Every Day Luxuries

As I was making dinner last night and taking things in and out of the refrigerator, it struck me to be thankful for that refrigerator.  Seriously.  Refrigerators are a very new phenomenon in the history of mankind.  Even within living memory, the best people could do were iceboxes -- and that, itself, was an innovation.  I don't know how I could cope without a refrigerator and freezer.  All of your food would have to be either eaten immediately or dried, salted, or smoked. 

I read an article once in the Phi Beta Kappa Journal (Jeff's subscription, not mine) that I've always remembered and wish I could get my hands on a copy.  The article began with a vivid description of a messenger riding hellbent for leather down the mountain with precious cargo, handing his package to a waiting companion with a fresh horse, and falling spent from the saddle.  It turned out that the valuable package was ice from the mountain to cool the emperor's drink.  The point of the article was that even the poorest person in America today lives better than an emperor in days gone by.  It somehow stuns me to think that King Henry VIII used a latrine all his life. 

So, that's what I'm thankful for today:  refrigeration.  Even on a cold wet day, it's a good thing.