Thursday, November 14, 2013

Wonder Bread and Recess


Today for lunch, I ate a peanut butter and jam sandwich. When I was a kid, my mom bought loaves of Wonder Bread. The wrapping alone-- primary colored dots covering the bag-- was enough to convince you the bread was going to be delicious. The white, soft bread was marred only by the tougher crusts around the edge. In truth, it was probably the only part that had any flavor, but I still envied the kids whose moms cut off their crusts, allowing them to savor the fluffy goodness without crusty distraction.

I remember fourth grade lunches. We’d get to play outside on the play ground for recess. At the time, we lived in Napa, California, back in the early 70s before it was the swanky community it is now. But it was at this playground, at an elementary school nestled in our small neighborhood, where I learned to play Four Square and Tetherball. Four Square was a game involving a big, red rubber playground ball, four large squares painted on the asphalt and lots of complicated rules, which somehow I managed to learn. We also played a lot of Tetherball—a game with a big pole and a long rope with a ball attached to its end. The idea was to hit the ball past your opponent until it wrapped all the way around the pole and you were the triumphant winner, all while being careful to avoid being slapped on the side of your face by the ball.

I don’t think Tetherball exists on playgrounds anymore. The long rope and potential head whomps probably were set-ups for litigating parents whose little ones were the hapless victims of an errant ball or rope. But back then we lived on the edge: riding see saws and deliberately jumping off them while our partner was still high in the air so they’d come crashing down on their bottoms with a thump, or spinning so fast on the merry-go-rounds the centrifugal force flung us off into the dirt in a laughing  heap. (We didn’t wear bike helmets back then either.)

Playgrounds were the hot bed of school fads. At recess, kids couldn’t wait to show off their latest Duncan brand yoyos, or clackers with the brightly colored glass marbles, or the latest Guinness Book of World Records. Some years, Chinese jump ropes were popular. Groups of girls would stand around forming complicated weavings with the stretchy rope and their feet. Other years, a string was all we needed to demonstrate our talent for forming cats’ cradles and other complex finger designs. We also chose partners and played ornate clapping games with each other, entertaining ourselves with our expertise for entire recesses. Miss Mary Mack, Mack Mack, all dressed in black, black, black. This little rhyme troubled meWhy did Miss Mary always wear black? Was she some strange recluse?

One year, I got the latest Guinness Book of World Records, hardback edition, for Christmas. I took it to school and for two weeks I was the glorious center of attention while we thumbed through the pages to find the world’s tallest man or the biggest rubber band ball in the world or the woman with the longest fingernails. (I still remember being particularly fascinated and simultaneously horrified viewing her winding and curling fingernails.)

Picking out each year’s lunch box was a big deal with our annual back-to-school shopping. Sometimes we’d have to reuse the previous year’s box, but if last year’s version was too dented up, (yes, they were metal back then), we’d get a new one. As big a deal as this was, I don’t remember many of my boxes except a Partridge Family one I had at some point. David Cassidy, Susan Dey and rambunctious Danny Bonaduce and their super-cool travel bus adorned its lid. The lunchbox came with a matching thermos that fit snugly inside the box, complete with a lid that could be used as a cup. Thermoses were made of glass back then and when they broke, which the inevitably did, you could shake the thermos and hear the glass—it sounded like sand stuck in the walls of the container.

By high school, lunches were reduced to a showcase of insecurity with kids vying to be at “cool” tables and the cafeteria food nondescript--a rotating menu of doughy pizza squares, iceberg salads and mushy spaghetti.

As I munch my PB&J today, I will have a glass of milk in honor of all the pints of lukewarm milk and chocolate milk I consumed over the years. Although my sandwich now is made with homemade bread and all-natural peanut butter, I’ll pretend its Wonder Bread and Jiff (the choosy mother’s peanut butter). I’ll even eat a slightly over-ripe banana just to complete the culinary flashback. And afterwards? I might just go to a playground and climb on the monkey bars and not wash away my milk mustache! 

31 comments:

  1. What a sweet article...I certainly remember times like that. You could be writing about my childhood or time on the playground. Although during recess we would go on hunts for walnuts and pomegranates that fell over the fence into the school yard. We would break them open and eat their yummy goodness...Free snack! And we played Chinese Jacks...Ahhhh good times.

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    1. Pomegranates! You had the best recesses ever! Oh yeah, Jacks-- I almost mentioned that one too. I have memories of sitting on the kitchen floor with my mom playing jacks! (Do they even make the metal kind anymore?)

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  2. Perfect comfort food....now I'm hungry!!!

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  3. It was while playing with clackers (or popper-knockers) that proved just how coordinated I naturally am. For I managed to smack myself on both sides of my head at the same time.

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    1. Oh Jerry-- that's funny. I think the things were eventually banned, at least in that form, because glass pieces would break off of the marbles. What a funny trend they were!

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  4. What a wonderful blog :) My grandmother bought me a Princess Leia lunch box, which I guarded zealously until '84. Yup, for seven years, as I navigated elementary and rushed into Jr. High, I was never without that lunch box. Sometimes it was empty, but it went to school with me every single day.

    We played Red Rover, kickball and dodgeball for our recesses. I remember one boy, Marc Heflin, who was the perfect gentleman and never failed to let me break his hold during Red Rover. I still retain that elementary schoolyard crush on him :)

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    1. Ohhh Red Rover-- I remember that game. We were into painful recreational activities weren't we? Sore wrists and dodging balls-- they were such badges of bravery. Love the Princess Leia lunch box. Don't you wish you still had it?

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    2. Yes, yes I do :)

      I still love to play dodgeball :) I finally learned (after the fifth black eye) to either catch the ball or put my arms up LOL!

      We were so brave back then ...

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  5. Pure wonderfulness here, Julie,! It brought back so many memories. I am sure I am older than you are -- I'm almost 69 --- but have lots of "good ol' days thoughts. Jump rope. Monkey bars. Snow pants under dresses when it was cold. Walking a few blocks at lunch time with my brother to meet our mom for lunch when she went back to teaching school. Sandwiches on occasion from the drugstore --- ham and cheese. Green rivers --- lime syrup stirred into 7 Up. Wow. Thanks for a great posting. Made me smile!

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    1. Ohhh lime syrup and 7 Up -- now that's a new one to me and sounds delicious. Some things are classic, aren't they? I almost mentioned jump ropes-- the hours we put in practicing turning double ropes, fancy jumps-- and never once saw it as exercise.Oh and yes, snow pants and boots for recess-- poor teachers!

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  6. Oh Julie,

    How nostalgic! You took me back to my own school years, experiencing the same thing...jacks, tetherball (and yes, the ball inevitably came off and would whack us in the head), and string games: Jacob's ladder and the like.

    I had a Scooby Doo lunchbox, with the Mystery Machine on the side and Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby on the front. Thank goodness Scrappy wasn't around yet...I didn't like that pushy little pup. His "Puppy Power!" got on my nerves.

    Wonderful, as always.
    M.L. Swift, Writer

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    1. Oh, ouch, I never had the ball come completely off-- just swing around and whomp my head. That would really hurt!

      Scooby Doo lunch box-- that might still be cool. (Agreed, sans the little yapper.)

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  7. This was such fun to read! I laughed about the Guinness Book of World Records, I can only imagine how popular you must have been. My sister and I could spend hours marveling at the wonders within that book. Klutz that I am, tetherball was not a good thing for me as I spent most of the time getting whacked on the head with the ball LOL.
    I still love peanut butter and jelly though. In fact I packed it for lunch today! Not on Wonder Bread but still just as good.

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    1. Yeah, I gave up store-bought bread years ago-- easy enough to bake at home and I know what goes into it, but I still love PB (natural) and jam (not such a big jelly fan anymore). It's comfort food and filling!

      By the way the Guinness popularity was very short lived. I was a misfit in 5th grade, the year I remember that experience.

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  8. Boy, what a walk down memory lane! I grew up in the 80's on the east coast but my childhood wasn't all that different: we still had the old-school (read: dangerous) playground equipment, we still played elaborate clapping games (and it's sad how many of the rhyming chants I still remember) and we still showed off our lunchboxes with matching thermoses (only ours were made of plastic instead of metal). But boy, oh boy did this bring back all those memories.

    And I still eat the occasional childhood favorite: peanut butter and banana sandwhiches, with milk.

    Thanks for sharing this, Julie- totally brought me back.

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    1. It's kind of fun to trip along to the past isn't it? I wonder if kids still play the clapping games? I'll have to ask my sister who works at an elementary school.

      Oooo you and Elvis (wasn't that his sandwich of choice too?). Mmm I may have to have that next time!

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  9. Here's the funny thing for me. .. I can't stand Wonder Bread now. I can not eat a piece of white bread. I only buy wheat or honey wheat. My poor daughter, she will never know about those primary colored packages, but she does now about over ripe bananas. :)

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    1. Yeah funny thing, Margo. A couple years ago, my sister hooked in with a a guy who would give her leftover Hostess stuff for free. She passed quite a bit of it on to us. It didn't take long for both of us AND our kids to get sick of it pretty quick. We declined future offers. I prefer homemade bread now!

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  10. Thank you. That trip down memory lane works for me childhood, too. I eat mostly healthy whole grain bread but nothing quite tastes the same with peanut butter and jelly.

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    1. Yeah, darn the nutritional knowledge we have now that tells us this stuff isn't good for us! I prefer the taste of all-natural peanut butter too.

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  11. Those memories are the real treasures of our youth. Many times, as I secure my kids to their car seats, I have wondered how did kids my age survive childhood. When going to camp, my father used to let me and my sister sit out the car windows as the car moved down a dirt road. He didn't go fast, but it felt like we were flying. I also had those metallic lunch boxes and the only one I remember was a Scooby one. I remember it because I dented it on the head of a guy who decided to slap me on the butt. Ha! We later became friends and always laughed at that piece of history... Great memories. Thanks Julie, I'll have sweet dreams tonight.

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    1. Oh I can remember my mom reaching across me when she had to slam on the breaks-- no seat belts back then! And way to go using the lunchbox as a defensive weapon!!

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  12. Hey, I'll join you on the monkey bars, and I'll even bring a lunch box full of cheese. =)

    I mourn the bliss of not knowing and not caring what was in food or why it might be bad for you. *sigh* Ignorance is bliss, eh?

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    1. It was rather blissful. Now I eat stuff and know exactly how bad it is for me! ;)

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  13. Our mum used to bake bread once a week. Us kids were brats, so we'd all try to seek back into the house periodically to see if the bread was cool enough to cut. If we happened to be around at the perfect time, we'd get a crust. Yup, it's still my favourite part. And I do remember those kids who's mum would cut off the crust for them. I just figured it was because she loved the crust best too. Haha, I tried that trick on my sons when they were little, but they caught on pretty fast.

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    1. That's my favorite part now. I bake bread now and love to slice the end off while it's still warm and let the butter melt into it! Yum. No more fluffy,tasteless white stuff.

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  14. Love the memories!!! My favorite game in my early grade school years was one day girls would chase the boys the next day boys get to chase the girls. The object was when you got caught to obtain that kiss on the cheek! ;)

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    1. Oh Deb-- you little wild thang you! We didn't play such scandalous games at my school. Kind of makes me wish I'd gone to your school!

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  15. This brought back so many memories. I was much better at Two Square than Tetherball. I loved The Partridge Family, and even had jeans with a patch featuring their logo. Wonder Bread was also a family staple, and I wore a mini purse necklace that was just the right size for my milk money. This was fun Julie!

    Julie

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    1. Oh, I kind of envy your purse necklace. I would have loved that! It is fun to remember those childhood treasures. (And let's hear it for Partridge Family!)

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