Modern Luxuries -- make that needs.

"Little luxury, don't you cry,
You'll be a necessity by and by."

We spent last night in a house without a working Air Conditioner. For those not in the Deep South this may not seem a big deal, but a muggy, breezeless, summer night will really get to you. It was warm, but really not that bad. Our house, even with old widows that no longer open, was built for such weather. The house on the right is mine (well it will be when I finish paying off the mortgage). The original owners built this house in 1911 - '12 long before modern conveniences of running water, telephone, electricity, and definitely before central air-conditioning. Last night I was quite thankful for 12' ceilings and the natural air currents.

This morning has me thanking God for the blessings of the modern conveniences we take for granted. Along those lines I began to wonder what other things we take for granted. Just thinking about the changes this house has seen in technology. From no electricity to a single wire hung bulb to wires running throughout the house controlled by fuses, and then breakers and a grounded electrical system. This house has seen no running water and no kitchen to running water and a modern kitchen with running water both hot and cold (we could also mention the convenience of having other indoor facilities). This house has seen the installation of a telephone and the advances from party-lines to dial phones to touch-tone cordless phones and answering machines. Now through the phone line we have DSL, and recently a cellular company put a tower in our town so we have cell phones that work in our house. I can barely imagine what this 94 year old house will see next.

It was not that long ago that these necessities like telephones and air-conditioners were luxuries. The A/C repair man just called -- he is on the way! Maybe we'll sleep in A/C tonight :-)

Scott