Coal

When dad was a kid, their house was heated by a huge coal furnace in the basement and every couple of weeks (he thinks) the coal truck would come and dump a load of coal into this little walled off area by the furnace. This little room would hold all the coal that Gramps would then shovel into the furnace each day. Dad said they never went down to the basement when the truck was unloading its coal, because Gramps told them if they did, they'd be buried in coal and they'd never be able to find them again (Don't you see why I love my Grandpa? His sense of humor cracks me up!). Sometimes they'd be brave enough to stand on the bottom stair and watch it unload. Then, once it was dumped and the truck was gone, he and his brother Carl would climb the mountain of coal, getting completely filthy. And, poor grandma had to clean them up every time.