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Random Thoughts Of A Tired Old Man
 

 In this episode I would like to expound a little on how far we have come and how much our lives are richer in a few short generation. My grandparents on my mother’s side were of German heritage. They lived in a city called Gdansk which, at the time was a part of  Prussia. It was a chunk of land originally part ot Poland but in 1870 it was ceded to Prussia. After WWI was over and Germany lost the territory was ceded back to Poland. The Poles came in and drove out the ethnic Germans. My grandparents on my mothers side became refugees and were driven out of Gdansk. Ad refugees and homeless they managed to immigrate to the US After clearing Ellis Island they moved west and settled in Chicago. My Grandfather, who spoke very little English, got a job at Continental Can. His job was to go around the plant and sweep up all the steel shavings and scrap metal from the manufacturing process. After he died we heard from another employee at the plant they had to hire 2 guys to do his job. He spoke virtually no English. Gram learned enough English to speak with the kids in English. She didn’t want to speak English with the kids because she wanted them to grow up Americas. Her and gramps would mutter to each other as needed in German but when they conversed with each other they waited until the kids were in bed and then conversed in German. As a result my mother grew up pretty much bilingual. After the evening meal Gramps would get out his bottle of whiskey and sit at the table and drink until bedtime. There was no television in the house. It hadn’t become popular till the late 40’s. The heat was by coal. Whenever we would visit the grandparents I would take a couple of buckets and walk the railroad tracks behind the house and pick up lumps of coal the fell off the coal cars. There was water at the kitchen sink but no indoor plumbing. There was an outhouse in the back yard. The noise and rumbling from the trains going by right behind the house shook the whole house and rattled all the crockery in the cupboards. On the other side of the railroad tracks was Midway Airport. In those days there were no jet planes. The big 2 and 4 engine profeller planes took off right over the top of the house. The roar and vibration was deafening. There was no telephone in the house so in case of emergency they had to go to a nearby neighbor. There was a radio in the house but that was all. Heat was by coal and cooling by was open doors and windows. Cooking was done by coal heat in a lean to shed on the back of the house. It was called the summer kitchen. As there were 11 children the family I have no idea what the sleeping arrangements were. Just think, No Game Boy, No Cell Phone, No color TV, No car at 16, No mommy copter mother hovering over the siblings to tend to their every need or problem. This was pretty much life in the 30’s for a great many Americans.