Ok, so some things in the golden era were not too cool...

[tonyb]

Here's one vote for actually abiding by that "political discussions banned" rule we allegedly have around this joint.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Precisely. I've lived entire winters on macaroni and cheese -- home made, not the Kraft stuff, using good but inexpensive cheese and store-brand macaroni. A casserole dish full will last three or four days, which makes a real difference, but it doesn't do any service to your mid-section. There are people up here -- and yes, working people, often with multiple jobs, -- who have to choose between buying groceries and buying fuel oil in the winter, and dodges like macaroni are often the only option they have.

I think a lot of urban middle-class people have no idea what it's like to be poor and small-town. Those "cheap Asian markets" don't exist here -- your choice is to get gouged by Supermarket Chain A or Supermarket Chain B, or pay gourmet prices at the co-op. Or learn to like macaroni.

But what poor people have in Maine unlike urban areas is the ability to grow their own produce in the summer.

In grad school I was very poor. I subsided on popcorn and pasta, mostly and did not gain weight. Popcorn is very healthy when not slathered with butter, cheap, and high fiber. I added tomato sauce to my pasta instead of cheese. Bananas are also very inexpensive. I often eat a pot of bean soup for days that cost under $5 to make. There are many options.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Whenever you see a product advertised in a women's magazine for its "germicidal" properties, it's more than likely a product that was covertly sold as a contraceptive. Lysol and Zonite were the products most commonly marketed in this way -- and no, people weren't so stupid as to put full-strength Lysol in their delicate places, the recommended dilution was a few drops in a quart of water. Listerine was also occasionally used for such purposes, but was not effective.

Diaphragms were available from doctors, with a prescription, but such prescriptions were usually only given to married women unless you had an "understanding" with a sympathetic doc.

There were plenty of folk contraceptives too, including Coca-Cola and half-a-lemon, which were used exactly the way you're thinking. There was actually some reason to think these might work given the acidity, but they weren't exactly foolproof.

In 1939, after my mother was born, my grandmother was told that because of damage suffered during that birth, she'd be in danger if she had another child. That night she told my grandfather he'd be sleeping in the kitchen, and that's where he slept for the next forty years.

I will NEVER look at those ads in the same way! Cool info!!

 

[AdrianLvsRocky]

I will NEVER look at those ads in the same way! Cool info!!

I'll never look at Coca-Cola or lemons in the same way! Ouch!

 

[jamespowers]

By the way...I was always taught that capitalism, socialism and communism were forms of economy, and democracy, republic, totalitarianism, theocracy were forms of government. I think over the years all of that has become ill defined and intermixed.

Some go together and others do not. Point out a Totalitarian capitalist state.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I totally agree that we eat far too large a portion. However, the reason the official obesity rate went up 15 years ago, is because the government lowered the threshold of what was considered obese. So suddenly millions of people who were considered of normal weight, were suddenly obese by government standards.

Yes Americans are heavier on average than they have been in the past, but they are also considerably taller than they were 50 years ago, so it just makes sense that they would be heavier.

Doug

Yet when our country adopted BMI as a metric for healthy weight and abandoned the desirable height and weight charts used for decades as a measure of health, millions of Americans who were considered overweight suddenly were NOT.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I hated gym with a purple passion, but it served its purpose. More important than gym, though, I walked to school every day. Every kid who lived within a mile of the school was required to walk -- the buses were for the kids in the sticks.

Me too. I smoked in gym class when we had it outside. (My pre-"square" days).

 

[jamespowers]

Me too. I smoked in gym class when we had it outside. (My pre-"square" days).

But have you ever been expelled from gym?

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Many low income families use low cost carbs (rice, pasta, beans, etc..) to stretch their food budget. That type of diet will put weight on a person.

That's not true. These are wholesome, low fat, high fiber foods. What puts weight on people is when they consume more than they expend in energy, and eat too much fat.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Well I can only tell you what I saw on Oprah (in relation to this issue for some families in the US) which was all about food and where it comes from - there was a man who had $5 to spend on food for the day for his family - he went into the grocery store and if he bought brocolli that would have blown his budget - it was cheaper for him to feed himself, his wife and daughter in a burger joint - so sadly this is the situation that some people are dealing with. The man had diabetes and couldn't afford medicine for it and was more than aware that the food he was eating was contributing to him being ill but he was trapped in a vicious cycle with low wages and poor diet.

Oprah et al is likely sponsored by companies invested in keeping people fat (Big Pharma).

He could have bought a bag of frozen chopped broccoli and a bag of lentils for under $5 and made three days worth of soup.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

But have you ever been expelled from gym?

OH I paid for my deed. Two words: Obstacle course. In front of everyone. Timed. ugh.

 

[jamespowers]

OH I paid for my deed. Two words: Obstacle course. In front of everyone. Timed. ugh.

I was actually kicked out for a quarter. Obstacle course would have been easier.

 

[LizzieMaine]

But what poor people have in Maine unlike urban areas is the ability to grow their own produce in the summer.

I actually tried to do that. Unfortunately, my yard consists entirely of a thin layer of topsoil on top of a thick layer of coal ash, soot, and clinkers. I managed to get a couple of beans and a mingey-looking tomato, which weren't much worth the effort.

In grad school I was very poor. I subsided on popcorn and pasta, mostly and did not gain weight. Popcorn is very healthy when not slathered with butter, cheap, and high fiber. I added tomato sauce to my pasta instead of cheese. Bananas are also very inexpensive. I often eat a pot of bean soup for days that cost under $5 to make. There are many options.

I've had more popcorn suppers than I can number, alas. Working in my line, it's inevitable, and I can no longer stomach the stuff. Beans, though, are good if your digestion is up to it -- when I was living on $1300 a month, I'd get Campbell's pork and beans for thirty cents a can, and pour them over toast. I could do this for maybe a week before I'd start getting violent cramps and have to lay off.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I actually tried to do that. Unfortunately, my yard consists entirely of a thin layer of topsoil on top of a thick layer of coal ash, soot, and clinkers. I managed to get a couple of beans and a mingey-looking tomato, which weren't much worth the effort.



I've had more popcorn suppers than I can number, alas. Working in my line, it's inevitable, and I can no longer stomach the stuff. Beans, though, are good if your digestion is up to it -- when I was living on $1300 a month, I'd get Campbell's pork and beans for thirty cents a can, and pour them over toast. I could do this for maybe a week before I'd start getting violent cramps and have to lay off.

Gardening isn't easy, that's for sure. I forgot to mention hunting as a food source in Maine, too, but it's certainly not for everyone! Poor Bambi.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

When I was in high school, gym class was always a time to break out the chewing tobacco or the Marlboros.

Me too. I smoked in gym class when we had it outside. (My pre-"square" days).

It's mostly been that way throughout history there. It used to be north was mostly German and south was mostly Polish, then African-Americans started inhabiting the north side as well, and Hispanics on the south. It's made for an interesting mix of ethnicities, that's for sure.

Tom, its interesting that you say this...I've noticed that Milwaukee is a very ethnically segregated city. Not necessarily talking about the schools...just the various neighborhoods. A person can be in a very Hispanic neighborhood and just across the street is a very Polish neighborhood, and three blocks further on, the neighborhood turns entirely African American or Anglo or Serbian. And the demarcations seem to be very stark…in other words…cultures can change totally when one crosses only a small one-way street.

AF

 

[LizzieMaine]

I have lots of skunks and raccoons and junkyard rats, but they make for pretty stringy eating.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I have lots of skunks and raccoons and junkyard rats, but they make for pretty stringy eating.

If you ever got really hungry, well...:eeek:

 

[jamespowers]

I have lots of skunks and raccoons and junkyard rats, but they make for pretty stringy eating.

Someone around here said skunk was fairly good. I am sure there are also some that like racoon---if you know them, send them over. I have plenty that run through my yard.
Rats are something completely different. Interestingly, I found that the term or last name Rath actually means rat. Basil Ratbone.

 

[jamespowers]

If you ever got really hungry, well...:eeek:

If people ever got really hungry then anything with four legs except tables and chairs would be fair game. My aunt always used to tell the story about one of their neighbors, during the Depression, were so bad off that the family dog...... The guy knew my grandfather had a fair garden and got some potatoes to go with.
We only THINK we know how bad it can get.:eeek::eusa_doh:

 

[1961MJS]

Hi James

I'm thinking that the CHALLENGE in skunk preparation is in the cleaning. Of course, if you catch it yourself, make mistakes cleaning it yourself, you'll probably be perfectly free to eat it yourself.

Later