After talking some with Bob, I got a bite to eat , a cheeseburger hit off the grill provided by the good folks at the Grayslake Rising Sun Masonic Lodge #2.
Then I went to the big barn and sat on some straw bales along with a full house, standing room only and then some to hear General Ulysses S. Grant (presented by Wayne Issleb) who definitely resembled the good general to a great degree.
He talked about his life prewar and said that above all else, he did not want to be a soldier under any circumstances.
But his father was a tanner and he hated that even worse. He hated the smell and he hated the sight of blood. Even worse, there was a need for human urine to get the hair off the hide. There would be no tanning in his future if he could help it.
Then, he related the story of where a once common saying came from. People would sell their urine to tanners. If they didn't have enough, they would be called "piss poor." I've heard that one before.
He was put to work collecting the stuff and got the nickname "Urine Boy."
No "Urine Boy" Here. --Old Secesh
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