50 cents worth of ham
Recently I found a $1 food stamp in my house and it brought back a whole sleu of memories from my childhood. I remember walking to school every morning and buying penny candy... the small swedish fish was my favorite. It was either that or sour patch kids.
I remember buying the quarter juices and then they came out with the 50 cent ones that were in small gallon shaped bottles. This never really caught on in my opinion...too big to carry around. Too novelty-looking... or something like that.
But the food stamps were embarrasing! They were real generic looking and they made me feel like I was NEVER gonna have real money.
The design just screamed government assistance.
But then when my mom ran out she would ask me to go to the store anyway and ask for a store credit. I would humble myself and hand over a note to the cashier that said God knows what, and wait. He gave me this pitiful glance and brought back 50 cents worth of ham, 50 cents worth of cheese, a small bag of peanuts, a Coke and a box of Newports - because my mom had her priorities straight, you know? (sorry mom)
Now, you'd think $1 worth of ham and cheese can't possibly feed a family of 5 but trust me it did. The secret was to slice the ham and cheese really thin - so you never really tasted anything but you chased it with some kool-aid and you didn't feel hungry anymore. And that is what's important.
But back to this store credit thing because eventually 50 cents worth of ham can really add up. One day I walked in with a note and the store owner said, "Hell no!"
He pointed to a homemade sign on the wall with a bunch of names on it. My mothers name was third on the list - in bold. My mom was so mad she never paid him the money. Her name stayed up there a long time. I believe Lowell Weicker was the governor back then...lowsy governor but that's another story.
I was really unappreciative in those days because I remember bitching about people knowing I was on welfare because I got free lunch. These days I'd do anything for a free lunch......anything.
I wonder what that food stamp is worth...
I remember buying the quarter juices and then they came out with the 50 cent ones that were in small gallon shaped bottles. This never really caught on in my opinion...too big to carry around. Too novelty-looking... or something like that.
But the food stamps were embarrasing! They were real generic looking and they made me feel like I was NEVER gonna have real money.
The design just screamed government assistance.
But then when my mom ran out she would ask me to go to the store anyway and ask for a store credit. I would humble myself and hand over a note to the cashier that said God knows what, and wait. He gave me this pitiful glance and brought back 50 cents worth of ham, 50 cents worth of cheese, a small bag of peanuts, a Coke and a box of Newports - because my mom had her priorities straight, you know? (sorry mom)
Now, you'd think $1 worth of ham and cheese can't possibly feed a family of 5 but trust me it did. The secret was to slice the ham and cheese really thin - so you never really tasted anything but you chased it with some kool-aid and you didn't feel hungry anymore. And that is what's important.
But back to this store credit thing because eventually 50 cents worth of ham can really add up. One day I walked in with a note and the store owner said, "Hell no!"
He pointed to a homemade sign on the wall with a bunch of names on it. My mothers name was third on the list - in bold. My mom was so mad she never paid him the money. Her name stayed up there a long time. I believe Lowell Weicker was the governor back then...lowsy governor but that's another story.
I was really unappreciative in those days because I remember bitching about people knowing I was on welfare because I got free lunch. These days I'd do anything for a free lunch......anything.
I wonder what that food stamp is worth...
posted by Mary at 5:21 PM
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