A toilet or commode?

My Mother always said never air your dirty laundry in public, but she never mentioned the toilet/commode. And this has you wondering why I am doing this now.

Well, a friend of mine told me she always says commode for the indoor plumbing, but was told it was a toilet. To her I said, “I always think of the outhouse of years ago when I hear toilet”. Lots of people do not even have a clue as to what an outhouse is, so I thought I’d inform them.

During my younger years, our small town did not have running water. We had to rely on wells and there was not enough water to put in indoor plumbing. We had a bathroom, but it wasn’t like those we now have in homes – no commode or bathtub. And, the outhouse was down a path where you often had to go late at night with a flashlight. We didn’t give it a thought back then, but I’d think twice now going out late at night.

I remember one funny incident that happened when my younger brother and I had gone there one cold night. In those days, there was a Foremost milk truck that brought milk to your front door. The milk was in coated paper cartons. We always saved the cartons to burn. This one night, my brother had a neat idea, or so we thought. He suggested, rather than light the paper in the carton outside for the one on the outside to stay warm, that we put it in the outhouse. Bad idea!

My Daddy had just built a brand new outhouse, and the floor was 2 x 8’ wood, very thick. But, the carton burned a big, black hole in that floor. I just knew our Daddy was going to tan our hides, but he didn’t. I think that time we were actually saved by the outhouse!

Linked at Conservative Cat

Technorati Tags: Commode, Toilet, Outhouse