First Sip




About ten years ago I bought a red and white vintage water dipper, like the one I remember seeing at Aunt Annie's house when I was a little girl.  Aunt Annie lived way out in the country, way past Rustin's Lake where we did our swimming in summertime. Her ramshackled, unpainted farm house sat up on a hill, back off the winding dirt road.  A deep porch spanned the front of the house, and it was littered with boxes, farm implements, flower pots, and mismatched chairs.  Chickens scurried about in the bare dirt yard, and a set of rickety steps led up to the cluttered porch. The entry door opened to a central hallway that emptied into a sparse kitchen in the back of the house.  A hand pump mounted beside a huge sink promised indoor water in return for more than a few cranks on the pump.  A red and white enamel dipper hung on a nail over the sink.  If you needed a drink of water, you used the dipper. And then you hung it back on the nail for the next person who needed a drink.  No paper cups or plastic bottles. No endless supply of glasses and cups tossed into the dishwasher after one use.  Just a single enamel dipper, shared by everyone.


Shortly after I bought the land, back when the cabin was still just an idea in my head, I spotted a similar water dipper at Old Town Antiques in downtown Commerce.  It called my name, but what use did I have for a water dipper in the 21st century? I bought it anyway.  Eventually I hung it on a nail in my cabin.  Just a country artifact I thought, to adorn my country kitchen.  Today I took it down and used it to take the first sip of water from my new well.  And that's when I realized it is not just a country artifact or a vessel for holding water.  The dipper is a cord connecting my country past to the simple life I aim to live now.

Fortson Well Company returned today to finish the well.  The pump, tank, water line, and an outdoor spigot were installed.  Next step is carpentry work in preparation for the plumber.   


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Benny: A Very Good Boy

Image
Benny came to me on October 17, 2015, from Southeast Corgi Rescue (SECR), with an estimated age of 8-10 years. He passed on March 1, 2024.   Benny had been slowing down for a while – to be expected at 16-plus years old. Until mid-January, his appetite was strong; his mobility had declined some but remained sufficient. He slept a lot, ate well, and enjoyed his life. I bought a ranch-style house for us in 2022 when we moved from Atlanta to Athens. It was the perfect house for Benny. He thrived here, and it was easier for me too because he needed only occasional assistance getting around. My Atlanta condo was up a flight of stairs, and Benny could no longer handle those stairs. By the time I sold the condo, I was carrying him up and down several times a day. It was hard on both of us, so we were happy to be in a house that suited us better.   In early January this year, we made our last trip to Jekyll Island. I wondered if it would be his last, but hoped he had another one in hi...
Read more

Melvin Got His Wings

Image
June 29, 2015 I said goodbye to dear Melvin yesterday, on his 16th birthday. A noticeable decline began last week while we were in Atlanta and continued through the weekend. By Sunday night I knew it was likely time to let him go. Monday morning confirmed my fears. How perfect that perfect-Melvin should leave this world on the same day he entered it. We spent the day together. In the morning we sat on the porch of the cabin. He mostly slept while I looked through the hundreds of pictures I've taken of him through the years. In the afternoon we visited my mom, my sister, and all his dog friends. I adopted Melvin when he was a year old. Fifteen years he's been with me. He was with me when I turned 40, then 50. He was with me when I bought the land and the first time I camped on it. He was with me for every construction weekend while we built the cabin. He walked the path to Mama's house countless times. He was a great traveler and made the transition between country lif...
Read more

Benny, The Rescue

Image
I first saw a picture of Benny–then called Mendell–on the Carolina Corgi Rescue FaceBook page on July 16, 2015. I felt an immediate connection with the sweet puppy staring back at me, but it was too soon. Melvin had just passed away on June 29 , and Mendell was clearly a senior dog with some health issues. So I looked away. I thought of him over the coming days, but each time I put him out of my mind. When the time is right, the right dog will come along, I told myself. I spent the rest of the summer missing Melvin and trying to enjoy my new freedom. Melvin had required extra attention the last year or so of his life, so why not take a break from the responsibility? It’s so much easier and less expensive to live life without a dog. No more vet bills. No more carrying Melvin up and down stairs that he could no longer navigate. No more planning my day and week around my geriatric dog. Yes, that made so much sense. But my heart ached. I missed Melvin. By mid-September I decided to...
Read more