Seeing this toilet. I was reminded of all the toilets I'd used over the years. And the showers. This one was like those I had used. So I set to with pen, and paper, to jot down my thoughts.
Past Living.
I really didn't want to get out of the car.
I'd been here previously.
I didn't like being here.
Cold shivers ran through me. I felt eyes watch me from the branches
of the trees. Eyes burned into my back.
Big trees grew on three sides of the house. Limbs hung over the roof.
I was chilled to the bones. I didn't want to go inside. I'd prefer
to sleep in the car. The car had windows.
The house was built of corrugated iron on the outer walls. No lining.
Windows were wood, not glass. The windows were pushed out to be
propped open with a stick. Fresh air. Flies. Frogs. Snakes. All of
them able to enter the house, at will. Through the open windows. Or
crawl up the corrugates of the iron.
I hated going to bed. If I didn't have an animal in my bed when I
went to sleep, I prayed for the bed to be empty at dawn. Except for
myself.
The toilet was a nightmare. A well like round hole was dug. A wooden
construction surrounded by corrugated iron was placed over the very
deep hole. When desperate, I made my mother hold me. I had visions of
falling down never to be pulled out, alive. Sometimes, I squatted
behind a car, drum, or any other object, beg enough to hide a small
child. At night, I held on so I wouldn't have to venture out in the
dark.
Electric lights weren't an option. Either a lantern. Or a pressure
lamp were the go. Heating came from the combustion stove.
The shower.
Very inventive.
Dangerous.
Corrugated iron was built around the posts of the tank stand. The
floor was made of cement. A shower system was hooked up to the rain
water tank. Well water filled the tank when rain refused to fall. A
container was used to pour in petrol. I think. It must have been. The
noise it made when a match was dropped in. A loud roar echoed up the
spout. The heat from the fire heated the water.
I preferred the one at home. It wasn't as dangerous. A wooden pallet
for the floor. Corrugated iron for the walls. No roof. A shower
bucket hung from a cross beam. The buck was filled with warm water. A
rope was pulled for the spray to wet the person. Very chilly in
winter. Had to watch for frogs. Toads. Snakes. Spiders.
With out toilet at home the only worry was the vermin. Spiders were a
big problem. Especially, the red backs. Had to make sure there
weren't any on the seat. There we had a pan. Not a hole in the
ground. A hole had to be dug to empty the smelly, worm infested mess.
You had to quickly shovel in the dirt. Wash out the pan before
replacing it. This was not one of my mothers favorite jobs. She kept
wanting to hurl out the contents of her stomach.
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