Story of the Little Brick House-Responding to Ann’s Challenge
Ann's Challenge
- How to Edit to Sustain a Good Standard of Writing; an Exercise in Precision and Paring, With a Chall
Some advice and examples of how to improve writing, be it fiction or fact; the importance of proof-reading and choosing your words carefully.
Responding to Ann’s Challenge
The challenge wants to know, “What happens in this house?” What happens is only the beginning.
I see the picture of this tiny brick house and I clearly recall the little house near a truck garage my son, Jason worked at years ago in McKean County, Pennsylvania. It, too, is made of brick. If this house could talk people would be amazed of how it come to be. I don’t know what the owner’s name is and I won’t say which city it is in. My facts may be a bit off, I don’t even know the years in question, my guess would be the 60s, but it is a true story. I thought it to be an interesting little tale. There are many ambitious people in this world with goals and ideas that are unheard of, many never get told. Perhaps not mentioning things to the next generation because we don’t think it important enough to tell is where we go wrong. Wouldn’t it be fun to have the whole story and not just bits and pieces?
As the story goes..........
A man lived in a house much bigger than he thought he needed. His lot was big enough to add another residence with room for each to have a good size yard. He worked at a local business that made brick. He comes up with a grand idea to build his own brick house. The man begins to stack brick at the edge of the lot. Each day he brought bricks home in his dinner bucket. Only one or two at a time was never missed from an order so he was given permission to take them free of charge. They did not think him serious when he told them of his plan. As he got enough brick for a wall, he began to assemble his new house. It reminded me of the Johnny Cash song, “One Piece at a Time”. This could be where the man that built the brick house got the idea from. The song tells a story of building a car, one piece at a time.
I don’t know how many years went by. It had to have been several. Just collecting the brick, a couple at a time would have been like drawing molasses. And waiting to build the house as enough brick became available to do so must have required a great amount of time.
When the house was done, it allowed the man to move in and rent out the bigger house. Surely the profit he made from his rental helped cover the cost of building his brick house. The brick and labor may have been free, no doubt the other materials were not.
Everyone and Everything have a Story Behind Them
Everyone and everything have a story behind them. So many times, we see things differently than they are. To see this little house, nobody would ever know of the story behind its being. It is a cute little house on a pleasant street. And its owner got it one piece at a time.
Each old house we see can be a great story starter. How old is it? Who lives there? Who has lived there? Facts or fiction? It is up to us to decide. The picture of the little brick house got my mind wandering back to a story I never thought I would want to write about. My son told me what he was told. This was over a decade ago and many gaps are missing in the real story. A good memory would be helpful. No wonder our own history gets out of focus.
One Piece at a Time
Questions & Answers
© 2018 Diana L Pierce
Comments
Sorry to have taken so long to get to this, Diana, and thank you for taking up the challenge, adding your slant to it.
It must have taken determination, patience and dedication to a dream for that man to have built his house in that way. Inspirational.
I have added your link.
Ann
Nice story. The story is very inspiring leaving the message that anything can be achieved with some small contributions done daily to the achievement of the goal. It shows the power of determination and the willpower.
Loved it, Diana,
This is a clear expression of how planning and having a goal can produce incredible results. Even if it came out of a challenge, the story reminds us to challenge ourselves.
Great article.
Much respect,
Sincerely,
Tim
Thanks for sharing. This teaches an important lesson that if we take on our goals a little bit at a time as we are able we can complete them. That is how I see it anyway.
This is a great story of persistence and determination, and what makes it more interesting is that it is true! Glad you decided to share this.
Love the story of the man who had the drive and patience to collect the bricks and build this house over what must have taken years. Maybe he did get inspiration from the Johnnie Cash song “One Piece at a Time”, and thanks for including that. I love it.
Diana, what a thoughtful expression of the ingenuity of the working man. Love the Johnny Cash.
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