Throughout elementary school I brought my lunch in my lunchbox. I had a Dukes of Hazzard lunchbox, a Mickey Mouse one, and a off-brand plastic one with a green dragon on it called “The Beast.” My lunch almost always consisted of 4 items: Sandwich…usually PB & J or ham; potato chips; Little Debbies (has a snack for you); and a thermos full of Kool Aid….or….and I can’t much stomach the tough nowdays…tea. I don’t drink tea now. I find it repulsive.
I still have my Dukes lunchbox, and possibly the others elsewhere. It’s cool stuff. In 1st grade there was another kid in my class who had a Dukes lunchbox too. Too many times he would mistakenly take home my lunch box (even though it clearly had my name on it). So the next afternoon I’d have 2 lunchboxes to take home with me.
The few times in elementary school where I would buy my lunch was when they had pizza. I liked pizza then about as much as I do now. It was always a treat to get some pizza. And surprisingly they always served it with milk so they could call it a balanced meal. Milk just doesn’t go very good with pizza. And believe me, I’ve tried the chocolate milk and it just isn’t as good as the Purity brand milk you can get at Kroger.
In 3rd grade in the lunchroom we were forced to sit boy girl boy girl. Somewhere in between Cara Birchett and Becky Brimm was where I landed in the seating arrangement. And when you put 3rd graders in boy-girl seating arrangement, it always make for interesting lunchroom conversations. Usually the boys would do something gross with their food and the girls would grimace and cry foul.
In 4th grade there wasn’t much of a seating arrangement. However one of the teachers would get aggravated and get one a microphone and say “Five minutes of no talking!” No one ever really listened to her. It was a dull roar at times. I guess they couldn’t get enough volunteer parents to watch the kids while the teachers went to the teachers lounge. Nope. The teachers were forced to sit in the lunchroom with their students. And, at times. At the same table with their students. Looking back I couldn’t imagine the general dislike that could have been for the teacher. That one break in the day where they could potentially relax and they were forced to sit and eat lunch with the kids they had to be around all day with.
I also remember in 4th grade some kid got in huge trouble for throwing a milk carton at the trashbin at a far distance. I’m not sure why it was so bad to do this. Maybe it was a potential food fight. Or maybe the teacher specifically told him not to do it, but he did it anyways. I don’t know.
Somewhere in between 3rd and 4th grade the PTA got together and painted the school lunchroom with your favorite cartoon/Sesame Street character. I can remember Bert and Ernie somewhere around there. Being 4th graders we thought it was mildly stupid, especially at the time Sesame Street was considered babyish.
In junior high somehow I decided that bringing my lunch was juvenile. And since I was in the big world of junior high, I would buy my lunch for $1.10 each day. Mistake. I barely ate it and it wasn’t worth it. Somehow it was worth it just to fit in. I don’t remember if anyone brought their lunch. Too difficult to keep up with. Too easy to have stolen.
Then in high school I began bringing my lunch again. Brownbag. Sandwich…and some cheese Pringles. Ate those almost everyday my sophomore year. Plus frozen Hi-C which would be unfrozen, but cold by lunch time. W00t!
I remember my junior year where they had a food fight or something nearer toward the last day of school. I got in there just after the mayhem had stopped. I don’t think there was much of a fight. I was sorta glad I didn’t get caught up in that.
That’s my lunchroom stories.