Made in America - Boston Pencil Sharpener

Here it is, my trusty Boston pencil sharpener. I have had this sharpener for several years and it is still working as well as it did the first day I got it.

More and more I find myself using pencils instead of pens. They are inexpensive, easy to erase, and I like the way they feel in my hand.

There is another benefit I hadn't given thought to until just now. The aroma of pencil shavings brings me back ever briefly to my school days - a time I loved.

(Gardeners learn to enjoy the simple things and to appreciate the fleeting moments perhaps more than those who do not dig and hoe, water and weed, fertilize and tend to - all for that glorious moment when a tiny seed punches its way through the crust of earth, reaching for the sun)

"Made in USA"

We need to get our country back to where this is the most familiar sign on the bottom of, well, everything!

That is the road to prosperity and pride for ourselves and our families, and while there can be no guarantees for anyone, American factories producing American goods can go a long way toward making this country whole again.

Made in America - Homer Laughlin Saucer

This is a saucer I bought at a thrift store years ago - it came to my attention recently while rearranging cupboard things. There is nothing special about this saucer - it's heavy crockery that might have belonged to a roadside diner.

Wait - there is something special about it. It was made in America. Notice that unlike most of the stuff we bring in from abroad, it contains no lead.

I've decided to spotlight the occasional item I run across in my own home that was made in this great country - back before we were sold out to become part of "The Global Economy," which simply means a few people make a whole bunch of money while masses of middle class workers in America watch their jobs (and their hopes and dreams) go overseas.