Priming the Pump

In rural Appalachia, old homesteads still have cast-iron hand pumps standing over deep wells. Anyone who has used one knows the frustrating secret: you cannot draw water from a dry pump. The leather gaskets inside need moisture to create a seal. Without that seal, the handle just whooshes air. So you do something that feels foolish — you take your last jar of water, the water you carried from a neighbor's house, and you pour it down into the pump.…