As I was sitting at the American Legion post earlier this evening waiting for my order of fish, I saw some adults come in with kids in tow. I watched as they placed their orders, and in all cases, went to the bar and got their kids a pop while they waited for their fish. It reminded me of Friday nights when I was a kid.
Growing up, Friday night was the only time of the week that Grandma nor Mom cooked; mainly, because that was grocery shopping night, and as soon as we would finish supper, we'd throw away our paper plates and head to the grocery store. It gave Grandma a break from cooking, since she did all of the cooking during the week because Mom worked. Mom and Dad would get home from work at 3:30, and while one rested, the other would get me and off we would go to Eddie's Seafood House. It seemed like we were driving to the other side of the city, but in reality it was about 12 minutes from home. They would order the same thing every week: two fish boxes and an extra order of french fries. The fries were for us to eat on the way home. To this day, I don't think I've had french fries that taste as good as those. They were the krinkle-cut shoestring fries and oh how they rocked. The french fries were our secret, and Mom or Dad would always toss the empty bag into the garbage can in the garage before we took the fish into the house.
Our Friday night fish supper was also special because it was the only evening meal during the week when I could drink a pop instead of tea or milk. In fact, we would all five drink pop - Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa and me. Usually there was a variety to choose from. Mom and Grandma would always have a variety of Big K or Check drinks - cola, orange, root beer, grape and lemon-lime were our favorites. And of course, we'd drink them out of our awesome Tupperware glasses.
1 comment:
It's amazing how our parents were more disciplined and prudent back then. We rarely had potato chips unless it was at a cookout or vacation. Our tennis shoes were Kmart brand and not the coveted Reebok or Nike brands. Saturday evening was the only day that we ate out and it was usually at the old Kings Table restaurant which was one of few buffet-style restaurants back then. Clothing was practical and Mom often made her own clothing on the Singer sewing machine and still has a dynamic flair for fashion. I look at my spending habits now and find that I demand Reeboks, eat out or bring food in several times a week, and rarely carry lunch to work. My parents have the upper hand though with their frugal years of thrift in that they have saved sumptuously for retirement and receive a pension from Ford Motor Company. Although I contribute regularly to an IRA, I can't say that I will fare as well in retirement because pensions are rare today. And the demise of Social Security is downright scary. Many members of our generation will be greeting customers at Meijer or Walmart when we are 80.
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