Appendixes, Gleaning Corn & Car Porches

Last week The Daughter called to ask me to keep the Grand-Brats so she could remove her appendix. Of course I would keep the G-brats but I didn’t understand why an appendix would need to be removed. Couldn’t she just ignore it? How many people actually read the appendix in a book anyway?

As Tolkien once wrote, “Without the appendix how will readers know why the dwarfs hate the elves?”

Girl Child explained she also has an appendix and it is infected. That’s what happens when you have books on computers, they can get infected with viruses.

To make a long story short, she went to the hospital. Her appendix was inspected, infected, selected, defective, rejected, ejected and dissected. End of story. No appendix

I got the G-brats for a few days. We were on our way home when I noticed a nearby farm was combining corn. Remembering my own days of gleaning corn I asked if the boys could pick up a few ears the combine missed. The boys were given free range to pick up all they wanted.

They would have filled the car if I had let them. They had great fun husking, shelling and spilling corn. They agreed that it would be great fun to pick an entire field, husk it and shell it. My own memories of such events (although never on a large scale) were different. The fun part was feeding whatever animals I had for free. You may remember I like free. 

By the way, sweat is free. The amount of sweat involved in any project doesn’t add to the cost.

Then I remembered I have several Black Hawk corn shellers in inventory; doesn’t everyone have one or two? (appendix: My computer spell check does not acknowledge “shellers” as a word). We set one up and had I let them fill the car with corn, they would have shelled it.

On their next visit we are going to grind the corn in a coffee grinder and make cornbread. According to my bride Management, I will be making a mess and cornbread.

All of this is important. People (especially MY Grand-brats) need to know where food comes from. I have a theory that to be really educated one needs knowledge in many areas AND practical application experience.

If our economy ever crashes there are going to be a bunch of “highly educated” people who are going to starve surrounded by things to eat because they don’t know what to do.

Regarding Management’s attitude. She is still upset about that volcano our own Brats and I built 25 or so years ago. Contrary to her memories, We DID NOT set the house on fire. There was actually much less damage than a real volcano would have done.

And a good time was had by all.

A few months ago a friend of mine had a tree fall on his car porch. Please don’t tell me it is a Car Port. It may be a car shed, a car cover, a car house or anything but a port. Whatever you call it, it is one of those metal framed sheds covered with tin that are scattered everywhere around the area.

I removed the structure and took it home to build a boat porch/shed/shack/thingy.

It is almost finished and will hopefully pass Management’s inspection when finished. It was a little bent and crooked from being squashed by the tree but I think it has straightened out nicely.

Keep in mind the important thing is that it was free. The tin I replaced was free. I did have to buy a bag of screws to put it together. That hurt my feelings a little but sometimes you just have to splurge.

It turns out it is shorter than the boat I am planning on putting in it. Now I have to find another squashed metal framed car porch to get the parts I need to lengthen it.

No one who isn’t cheap really understands how much work it is to be properly thrifty.