I am 49 - I was born in a small sawmill town outside Hot Springs, Arkansas.
We didn't have an inside toilet till I was 3 (no septic system - bath, washing machine, and dish water drained outside house) then we moved to a duplex when my dad got a job at a bank.
Grandparents (on mom's side) didn't have one till I was 9 (same - no septic system) - their outhouse was a single door double chitter with no partition between the holes/seats. When you used their outhouse - you always used a scoop of lime to cover your business.
My dad jokes that when I was a baby we were so "po" that we couldn't afford the "or" to make us poor. Which is funny - I never noticed we were poor, because everyone else in our family was in the same boat. I wouldn't trade any of those experiences for all the money in the world - I'm not saying it made me a better person, but it made me resilient.
My mom and dad worked their asses off to provide for me and my sister and never took a government handout (even though I am sure we would have qualified), and after several years things changed for the better. I will always be thankful for my parents.
