#218 Drinking from the hose

Neil Pasricha

It’s the buffalo of the backyard.

Yes, when you’re a kid you live off that hose. It’s your friend. It’s your enemy. It keeps your entire afternoon moving with ritual cool downs, face-spraying entertainment, and lots of rust-and-plastic flavored water to keep you hydrated. Oh sure, sure — maybe it’s not technically meant for drinking, but there’s just nothing more satisfying than stealing drips from the snakey drain right below the window pane.

Feel free to enjoy your hose drinking with the classic Dribble Pour Technique, chaotic Thumb-Stop Surprise Spray, or the painful Garden Gun Squeeze to the back of the throat. All work just fine but if you’re looking for +5 Bonus Points you can try drinking straight from the sprinkler. Bit risky but that’s just the way you roll sometimes.

Yes, drinking from the hose in the backyard is one of the places where after having a few sips it’s completely acceptable to spray your brother in the face.

Enjoy the summer.

AWESOME!

1000 Awesome Things is now three years old! This will be our last birthday. Read our other birthday posts here, here, and here.

Photo from: here and here

79 thoughts to “#218 Drinking from the hose”

  1. I shouldn’t even be surprised at this anymore, but it always manages to blow my mind when it happens: I was thinking JUST TODAY(!) that this should be on the list of awesome things!

    I was watering my flowers and just the smell of hose water always brings back a flash of childhood. Our philosophy was always, “Why interrupt quality outdoor play time to get a drink when we have an endless supply at our disposal?!” Maybe not articulated quite like that, but you get my drift. I still take a nice big gulp from time to time. Always awesome. :D

    Way to end on a bummer … no more birthdays :(

    1. The blog started on June 20… yesterday was the 3 year birthday…. crazy Neil.

      Yeah… I was all excited yesterday about it being the awesome birthday/anniversary, but now that I see that its going to be the last, my excitement is gone…

      1. you know the saying, “less is more”, well then, I say…
        POOPY! REALLY, REALLY POOPY!

          1. BTW, In 1374, Chaucer actually said, “All things come to an end,” it was some time later somebody who was not living a model awesome life, added the word “good”.
            Now, I’m going to have to go eat the last 15 smiley face~anniversary cookies~ wallow in a sea of crumbs and pity.

    2. Laura – Just wanted to mention that I finally got a chance to check out your garden photos from a few posts back. I didn’t want to comment there in case you never saw it, so I figured I’d mention it here.. your flowers are awesome! Way to improve the “curb appeal” of your place – it looks like you inherited a pretty dull lot, but it’s gorgeous now.. :)

      As for no more birthdays – have we commenters figured out where we’re all going to congregate after this blog comes to an end? Neil – are you going to set up something else for us to follow? Are we going to have to move en-mass to another blog somewhere in the world, and just start squatting on their comment threads?

      I’m nervous – we should figure something out soon.. :)

      1. Yeah, Laura’s flowers are quite impressive! Nice job!

        Freddo, when you said “congregate” I thought you were suggesting we all meet up somewhere PHYSICALLY, and I was gonna suggest we all come over to your place, hang out for a couple of months, chill on the beach, eat all your Nutella, something like that. But I see that’s not what you meant. …or is it?

        As for congregating at another blog, Geekteen has a blog now, but I’m not allowed to read it, so it would be kind of weird to comment without knowing what it said. Probably I’d be safe with something like “Data is my favourite ST:NG character, too!” but that might get one-dimensional after a while…

        1. singing… “I love to go a-congregate, ‘nutell’ where you will be… cuz as we go a-congregate, it’d be the party of the century… c’mon Neil, c’mon all, c’mon WORLD…it’d be REALLY, REALLY AWESOME…C’MON NEIL!”
          *someone else 2nd verse*

          1. to the tune of “I love to go a wandering”…just in case you’re “wandering”…
            hahahahaha-hahahaha

        2. We should DEFO just crash Freddo’s place. Empty his fridge, have all night sessions, think of the craic! Although getting there from Ireland will need some planning :P

          1. Appeal to International airlines: AWESOME MARKETING STRATEGY…ALERT THE MEDIA…EVERYONE could gather in Leavonworth Washington. They LOVE a good festival “every-time” of year; there is something for every age; all season sports and rec; “The Hills Are Alive”, with live theatre and dancing in the streets, in the spring time. There is fantastic international cuisine/food and shopping, AND the little village is like an “It’s a small world after-all” song, in and of itself, enchantingly whimsical!
            It’d be the perfect Awesome-Ever-After gathering spot=+)
            I mean some of the old soap operas have been on since radio; before television, which wasn’t that long ago people!
            We all talk about how “Friends” really could’ve stayed on the air forever.
            In season 1, I read Bekah said, she’s a writer too, so if this has anything to do with needing a little help from some friend’s, look no further!
            (Is it pathetically obvious I’ve felt loss to the core and may have some residual attachment/letting go issues! Not sure if requires retorics. hahaha;)

        3. Definitely congregate at Freddo’s! I’m down! I’ve also got some major Awesome to catch up on…

          1. Wow.. I step away for just a second and all of a sudden I’ve got som 34+ million houseguests set to come to my place.. uhhh.. time to go stock up on drinks and snacks, I guess!

            Hey Sinead.. what’s craic? Is that something I’m going to need to buy extra of to accomodate all of you folks?

            Oh – wait a second.. let me go check the magic box… ahh.. here we go: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craic

            You’re right – the craic will be AWESOME! (am I doing that right?? :))

            2. Really nice of you to have us all over, Fredo! Very cool! Now that’s hospitality for ya! This way I’ll finally get to taste a nutellow, that is assuming that you’re going to have a big fire for making nutellows…and I’m assuming that you definitely will. Oh, do we need to bring our own sticks for the nutellows as well or will you be providing those? I will arrive in the cranky, old vw bus, ready for awesome road trippin’. Please remind guests to bring their own paints and brushes to design the bus for the ensuing trip.

            3. Sorry to tell ya, but you’re gonna have to baby proof your house too. I can’t go anywhere without my kids!!

  2. Since I live on acres and have a vege farn, my dad has these huge industrial sprinklers & when it was really hot he would move them onto the grass in the backyard to keep it green.
    Once it was super dooper HOT & my sister & I decided to go and play in the sprinklers.

    It wasn’t until about an hour later my mum had come home & saw what we were doing and kindly informed us that the water that we were just playing in came from our dam down the back & was most definalty NOT clean water and that the dam had been full of algae for quite some time!
    From then onwards you can bet we didnt play under the sprinklers!!!

      1. Your memory is so sweet and innocent=)
        and *WELL*, thank goodness you weren’t drinking it!
        Last year- at house #64, the sun filtered in “perfectly” for my eyes and ganglia to feast on algea, some nasty floaties and swimmers in the water jug and pet water dishes! Further investigation lead to the most disgusting sight and realization, we’d neglected to change the membrane on the water system along with the annual 5 filter changes, FOR 6 YEARS and it was overflowing with some living things you might cover your eyes for in a horror film.

      1. i’m glad i made you all laugh :)
        & yes thankgoodness we weren’t drinking it, but was still pretty bad that we were drenched in it!
        oh well, you live and you learn!

  3. Reminds me of my childhood at my grandparents. Somehow their hose was always acceptable and ours was disgusting.

    1. I know what you mean! Weird smelling and tasting at my house = just fine; weird smelling/tasting at a friend’s house = not so much fine.

  5. I used to have a paper route when I was little, and one summer day I was in the middle of doing it when I got super thirsty, so I crept up to someones hose and had myself a nice cool drink. The excitement of drinking from a hose mixed with the thrill of not getting caught really made for an awesome moment for me.

  7. ah yes, drinking from the garden hose…and directing the hose at the neighbour’s cat when he was trying to to enter our house…awesome childhood memories!! :D

    btw…am I the only one who’s missing the comments from Idon’thaveaname? haven’t seen him comment in a while! :(

    1. NO, you are not the only one missing idon’thaveaname…
      and
      YES, I too miss his/her comments alot!
      Always a great sense of humour~ good for a laugh out loud belly laugh.

  8. Great memories!!
    It was always fun to drink from the hose as a kid! You get all wet in the process unless you have just the right technique down. My brothers would always put a crink in the hose so just a bit of water would come out for me to drink, but at the last moment they’d let go and I’d get sprayed.

    1. lol my brothers would do the same thing and I would never really trust them not to let go of the crink (because lets face it they ALWAYS eventually let go) so I would nervously keep my thumb half covering it the whole time :)

      1. Precious Memories:)

        This will be Zach and Noah next summer…
        but how will we know where we’ll be…
        because we’ve been told now haven’t we?!=(
        Whaaaaaaa (inner 3 year old blubbering)

        1. oh man,
          Neil better start another blog after this one!!! & make it “2000 (something) things” that way it last twice as long :)

          1. 2000 funny things
            2000 useful things
            2000 unknown things
            2000 things to put on your bucket list
            2000 movies you must see
            2000 things NOT to do
            2000 more awesome things
            2000 things to see
            2000 new foods to try
            2000 videos he wants to share
            2000…..something….its gotta be something!!! It just can’t end!!

  9. At my lovely college track we had a hose, no fancy outdoor water fountains for us (no way)! If you got thirsty on that track, you had to take it back to your old school childhood days and relearn your hose drinking skills.

  10. I didn’t realize this was the birthday. Today is also one year since my dad passed. It’s really good to come to this blog as it reminds me of things from growing up which remind me of happy childhood memories with my dad. Thinking of the hose and spraying each other, I remember begging my dad to spray me with the hose when it was hot outside. He’d always try to surprise me and do funny things with the spray of water…I’d jump and scream with laughter and excitement…it was awesome! My dad was an expert swimmer as well and taught me how to swim. Thanks again for a trip down memory lane.

  11. Oh, I love this! Drinking from the hose is STILL one of my favorite summertime things. I know it tastes “different,” but that’s the whole point. The safety nazis have taken all the fun out of living for little kids. LOL!

  12. Those are really sweet memories of your Dad, Kathy. I’m very sorry for your loss. It’s been just over 2 years since my dad passed, and I also find a lot of things on this blog that bring back happy memories of him. And also tears, but that is an essential part of grieving, too. My thoughts are with you on this sad anniversary. :)

    1. Thanks for your words. I am sorry you are familiar with such loss, but it helps to know I’m not alone. This blog often brings back happy memories of my dad. I’ve had a lot of tears today, but I’ve had smiles as well. May you experience happy, joy-filled memories of your dad, jdurley.

      1. Thanks so much, Kathy! You’re so right about the “not alone” thing. It sure helps. I appreciate your kind words very much. :)

  13. Like Laura said, there’s just some kind of fresh, cool scent that comes with the water from a hose that just makes you want to drink it!

    In general playing with a hose is awesome, even as an adult! And I can’t help but seriously laugh at the picture of the girl and the sprinkler, hah!

  14. What will you do once you reach 1000??? If you do end up making a brand new blog, I would ALWAYS be there reading it!!!

  15. Good attitude and positive thinking Ali!
    *Once 1000 reaches its final count down, it may only be the end as we know it???!!!

        1. *Just had a thought Neil is suggesting everyone stay young at heart and authentic with the awesome wonder of a three year old and “to never-ever-ever-grow up!”
          So on acceptance~
          candle 1 for the past
          candle 2 for the present
          candle 3 for the future
          “With a Whole Lotta’ Love”, Led Zepplin style, of course~
          sorry to have given you such a hard time,
          Thank you Neil and
          Happy 3rd. Birthday Awesome=)

  16. Choice pictures and way to kick off the first day of summer!
    The smells~ they sure do bring back the sights of some fond memories.
    In the sound of a car horn honking, sometimes I hear this,”DON’T BE DRINKING OUT OF THAT DIRTY HOSE NOW, YOU ALL HEAR ME?” similar to Charlie Brown’s teacher, as you all smiled and carried on drinking that water out of the hose, and/or trying to drink out of the sprinkler because water-play…way too much fun to stop for anything else!
    All senses and systems, GO…feel it, feel it, feel it…it’s summer solstice!!

  17. Ah, I love the water hose and all its wonders! Refreshing water and loads of fun, all in one. I remember pouring it over myself until I was jumping up and down and my head was starting to hurt from the cold. I remember hanging it on our back door once and I think my mom let my brother and me wash our hair in the backyard!

    P.S.- The pics in this post and the video Bekah posted are so cute!

  19. at the risk of being a worry-wort, I’ve read it’s unhealthy to drink out of the hose – something about that water sitting there inside that germy hose – even when you run it awhile…just a thought…

  20. All the water for gardening here is recycled and smells like a giant just farted. If you are driving past a house that has its sprinklers on, you roll up all the windows until you’re well out of range, or else suffer the consequences. There is no hose-drinking here :(

    1. Especially after run-off, our water smells like a giant egg fart!
      You’re in Australia, correct? How deep is YOUR well~ours are over 500′ deep here; perhaps we’re on the same aquifer;)
      Grateful to have water at all really though; some people have to haul in these hills.

      2. I’m the australian! :)
        you guys haven’t smelt bad air until you live on a farm & your dad just put manure down for fertiliser!
        I remember back when i was in primary school the bus would go past all the farms on my street & all the kids would block their noses cause of the smell!
        I’m so used to it now!
        It definaltly clears your nose if its blocked!

        1. I’M the Australian!

          (Hehe, sorry, I saw your first line, and immediately started thinking of a whole heap of people saying “I’M the Australian!” in a manner similar to “I’M Spartacus”…)

        2. Oh, I am familiar with that smell. Lived out in the country for most of my childhood, you kind of get use to these kinds of smells after a while though.

        3. Last summer I was working for the Ministry of Natural Resources and for two days we were clearing out a blocked-up stream that smelled like someone had dumped piles of manure in it. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some kind of bio-waste in there what with all the garbage people had dumped in it. Among other things we found tons of beer cans, a bag of needles and pills, couch cushions, and a couple of “white balloons” (which may or may not have anything to do with the other garbage). It is easily the most disgusting place I have ever been in my life. A couple of times I thought I would throw up it smelled so bad.

          On the plus side, we found what must have been the head from a superman bobblehead so we tied it to the front of our truck, named him Giovanni Mercutio Capello (because it was a GMC truck) and he bacame our mascot for the rest of the summer. I wonder what ever happened to Gio…

  21. I am so bummed that there are only 217 posts to go! I just discovered this great blog of yours and have been enjoying reading it VERY much. I was just telling my own children that when my brother and I were children we would eat from the garden and drink from the hose to avoid going inside for fear that we may get trapped there!

    Great blog – thank you! :o)

  22. Speaking of the taste/smell of water out of the hose, I loved it precisely cuz it had that rusty/metallic taste. Always reminded me of those metal cups we had back in the 60s/70s that had that icy cold metallic taste…mmmmmm!

    1. Freddo must be taking an illegal nap, so here I am again…
      Kathy, if you return to Neil’s note at the top and click on here, here, here…that is the ones ABOVE the photo of the little girl, you’ll discover
      1. June 2008
      2. June 2009
      3 June 2010…
      this is the last birthday for 1000 Awesome Things, although there are still 217 awesomes to look forward to.
      *As you were officer Freddo;)

      1. Thanks again Wendy!

        You’re doing a good job filling in for me while I’m illegally napping and applying too much sunblock! :)

      2. I did click on all three links, but still did not get an answer to my question. Are you just stopping this blog after 1000? What about the second 1000 from the second book?

        1. The blog is called 1,000 awesome things, so yes…it will stop when he reaches number 1. He picks some of his blog entries and then some that isn’t on the blog to go in the books. There isn’t 1,000 things in the books. There might be 200 or so in each book. I’m not sure, but it isn’t 1,000.
          Since this is a countdown and this entry is number 218-there is 217 entries after this one to get to number 1. So… there will be no more birthdays/anniversaries since there is only a little more than 200 left to go.

  26. I think that this post waas funny and cool at the same time plus if my sister were to read this she would probably spray me with are hose!!!!!!

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  28. That always was the best tasting water on the hot summer days down here in Georgia. I <3 water hose water. :)

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