Pages

Friday, November 21, 2008

Flashback Friday: Sip before you gulp

We think we're so funny! When the Schillings came over for dinner on Monday we made invisible kool-aid, put it in a clear pitcher, and didn't say anything. Since we're cheap and usually only drink water we thought that we'd be able to trick them since the kool-aid really is as clear as water.

Unfortunately Carolee sniffed her drink and realized something was up before she even tasted it.

I was really hoping for an "Ew! What was that?" shock reaction, but no. We hardly got any reaction at all.

But it kind of reminded me of a story about my grandpa. I'm not sure this is technically a flashback since I wasn't there, but I do have memories of being told this story, although it has probably been years since I heard it, so if I get any details wrong feel free to correct me.

My mom grew up on a farm and although their house had indoor plumbing they had to bring the water onto the farm in a water truck and store it in a tank. When the tank was nearing empty my mom would sometimes go inside and help my Grandpa clean it out so that it would be pristine for the next delivery of water.

They were conservative with their water usage, at least when they were getting to the bottom of the tank. I've had a water tank before and it's no fun when they dry up and you have to wait until you can get it filled. It's rather annoying, especially when you try so hard to use as little water as possible and still wind up with nothing at all.

One water-rationing day, my Grandpa came home rather late after working in the fields. So late, in fact that everyone had gone to bed, but my Grandma had left on a light in the kitchen for him and there was a tall, gleaming glass full of lemonade sitting on the counter.

I'm assuming that, since he was out working in the fields until so late at night, it was summer and my Grandpa was thirsty.

He picked up the glass and chugged it down...

Only to realize that it was actually that day's dishwater waiting to be reused the next day.

How unfortunate. How very unfortunate. I can't even imagine the look on his face when he realized that the floaties he saw in the glass weren't lemonade pulp afterall. I suppose that's why it's wise to sip before you gulp.

6 comments:

  1. That...is...disgusting. I can almost taste it.

    I keep meaning to ask this - why am I getting double posts from you guys in Google Reader? Is it something on my side or yours? Maybe I subscribed twice or maybe something is wonky with your feed...

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm not sure why you're getting double posts in Google Reader ... I always get double posts Apple Mail, but I'm pretty sure that's a bug. I'll do some 'sperimen'un and see if I can figure out what's going on...

    ReplyDelete
  3. EW! I was babysitting once and poured myself a glass of apple juice from the pitcher I found in the fridge. It was an amber liquid in a clear pitcher. What else would it be?

    Oh, yeah. Chicken fat. Disgusting.

    As for Reader, I'm not getting double posts. All's well on my end.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You told it better than you heard it told, I am sure. And stayed accurate to boot. Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  5. The way I remember it, it was when my dad (your grandpa) still lived at home with his parents. So it would have been your great grandmother who left the glass of soapy water out, not Grandma C (Pearl). I always thought it was a glass of bleach water but my dad said no, that it was a glass of soapy water. Auntie Colleen

    ReplyDelete