A few years back, a friend of mine inherited the bowl she and her family used to eat popcorn out of while watching TV when she was a kid. Recently, she accidentally dropped the bowl and it shattered. She was so distraught over the loss of this bowl that she started visiting yard sales and scouring ebay for an identical bowl. I didn't really understand why she was so attached to this bowl. Her childhood was less than storybook and I don't think I have ever heard her say a nice word about her mother.
The episode made me think about my own childhood and the metal bowl I would eat popcorn out of every Sunday evening while watching "The Wonderful World Of Disney." I then realized it wasn't the bowl, but rather what the bowl represented; a happy memory from her childhood where the family is all gathered together contentedly munching on some popcorn. I decided to ask some other friends if they remembered their childhood popcorn bowls and discovered that everyone had vivid memories of said bowls.
This blog will be about my sometimes half assed attempts to give my children the same wonderful memories we all have of our popcorn bowls. If all else fails, I do have a special bowl that is only used to serve popcorn.
Hello. I saw this blog, and thought it was great. It hasn't been too long since my childhood- I am only twenty five, but over time there have been some fond memories represented by popcorn. The relationships built with others is so invisible, until one day when you are older, and you began reflecting on your past. I grew up in Lynn, Mass, and as a child I spent a lot of weekends up the street with a group of people. From Sunday night football to "WWF" Royal Rumbles on Pay Per View, not to mention dozens of late night parties each summer around the pool. At this particular house the family always made popcorn, but instead of using a bowl you HAD to get your own plastic cup, and fill it. You might be thinking where is a bond between people that cannot share one bowl.
ReplyDeleteFive years later my father, brother, and I made time on Sunday together. It was a school night so that meant structure with a movie and staying low key before bed. Many times we rented a movie. One night in January of 1999 it was brutally cold and snowy. All afternoon my dad shoveled (on top of keeping my brother and me from arguing). It was agreed after dinner we could watch a movie before bed. My dad cooked a delicious Chicken Pot Pie, after he packed our lunches, checked our homework, and had us pick out our clothes. As the movie began he asked me to make a bowl of popcorn. I was someone who liked to be open minded- having read about celebrity trends in a magazine I recalled the cast of Party of Five told ways they prepare snacks. According to my source.. Chocolate syrup was "in". Two minutes into the first preview the kitchen was experiencing another example of the Molasses flood. Inside the microwave was exploding hot chocolate, burning popcorn. The difference my parents believe about my brother and me is when there is noise, and Cory is in a room alone I'd check on it!
He came in to find a mess and was so mad because I ruined an appliance, but more important the evening. The next day on the way to school was silent in the car. All day I had thought about my actions, and decided to try to use better judgement that everyone was sharing the popcorn, who was to say they would have wanted their popcorn the way I invisioned it. I decided for myself that from then on I was going to think of everyone's feelings like their own individual plastic cup. It has been over 13 years, which during the time there has been a couple times I got asked, "did I eat paint chips as a kid?" Tommy Boy movie (A favorite of ours) Luckily I can say, No. I thought of this story after my mom came back from grocery shopping and decided to show me I was not alone, and together we ate a one pound tin jar of rich chocolate over fresh popcorn.