Jump to content

"We Were So Poor" Sayings or Stories

CHIEF

By CHIEF
in Lulz

 Share

Recommended Posts

CHIEF

CHIEF 5075

Posted
Posted

My Dad was the fourth oldest of ten children born to a sharecropper family. We had hard times a few times in life, but he would always regale me with, "you think its bad now, when I was a kid we had to...." 

1. We were so poor, momma would tie a string to a piece of bacon and tie the other end to a hook in the ceiling. You got to stand on a stool and swallow the piece of bacon. After 2-3 minutes she would come back and kick the stool out from under you.

2. This is supposedly true. When his momma would cook a huge batch of biscuits, all the kids would take as many biscuits as they could and lick them to keep their siblings from getting them.

I posted this when a buddy sent me a TikTok of "We were so poor stories."

We were so poor that momma didn't have anything to cook us for supper, so she would just read us the recipe. I had a little brother that was hard of hearing, and he almost starved to death.

We were so poor that Pop would have us run out in the yard and bark at visitors because we couldn't afford a dog.

We were so poor that when we went to our aunt's house, we ate the fruit off the wallpaper print.

We were so poor that momma made us eat cereal with a fork, so the next kid could reuse the milk. 

CHIEF

 

  • Haha 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites
dcbc

dcbc 14465

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 12/10/2023 at 7:13 PM, CHIEF said:

My Dad was the fourth oldest of ten children born to a sharecropper family. We had hard times a few times in life, but he would always regale me with, "you think its bad now, when I was a kid we had to...." 

1. We were so poor, momma would tie a string to a piece of bacon and tie the other end to a hook in the ceiling. You got to stand on a stool and swallow the piece of bacon. After 2-3 minutes she would come back and kick the stool out from under you.

2. This is supposedly true. When his momma would cook a huge batch of biscuits, all the kids would take as many biscuits as they could and lick them to keep their siblings from getting them.

I posted this when a buddy sent me a TikTok of "We were so poor stories."

We were so poor that momma didn't have anything to cook us for supper, so she would just read us the recipe. I had a little brother that was hard of hearing, and he almost starved to death.

We were so poor that Pop would have us run out in the yard and bark at visitors because we couldn't afford a dog.

We were so poor that when we went to our aunt's house, we ate the fruit off the wallpaper print.

We were so poor that momma made us eat cereal with a fork, so the next kid could reuse the milk. 

CHIEF

 

I'm the youngest of 5.  I just turned 50 this year (for context).   My sister and I are from my dad's second marriage to my mom, who was thirty years younger than he was.

 

Dad was born in 1910 and was the oldest of six kids.  His dad also was a sharecropper.  The biscuit line also caught my eye because the story that always stuck with me that I was told is that they were so poor, his mom had to make drop-biscuits out of beans.

Edited by dcbc
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

1. Had a hole in the floor of the bathroom where water had rotted it away over the years.

2. Writing checks a couple of days ahead of payday planning the money would be there before the check was cashed.

3. Utilities getting cut off.

4. Using stovetop for heat in the winter.

That stuff stays with you for life and how you think about money.

But she was a single mom with two kids who did her best against a stacked deck, and that's all we could ask. We could have helped out more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ROFL BOX

ROFL BOX 6647

Posted
Posted

Ron White joke:
"We lived in a town so small, you actually DID know everyone else's family & everyone else DID know yours.

One Friday, momma came home from the church yard sale with 'new' clothes. I wore 'em to school on Monday after she washed 'em.

At recess, this kid comes up to me on the playground & says "Hey... that's my shirt you're wearin'!! Gimme that back!"

  • Rage+1 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, ROFL BOX said:

My 1st wife's Dad grew up around 45 min. NW of OKC.

Jim said "My dad would give me his trusty ol' rifle & a pair of .22 bullets to bring back rabbit for dinner.

If I missed on the 1st rabbit, I sure as hell better line up two of 'em 'side by side' for that next shot."

I did this for my dog and for us.  I had more than 2 bullets. Lol  pellet/ BB gun was cheaper, but you had to be a better shot.  Not saying I am Bass Reeves, but I’m a solid shot.

I don’t mind jokes about poverty, because it can be funny. That being said, my childhood has driven many decisions in my life to never go there again. Our house would get so cold we thought our refrigerator went out.  Nah…it just wasn’t warm enough to kick it on.  Get up to piss and the toilet won’t flush because the water in the tank and bowl  is frozen. My brothers’ room had settled away from the house so far that when it snowed,they actually had snow in their room.  I wore tons of hand-me- downs to the point that I still DGAF about expensive clothes, but I wear my clothes until they are worn the fuck out. I will never own another pair of Wranglers- I had so many of them handed down to me and I would just grumble, ‘ I ain’t no  shitkicker’.  I mean, actually I was, but damn I just wanted Levi’s so bad.  My kids have no idea what it means to be poor, and I hope they never do. I never want to go into ‘survival’ mode again either.  I mean, I can do it… but it sucks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Scheiss Meister

Scheiss Meister 8407

Posted
Posted

My grandfather on my mom's side was gassed badly in WW I.  By the late thirties/early forties the heart and lung complications eventually kept him from working.  To survive my grandmother kept a milk cow and raised a calf every year and had a year-round garden.  She would also kill a wild hog or two in the winter for meat.  To get money for clothes and food that they couldn't raise, my 8 year-old mom and her 4 year-old brother ran a trap line in the Big Thicket near Evadale.  They checked it daily, skinning out the nutria and such that they caught.  She said that a bobcat or coyote were occasional jackpots, as those pelts brought more money.  The real jackpot was a river otter they once caught.  She had a .22 that she would shoot rabits and squirrels with, as well as dispatching trapped animals that were still alive, and that was all she had to defend them if a critter came after them.  Their clothes were largely made of flour sacks.  

My dad's family wasn't quite as poor, but they hurt some, too.  My dad lost an eye because they couldn't afford a doctor to remove some metal from his eye and it got infected.  He told us that the worst punishment he ever got was for losing their sugar ration book at the beginning of a month in 1943. 

My mom made sure that my brothers and I were able to fish, forage, garden, cook, can, clean, sew, and take care of ourselves.  She and my dad also made sure that, while we were never rolling in money, we never knew abject poverty.

  • Hook 'Em 3
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Gladeite

Gladeite 375

Posted
Posted

Farm kid.  Parents built a house with no insulation since we were a couple hundred feet from an oil well.  We piped gas straight to the house.  Had a heater in each of the 2 bedrooms and a FP in the living room.  No heater in the bathroom and pipes/toilet would freeze all the time.  Brother and I scoured the woods for "pine knots" and split wood each fall.  Piles of blankets at night during the winter and windows open for the attic fan in the summer.  Parents saved all month to make the $56 house payment and with money left over, we went to Dairy Queen.  Beltbuster, large DP and banana split.  Wore tough skins jeans until high school, then wore my dad 's hand me down Levis.  Didn't realize that it was cool to wear Levis and was sort of fashion forward in our small, farming community.  Once a month, grandparents took us to El Chico.  All you could eat corn tortillas, squeeze bottle butter and hot sauce.  I would try to eat a dozen before the cheese enchiladas came out.  We had a black/white TV with an outdoor antennae.  We only got one channel so there was a pipe wrench attached to the pole.  My brother or I would adjust the antennae depending on cloud cover/time of year for optimal reception.  Shot a lot of deer to eat, picked corn and dug potatoes.  Picked peas in season and tried to salvage a watermelon or two before the raccoons, foxes, possums ate a hole in them.   Got some schooling and moved to the big city.  Never went back.  

  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted
20 minutes ago, Gladeite said:

Farm kid.  Parents built a house with no insulation since we were a couple hundred feet from an oil well.  We piped gas straight to the house.  Had a heater in each of the 2 bedrooms and a FP in the living room.  No heater in the bathroom and pipes/toilet would freeze all the time.  Brother and I scoured the woods for "pine knots" and split wood each fall.  Piles of blankets at night during the winter and windows open for the attic fan in the summer.  Parents saved all month to make the $56 house payment and with money left over, we went to Dairy Queen.  Beltbuster, large DP and banana split.  Wore tough skins jeans until high school, then wore my dad 's hand me down Levis.  Didn't realize that it was cool to wear Levis and was sort of fashion forward in our small, farming community.  Once a month, grandparents took us to El Chico.  All you could eat corn tortillas, squeeze bottle butter and hot sauce.  I would try to eat a dozen before the cheese enchiladas came out.  We had a black/white TV with an outdoor antennae.  We only got one channel so there was a pipe wrench attached to the pole.  My brother or I would adjust the antennae depending on cloud cover/time of year for optimal reception.  Shot a lot of deer to eat, picked corn and dug potatoes.  Picked peas in season and tried to salvage a watermelon or two before the raccoons, foxes, possums ate a hole in them.   Got some schooling and moved to the big city.  Never went back.  

Pair of Levi's cost $79 at Target I saw this weekend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Snake Diggity

Snake Diggity 4619

Posted
Posted

Dang some of yall had it rough, tip of the cap for coming up out.  I grew up middle middle class but often felt deprived because most of the kids I went to school with were wealthier than us (or at least appeared that way); my mom grew up lower lower middle class and my dad grew up upper upper middle class.  I am currently upper middle class.  Anyway, I hang my childhood hardship hat on 2 things: we didn’t have air conditioning in our home until I was 10 years old, and we only had 1 TV channel (2-3 when the weather was extremely good) until around the same time.  We also had a party line telephone, so sometimes I would be talking to a girl and the neighbor several miles down the road would pick up and tell me she needed to use the phone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

Trying to talk to your girl with brothers in the house was a chore.  If you were lucky you’d hear the click when they picked up the phone.  ‘I’m on the phone ordering heart pills, you bastards!!!’   

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Knoxtnhorn

Knoxtnhorn 5971

Posted
Posted
On 12/16/2023 at 5:43 AM, Lhorn said:
  Reveal hidden contents

 

This is more typical college student poor  but my sister and I shared a shitty Corolla hatchback and would routinely buy a dollar of gas.  Frequently with change.   ( 1990-1994). 

Ha!  Been there.  Same time frame.  I once drove to SFA to see my girlfriend armed with nothing more than a jarful of change.  I rolled about $5 worth of pennies in the parking lot of a gas station about halfway to pay for gas.  

  • Like 1
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bullneck

Bullneck 19070

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 12/13/2023 at 9:31 AM, FirstTimeCaller said:

4. Using stovetop for heat in the winter.

That stuff stays with you for life and how you think about money.

But she was a single mom with two kids who did her best against a stacked deck, and that's all we could ask. We could have helped out more.

All of this.  

We used to wash aluminum foil and reuse it.

On 12/20/2023 at 7:15 PM, Hmbre97 said:

6ea19596-0f70-4d6d-b1d3-67f806a5e9a7_tex

890f8ffb-6051-40a4-b1fc-40ece38de720_tex

07b8b7b1-26a7-4acf-8182-0bd0c8e2c053_tex

 

YOU ATE SAND?

 

Edited by Bullneck
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Horn Draoi

Horn Draoi 254

Posted
Posted

My sister and I regularly email each other tuna casserole recipes, since we’ve both sworn we’ll go into armed robbery before ever eating that shit again.  My grandmother scrounged hand-me-downs in her small Panhandle town to send us-we survived.  Gives one a certain perspective.

  • Hook 'Em 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
After irth

After irth 1243

Posted
Posted

My wife relates stories of her upbringing.  How a family of 5 moved into the clergy apt of their local church for a while.  Neighbors bringing grocery bags of food, etc.  Her not being able to afford the heat bill when she was in medical school, etc.

A few years ago, she wandered into the kitchen, then came back and asked, "Where's the tea bag I left on the counter?"

"It cooled off, so I pitched it."

"Well...I was gonna reuse it."

"Jesus Christ, baby...you are a fucking successful doctor.  I think that we will be financially solvent if you grab another tea bag."

Gotta give her credit...she doesn't really spend...some things just stay with you, I guess.  

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business and Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Subscribe!... Donate!... Advertise... COOKIE MONSTER!

×
×
  • Create New...