Tuesdays with Mrs. Ruth

Posted on 31. Mar, 2010 by annie in Notebook

So I have this awesome neighbor Mrs. Ruth. She’s 85 years old. These days we’re pretty much on the same schedule and are usually hanging around our condos during the week while people with real jobs are at work. Mostly we just hang out at her place with some hot beverages and chit chat about life.

Every time I have a chat with Mrs. Ruth, she tosses off some comment about her past that blows my mind.

Thought I’d share a few these with you…

Mrs. Ruth on technology:

“I remember exactly where I was the first time I heard a radio. We had a battery-operated radio in our house before we had electricity in our house.”

“Cars were not commonplace back then. If you heard a car coming down the road, all the kids ran out of their houses to see who it was. And if you heard an airplane, well, everyone ran out of the house and watched it fly all the way across the horizon until it was out of sight.”

Mrs. Ruth at a condo association meeting when someone proposed we do away with paper notices and move everything over to online communication:

“Now see here! I’ve gotten along just fine for 85 years without that internet business and I’m not gonna start fooling around with it now!”

Mrs. Ruth also often tries to propose issues to be voted on in these meetings like letting everyone paint their front door a different color.

“I certainly think it’d be a bit more cheerful around here if everyone’s door wasn’t brown. How about we choose between 4 different colors? I like red. Can we vote on that?”

Mrs. Ruth on childbirth:

“My granddaughter just had her first baby and I reckon there were about 10 people in that delivery room. Parents, friends, goodness it was crowded. When I had my son it was just me and the doctor. I wouldn’t have wanted people to see me in that state. My husband waited in the lobby. In fact, my labor went on for so long that the doctor went out to the lobby and said “Mr. Ford, I reckon you should go down to the movie theater. This is gonna be a while.”

Mrs. Ruth grew up on a farm and continues to grow vegetables on her back patio. One day I noticed a beautiful black iron cauldron in which she was growing some cabbage. I wanted one for my patio and asked her where she got hers.

“Oh that? That’s the pot that my mother use to boil water in for the laundry. She did all of our laundry in that pot. And you never did see whiter whites than what she pulled out of that pot.”

CIMG0060

Mind blown.

I think it’s a shame how much we take for granted these days. You’d certainly appreciate a clean shirt a heck of a lot more if you had to boil it in a pot outside in the freezing cold. And what am I gonna do with my old washing machine? Probably not plant cabbage in it. Every time I chat with Mrs. Ruth I’m shocked to realize how quickly things have changed. What will I tell my neighbors when I’m 85? That I remember when you actually had to use your hands to play video games instead of manipulating them telepathically with the chip implanted in your head?

Terrifying.

I’m just blessed to have some time to be reminded about the way things were from Mrs. Ruth…

Share and Enjoy:

18 Responses to “Tuesdays with Mrs. Ruth”

Sean

31. Mar, 2010

Reminds me of a couple of years ago when we were at my great grandma’s place. Someone had been using a camcorder, and then suggested hooking it up to her TV so we could watch what he’d shot. My grandma was amazed that we didn’t have to take the “film” to be developed first. Kind of makes you stop and think about the things we take advantage of now…
Sean

31. Mar, 2010

Err, I meant “take for granted.” That’s what I get for typing while I’m talking to someone about something unrelated.
annie

31. Mar, 2010

Well I definitely take advantage of my washing machine. And I try not to take it for granted.
Wandat

03. Apr, 2010

Hi Annie: That was an awesome story. I love to sit with old folks and listen to their stories. Mom says I am sappy. I wish sometimes that we lived in cabins with lanterns. LOL. I have a brick that was given to me when my father died. My grandmother had thirteen children and each one had a brick. She kept all 13 bricks and gave them to her children when they grew up. THE BRICK of MEMORIES. When her children were babies, she put the bricks in the fire pit and got them hot, then she put them in blankets and put them in the baby beds to keep the children warm. My father put his in a glass case. I just wanted to share that “good old` day’s” story with ya.,We are blessed to be able to rewind the mind of an old person.
Wanda

03. Apr, 2010

Wandat? LOL
Kristi

05. Apr, 2010

Annie, You are truly blessed to have Mrs. Ruth in your life. It is lovely that you take the time to listen to her stories. Slowing down and listening to our elders is absolutely not overrated!

My mom will be 81 in May, and she has some very enlightening and interesting stories.

See you soon.
Karen

07. Apr, 2010

Annie, such a sweet story. I’m always fascinated talking with older people and how things have changed. Sometimes, I actually wish I had lived to experience some of those things that we now take for granted.
Emily

07. Apr, 2010

the History Major (at college) in me just got really excited while reading this. thanks for the awesome post Annie! Mrs Ruth sounds like a great lady.
Andrew Rios

08. Apr, 2010

What awesome stories. Thanks for sharing.
Laura

09. Apr, 2010

Well I certainly won’t complain about doing laundry anymore! My grandma still hangs clothes on a line in her backyard! She grew up in the Cayman Islands so it’s really interesting to hear her talk about how she grew up. She actually wrote three books about it and sells them on the island. She’s pretty amazing