Mary and I got our sunroom redone which has a lot more windows to enjoy. It’s almost like sittin’ outdoors drinking my morning coffee. But of course, when you get something better it causes more problems. Yes, it’s washing them. That’s a chore I don’t cherish.

Now it’s not that I haven’t had experience in doing it. When I was in high school, I got a job washing a storefront. Next thing I knew, the store next door wanted theirs done as well. Pretty soon I was doing about all the storefronts in my hometown.

Well, maybe that’s why I don’t look forward to doing ours. I got this fine gadget, so I don’t have to climb a ladder. (My kids say I am not to do so at my age.) It’s got a squeegee and brush all on a long pole. The windows look fine until the sun shines on them. That’s when Mary complains. It’s mainly the front room on the east side when the sun comes up. It just lasts for about an hour, then they look fine. My solution is just not to go into the living room during that hour.

Now I know I’ll get all kinds of suggestions, and I thank you, but I bet I’ve tried them all. It’s not something that I should fret about since there are lots more important things.

Now, as usual, I’ll give you a little history lesson. It goes back pretty far. Maybe, 3500 BC. It involves sand. Yes, that wonderful stuff on the beach that you twiddle your toes in. I guess the prehistoric folks found clumps of glass that had been created by the hot sun, but the Egyptians used it to make vessels and jewelry. The Romans first used glass for windows around the 1st century AD. Around the 4th century, the churches in Europe started creating stained glass windows.

Around 1674 the process of creating crown glass was invented. This involved the blowpipe and first blowing a bubble then splitting it and flattening it. It is fairly clear with imperfections in it. Since it had to be made in small sections, that’s why earlier windows were made up of several small panes.

In the pioneer days out west, window openings were often covered with oil coated paper or isinglass sometimes made from fish bladders. The glass was very expensive and broke transporting it.

It’s easy to see why we have windows in our homes. It’s like me sitting in my sunroom and the weather outside is not what I would like to be out in. Rain, snow, wind, etc. could be going on and I can sit and enjoy whatever. And of course, sunshine is so important to our psychological being. Our emotions are affected by the amount of sunshine we get. Artificial lighting just isn’t the same. It’s all about vitamin D.

So, windows not only help light the inside of our homes, they also keep the cold out and the heat in. In the summer you can open them up and enjoy the fresh air and the savings on the cost of air conditioning. In the olden days before A/C it was necessary in the summertime. Older houses had transom windows built over the doorways which could be opened to help circulate the air.

There are bay windows, picture windows, double pane windows, bulletproof windows, skylight windows, car windows, and the neighbor’s window that you broke while playing ball.

I could go on and on about the use of windows, but I know you have better things to do, such as go out and wash your windows.

Don Hill is a resident of Seymour and a longtime volunteer for Southern Indiana Center for the Arts. Send comments to [email protected].