as a blog reader. I know we can't live too terribly far from each other...
ReplyDeleteWell said, and the book looks wonderful too. :-) Would you say it is appropriate as a family read a'loud? I have put it on my Amazon wishlist.
ReplyDeleteI would say no. Especially not for little ones. There is a whole chapter on cuss words and she admits at the end of the "Religion" chapter that her early days turned her against organized religion because of what she saw. However, I do feel that it is a VERY accurate depiction of the times. I would read it aloud or allow my older children to read it but not to my little tykes.
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