re: Food and activities us OT Poors had growing up

I grew up in an affluent suburb but my dad was a teacher so we were “on the wrong side of the tracks,” in apartments.

Our complex had tennis courts and a large wooded area and creek, with dirt bike trails nearby. We also had 3 of those old school huge, deep pools from the 70s which was a major bonus. We’d jump off the clubhouse roof into one.

Had more at my disposal than many of the Richie Rich friends at the time who lived in McMansion hoods… they’d want to come to our place more often.

We were poor growing up but didn't know it as well.

I remember my dad getting the family a microwave for Christmas in the late 80s. They were about $400 then.

Cheese toast - definitely a thing. Fried salmon patties were fine dining.

I remember us getting an in-house phone and how big of a deal it was. The school had to call a neighbor to get in touch with my mom if I was sick. Now my dad has an iPhone. Its really funny to me.

I had a Shetland pony that my dad had to sell to make a payment (either house or car, I don't remember). The pony died three days after he sold it and he had to go to the church to borrow $300 to return the money.

Thrift stores in the rich parts of Birmingham were awesome. My mom could patch and repair stuff.

He told me a story later in life where he almost got fired from his plant job for participating in a prank. They suspended him three days and we would have lost everything if he had lost that job.

As he put it "he shaped up" after that scare, and there was a big layoff scare after NAFTA was enacted that he survived. Shortly after, he was promoted to supervisor and it seemed we had a lot more breathing room.

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lettuce on the bottom
then a canned pear
then mayo & shredded cheese and topped with a maraschino cherry

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Every Sunday after church us kids hated being forced to my grandparents' house for Sunday Dinner (it was actually lunch.)

I never saw a table that didn't have a tray of deviled eggs, a tray with pear salad, along with a "relish tray" full of an array of her homemade pickles, peppers & pickled okra.

What I wouldn't give to be forced to attend those Sundays again.

Forgot about cheese toast .. mom put it in the broiler… I actually like the little burned section if just a few…

I remember later ( I guess my dad had more stripes on his shoulder then)… my mom would ask if we wanted a slice of bacon on top of the cheese and the put it in broiler.

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Yikes. I considered our family "poor" but I at least had the block cheese that melts up nicely on a slice of white bread.

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I didnt know there was anything but sliced American Cheese until I got in High School

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sliced American Cheese

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I guess this is why we didn’t have cheese toast bc my mom can’t stand this stuff

Fried bologna….. better than fried spam!!!
I liked it to curl up cause it kept the melted cheese in the center… had to slice an edge if you wanted to keep it flat… I lived of that in college.. with tomato… lettuces and toast …

It’s really interesting reading your post. I had a different experience growing up. Don’t get me wrong, we weren’t the Vanderbilts, but I didn’t really have the experience you did. And like you, I honestly just assumed as a kid that my experience was how everyone grew up.

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1. "Red Weenies and Rice" - tomato sauce, cut up hot dogs, rice

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we did this; but we'd add the cut up hot dogs to cans of pork & beans my mom was heating up on the stove.

*manna from heaven*