11-231 (18/8/24) -- Social Status Food

I went out for a quick errand to get three things from two stores. The walk downtown was pleasant in the warm sunny day. I went for a longer walk around the neighbourhood just before sunset. The evening was lovely. The moon is nearly full and with a clear sky it looked bright and wonderful. This will be a supermoon so we will be able to see it well due to being closer to earth for this pass -- provided the skies are clear two days from now. 

In the evening, I had a conversation about social status of foods. This conversation has occurred for me many times with individuals and in classrooms. When thinking of foods, we spoke about those equated with loser socio-economic status. These included hot dogs, bologna, sausages, ramen noodles, and boxed mac and cheese among many others. I often note during such conversations that my prairie relatives took lard sandwiches to school during the Great Depression, while Maritimers took lobster sandwiches. To this day, in rural fishing areas, lobster is still seen as poor man's food. I also recall older family members telling about box cars filled with dried cod that had been sent to the prairies by Maritimers to help with the lack of protein-based foods. Few recipients knew what to do with the hard, dry fillets. Many used them to shingle their homestead shacks. 

The conversation brought to mind a song I heard as a preschool child -- actually one of my first 45 rpm disks that was given away by a local store. I played it many times and likely drove my parents a bit crazy <grin>. Keep safe. Enjoy! 

Who Stole the Keeshka -- Frankie Yankovic