My new can opener and the many luxuries of life

   After months of struggling with an old-fashioned hand-held can opener, Debbie got me a new electronic version. It was a late Christmas gift.
    I’ve owned various types of can openers through the years from a plain Jane to those fancy overpriced ones sold through home party outfits. They’re all nice, but my new one is top of the line.
   To get the hand-held can opener to work, I sometimes had to wet the cutting blade, or clamp it on the can and turn it in or turn it out for extra pressure. 
   Now, I just set my new can opener on the can, push a button and it spins around the edge, right before my eyes. No more metal shards on the can edge and no more struggling to open a can of beans for supper.
    My new can opener reminds me of the many luxuries life has afforded me.
    Take for instance - indoor plumbing.
   I remember the stories my mom told me of waking up in the middle of the night and having to go. She would have to crawl from under the covers on a cold winter night, bundle up, put on her clothes and trudge through a half a foot of snow to take care of business in a wooden box with a hole in it.
    I’m not a fan of outhouses. I remember some years ago visiting an aunt that lived in Westville, Okla., a small town that borders Arkansas.
    I was around age 10 and my family had stopped to visit one summer afternoon. My aunt and uncle were building a new house and while it was under construction, they lived in a converted chicken shed. They had running water in the makeshift kitchen, but no toilet. It was out back by the barn.
     I had to go, so I trudged up to the outhouse and there was a big lizard resting in the outhouse. No way, not me, not now, not ever!
    I will not go into further detail, but to this day I have no desire to use an outhouse or porta potty. This is not Boy Scouts. Give me a toilet with a flusher. God bless the person who invented the indoor toilet.
Moving on
   Life was tough back in the day.
   I’ve heard about having to take a bath in a No. 2 washtub along with the rest of one’s siblings on a Saturday night.
   And how about drinking water? That’s something else that it is easy to take for granted. Back in the day, folks had to go outside and draw water out of a well and fill a bucket several times a day to do laundry, wash the dishes or get a drink. All I have to do is turn a knob and I have hot and cold water in seconds.
   You used to have to chop firewood to cook supper or to warm the house. To do the laundry or wash the dishes, the water had to be heated on the woodburning stove.
   Nowadays, I push a button and I have heat in the wintertime and A/C in the summertime. I have a dishwasher to clean my dishes and a washer and dryer to clean and dry my clothes. I turn a knob and I can cook supper on the stove or put my food in the microwave and hit a button and presto, supper is ready.
    I flip a switch and I have lights to see what I am doing. No need to light a kerosene lamp. I have a computer and cell phone to keep in touch. I watch television or listen to music on-line or on my stereo.
   And having a car to get places is also a benefit of our modern times. Mine is old, rusty and rattles, but it runs.
   I remember my mom telling me a story of when she was sick in the late 40s. Her parents didn’t have an automobile or money, so my grandpa made a bed on the back of the plow and carried my mom to the doctor with his tractor.
    I’m so blessed! My parents had little when they met, but they had a dream and they worked hard and made it happen! And they taught me about the Good Book and I’m thankful for that as well.
    What a rich and rewarding life I enjoy!
    What are you thankful for?
    Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.