How to Make Things Go Farther

Tough Times and Bent Nails

Surviving Hard Times

Dennis Evers

“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years”. Mark Twain

I owe my dad an apology and I wish he were still around to accept it.  My father lived through the depression, and in my younger years I used to chide him about his peculiar depression driven habits. One that really irked me was he had us kids pull the nails out of boards, save the lumber if possible and pound the nails straight for reuse. It wasn’t that he couldn’t afford to buy a truckload of lumber and nails; it was just the principal of not wanting to throw away something that was still perfectly functional, albeit slightly used.

I’d tell my dad that he was a visionary and a conservationist and I was ignorant not to see it. His generation had a totally different outlook on life. Things were simpler, most houses were simple little homes that served their purpose well, not the ego driven monstrosities of today. (A friend of ours looks after a 20,000 square foot mansion that the owner uses a couple of weeks a year.) His generation seemed happy with a simple home and a small garden to help put food on the table.  MORE