I Remember

Candles and buckets.

Because money was so tight Naty and Leo always owed someone money. My grandmother sold Avon back when Avon was popping, she used to sell a lot of it, it helped a little.
Every month, a utility took a turn to being turned off, first the lights, then the water. A phone was extra, grandma tried to keep it on, so when my mother called long distance she could speak to us but for the most parts it was off. Being that we did lived in blocks and were the first house every time the man came around to cut the utilities, we would be the first house to get it. Everyone hung in that hot corner so it was humiliating to the death. Grandma would buy candles and around 6 o clock she would light them, I wanted to die.
When they cut the water off, water will run down the sidewalk onto the other houses as evidence of our shame, every body knew our water was being turned off. Leo would wait to midnight and put a piece of pipe inside the water fixture and add a gauge and boom there goes the water back on, but since it was rigged it would drip down the line. Every body knew we were stealing water. Same with the lights, his nephew worked for the public utilities place so he give him $5 and he would turn them back on. Leo was careful to disconnect all of that during the day and just hook it up at nights. We would fill the buckets of water for daily use. It was a nightmare, until it was time for them to come read meters and boom Leo forgot to disconnect it. This time they would take the whole meters. Water and light....there goes the shame again. Now they have to borrow from Peter to pay Paul. Candles and buckets were part of our family issues. Don't get me wrong we weren't the only ones stealing utilities, I can't speak for them though. I can only speak for my shame.