Why I can’t throw away ball-point pens that don’t write anymore
My mom grew up in rural Kentucky during the Great Depression, when the USA was rocked by financial chaos. The stock market crashed in 1929, making millions of wealthy and middle-class people penniless overnight. In Hart County, Kentucky, the crash didn’t have immediate effect, as most farmers didn’t have money in the stock market—any money they had was under their mattress, in a sock. But the waves of unemployment and failed banks rippled everywhere, so even my mom felt the impact. Her natural-born impulse to “make do” became the cornerstone of her life. My mom's parents: John and Annie Moss From thrifty Scots-Irish stock, my mom’s family had always made do with things until they wore out completely. Rules in my childhood home included: 1. You can’t open a new thing till the old thing is used up. 2. You can’t buy anything new until all bills are paid. 3. You can’t replace anything until it’s absolutely...
