Volume 3, Issue 10, October 2004


WHY DO WE DO WHAT WE DO?

This month I thought that I would give you a little history, have a little fun and of course as always a good lesson.

Why do we do what we do and say what we say?  Too many times we just follow instead of questioning.  That does not mean that we question just for the sake of annoying others.  Question when you want to know why.  Question to try to find the origin of a custom or way of being.  Question to understand so that you can embrace a concept.  Do not just take things for granted.  Just maybe what was appropriate years ago is not today.  Conversely, maybe, by understanding the past we can accept why certain things are done.

Here is a story that you have heard me tell many times before…

The roast is coming out of the oven and the child asks the parent why the ends are cut off the roast and the parent says that he was taught by his mother and that the child was to ask his grandmother.  The child goes to the grandmother and asks why the ends are cut off the roast and the grandmother says that her mother taught her and she actually did not know why, but said she just did what she was taught and thought that it was a tradition.  The child was told to go and ask great-grandmother.  The child went and asked great-grandmother why the ends are cut off the roast.  Great-grandmother looked up and with an air of confidence quietly said…

Well dear…back in the old days we only had one pan and it was too small.

Why are you doing what you are doing?  Maybe it’s time…take a fresh new look and just maybe life will be clearer.

Here is a recent list of items I received from a friend, Larry Storm.  I don’t who the original author is, but thought it was really interesting.  Take a look…


LIFE IN THE 1500s

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature is not how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s:

 These are interesting...

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May and still smelled pretty good by June…Hence a June Bride. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor…Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, and then the women and finally the children last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and off the roof. Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt…Hence the saying "dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they adding more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway…Hence the saying a "thresh hold."

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pots & pans used to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while…Hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old."

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat."

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or "upper crust."

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up…Hence the custom of holding a "wake."

England is small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a "bone-house" and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be "saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer."

Thanks Larry…

Ted


Feedback From the September Issue…

Hi Ted:

Thanks for the newsletters...I really do enjoy reading them. Especially this
issue as now that I'm in teacher's college articles like these are really
useful and I have a great deal to learn from them. Thanks.

Dilnaz Garda

Dear Ted:

I must admit that I thoroughly enjoy receiving your monthly newsletters ... but wanted to highlight the synchronicity of receiving this particular edition of THE CARAVAN.  The topic really reflects what I am experiencing in my journey at this moment.  Thank you for your words and insight, they truly resonate. Wishing you continued success…

Andrea Meyer


Humphry Says:

“Why do you do what you do?”



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