My granddaughter woke me up this morning with the announcement that we have a water emergency. Do not use any city water until further notice. I, of course, responded immediately by throwing the covers over my head and going back to sleep! Problem solved -- until I realized that I couldn't sleep and I had to face reality.
First thought was to brush my teeth, shower, get dressed and head to Kroger for 20 cases of bottled water. Wrong. Cannot drink the water, wash dishes, shower (absolutely no skin contact with the water), do laundry. Nothing. Bring on the Hydroapocalypse!
So my granddaughter and I just sat in the living room and stared at each other. Apparently the pioneer spirit does not pass from generation to generation in our family! Since we are creatures of habit, we found that our hands were trying to get water out of the faucets. So the first thing we did was cover all our faucets with plastic bags. That rendered them useless. The faucets, not the plastic bags.
Brushing out teeth with bottled water was relatively simple but the thought of washing my face with expensive bottled water didn't fly. And hydrating my dog with designer water sounded so "House Wives of Wherever." Then I remembered the water from the hose in the back yard is from a well. That became our source of water for the next three days.
The pioneer spirit that I inherited from my ancestors finally rose to the surface. It started out quite simply at first but by sunset, we were rocking! We were bringing water from the well into the kitchen. I poured it, as we needed it, into an old fashioned-looking bowl in the sink. Who needs city water when you can just go out to the well. Ok, maybe not out to the well, but to the hose outside the back door. Close enough.
This whole situation which is probably going to go on for another 24 hours has given me a whole new outlook on the role that water plays in our everyday lives. And I can now see how important it was in our ancestor's lives. A river, a stream, a creek, a lake, an ocean. These sources of water determined where our ancestors set up camp.
Water could be a way to travel to a new world. A way to escape persecution.
It could be a way to transport tobacco from Cincinnati to New Orleans.
Water could determine where a pioneer family settled. It determined where large cities and small towns were located.
And, of course, don't forget if you add some limestone to the sparking water of that mountain creek, you've got moonshine.
Right now the people who live in the Northwest Ohio/Lower Michigan area have received a wake-up call. We took for granted that Lake Erie was an unlimited source of fresh water and all we had to do was reposition a faucet in order for water to run freely into our homes.
That can change overnight. And, we have all found out that it doesn't hurt to have a couple cases of water stored in the garage in case of emergency. Another thing I personally learned is that I can use this well water for something beside watering flowers. I can use it for cleaning. I can keep a bowl of well water in the kitchen sink to rinse dishes, dish cloths. My dog can drink it. In other words I have found a way to save $$ on my water bill. Every little bit helps.
So it wasn't such a bad experience after all. It was a learning experience.
This whole situation which is probably going to go on for another 24 hours has given me a whole new outlook on the role that water plays in our everyday lives. And I can now see how important it was in our ancestor's lives. A river, a stream, a creek, a lake, an ocean. These sources of water determined where our ancestors set up camp.
Water could be a way to travel to a new world. A way to escape persecution.
It could be a way to transport tobacco from Cincinnati to New Orleans.
Water could determine where a pioneer family settled. It determined where large cities and small towns were located.
And, of course, don't forget if you add some limestone to the sparking water of that mountain creek, you've got moonshine.
Right now the people who live in the Northwest Ohio/Lower Michigan area have received a wake-up call. We took for granted that Lake Erie was an unlimited source of fresh water and all we had to do was reposition a faucet in order for water to run freely into our homes.
That can change overnight. And, we have all found out that it doesn't hurt to have a couple cases of water stored in the garage in case of emergency. Another thing I personally learned is that I can use this well water for something beside watering flowers. I can use it for cleaning. I can keep a bowl of well water in the kitchen sink to rinse dishes, dish cloths. My dog can drink it. In other words I have found a way to save $$ on my water bill. Every little bit helps.
So it wasn't such a bad experience after all. It was a learning experience.
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