Notice how the rope here is spliced and/or repaired with the careful wrapping of a smaller twine. Whatever happened to frugality? Frugality - A traditional value, life style, or belief system, in which individuals practice both restraint in the acquiring of and resourceful use of economic goods and services in order to achieve lasting and more fulfilling goals. When I first read Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography, I was impressed with the fact that he believed so hartily in living a frugal lifestyle. I had to look the word up, way back then. But it stuck with me. I admired the way Franklin applied frugality to his life. I have admired other people who, throughout the years, applied similar skills to conservation of resources and goods. My mom used to save her bacon grease, for other cooking needs. She also had jars full of buttons, some rescued just for the reason she saved them, but most just sat in jars. I knew an old man who had tons of painted and dusty old shards of wood. When he needed the right piece, that old painted scrap of wood came back to life along the deck of a gorgeous cat boat. A friend of mine has a drawer full of old rusty springs of any imaginable size. I needed one once that would fit on the end of a tractor pin to apply pressure on the fitting. He had one that fit. Me, I saved a bunch of rubber washers once, in case I needed one. I did need one, but I could never find the ones I saved, so I went out and bought new ones. Now I can't find them either. So, was your grandfather or grandmother frugal?

WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE Mo. -- A Bell Contracting INC. employee slowly makes his way past several aircraft hangers spraying a pressure washer in the grooves of the concrete slabs that make up Whiteman’s flight line ensuring any old silicon and foam has been thoroughly removed before placing new silicone and foam April 26, 2011. BCI contractors are repairing large portions of Whiteman’s flight line over the next several weeks in order to keep it in top condition for flight operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kenny Holston)(Released)