I’m downtown studying again. It’s fucking freezing outside. It was a long walk from the car to ERC. Very reminiscent of Erie, minus the snow. Just windy and balls cold.
When I was growing up, we didn’t have central heating and air. Every day when I got home from school, I had to go out to the shed and drag a big ass metal drum of kerosene into the house and proceed to siphon it into our kerosene heater. The smell of kerosene is one of those smells that trigger a flood of memories.
The hardwood floors in our house were always ice cold. I’d get out the siphon, which was this long plastic rod with a weird orange bulb at the end and a flexible hose. You’d put the rod in the can of kerosene, the hose in the heater tank, screw on the top of the siphon and start squeezing. Once you got it flowing, it’d take a couple minutes to fill. When you turned the heater on, it would take forever to heat up. And even when it did, you’d have to sit right in front of it to stay warm. Venture more than 5 feet away, and you’d freeze your balls off again.
At night we’d go to bed and fire up the electric heater in our room, sitting conveniently on our carpet. I’m surprised we didn’t burn our shit down. But those heaters worked really well. Nothing like trying to sleep with a bright orange glow in your face, humming like a power transformer.
So tonight when I go home to my toasty house, I’ll be thankful that I don’t have to drag a big fucking can of kerosene in from the garage.
#1 by Sonya on 12/8/2006 - 9:27 am
Chris, you are my brother from another mother, I tell ya. We didn’t have central heat or air either. We had a big ass gas furnace I used to have nightmares about (it looked like it had a face and I thought it was going to eat me). And I too had the orange glow and gentle hum of the space heater to keep me warm at night, plus about eight natty-looing blankets on my bed. Growing up poor was a bitch.
#2 by Matt on 12/8/2006 - 11:38 pm
That was the only time I was motivated to get out of bed in my life……to beat your narrow ass to the good spot in front of the heater.