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Beth Kane
ALAN K BROWN
Alicia Schwartz
Almeta Richards Keys
Andy Nieman
Bill Montano
Chris Vinyard
Derek Douglas
Duane Heiler
Elizabeth Kane
Laura Parent Hubbard
Lindsey Russell
Marian Drohan
Michael Kane
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Guess What I have for Lunch?

by Beth Kane

I'm the only person I know who took their lunch to school in a "barf" bag.

(Here's my 2nd grade class photo. I'm in the center -- 6th from left in Row 2.)



From 1st until 6th grades, I took my lunch in a white, plastic-lined paper bag with lettering on the front that read, "To Be Used In the Event of Motion Sickness." My dad worked for Northeast Airlines (NEA) and got the bags for free.

The other kids made fun of me and said they knew what I had for lunch They said this every day. My mother said they were just jealous because, with the plastic lining, my sandwich stayed fresher than theirs. No amount of arguing could convince her that this wasn't so. Then one day, out of the blue, she agreed to let me have a Cinderella lunch box. I have no idea what changed her mind. Life, I've learned, is full of mysteries. Maybe I just plain wore her down.

We had lots of free stuff from the airline, at least it seemed free to me. My dad smoked Winston cigarettes that came 4 to a pack. The tiny packs used to be given out to passengers. And on Halloween, kids who came to our house got 2 breath mints in a package with NEA emblazoned on the front or Chiclets gum (also a 2-pack). Later on, when Dad went to work for British Airways, our dog, Otto, got fancy, gourmet cheese as a treat . The vet made us stop feeding Otto the cheese  when the fur started falling off his nose. It seems Otto was allergic to dairy products.

Later, I'll tell you about Mum trying to make butter out of the little individual cups of cream Dad brought home from his job. Using the clothes washer to shake it up turned out not to be such a great idea. We also had sugar that came in one-teaspoon paper packets with the NEA logo.

The typewriter Dad brought home was great fun to play with until it looked like he might lose his job over the "five-fingered requisition." He returned it under cover of darkness. Our blankets were also from Northeast. No wonder Delta took over the airline.

I almost forgot about my dad being put in charge of Lost and Found in Miami. Our Christmas presents were frequently from "lost" suitcases. I suspect my father found the stuff before the airline lost it. Once Uncle Duane received a bunch of Polish dance records for Christmas. Boy, was he surprised.
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"One of the best things about going to Mum and Granpa's (besides the dartboard) was coloring on the blue lined British Airways paper and adding all the airline stickers to my sticker collection. No one in my class had Braniff stickers!"

by Elizabeth Kane 

"What about the cranberry sauce (or was it mint jelly) and peanut butter sandwiches?"

by Elizabeth Kane 

"All our silverware came from different airlines that Grandpa had taken a trip on. You might have a Delta fork and a TWA knife at dinner. Even the plates had some airline logo. I think they were British Airways."

by Beth Kane 

"Cranberry sauce PBJ is in my Kilroy was here story (so is the mint jelly PBJ--much more tasty than cranberry sauce and peanut butter)."

by Beth Kane 

"My teacher, Miss Olive, looks like a real charmer, but she was a terrible grouch. Even becoming Mrs. Wallace in the middle of the year did not improve her disposition. She once kept the whole class after school and threatened to call the police to have us take lie detector tests (remember this was 2nd grade) to determine who wrote with pencil on the white post by the pencil sharpener. Poor Stanley Lemon (the kid in the last row with the bow-tie) confessed and Mrs. Wallace let us leave. Stanley's mother was summoned, and the truth came out. Stanley didn't do it, but he couldn't stand the interrogation, so he "fessed up." Ahhh, 2nd grade. My 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Mullen loved me and always called me "Blue Eyes," even before I reached her class. Mrs. Wallace used to frown at that kind of familiarity. Screw Mrs. Wallace, God knows Mr. Wallace probably didn't."

by Beth Kane 

"Stanley Lemon does look a bit anxious in the class photo."

by Beth Kane 

"Man, this is way better than stealing pens from the company supply closet!"

by Tom Kane 

"Absolutely hilarious! How did the kids feel about getting two breath mints for Halloween?"

by ALAN K BROWN 

"Alan, you make remembering my stories a pleasure. Thanks for the comments. I wish I had a photo of Otto to post. He looked a little strange with a "furless" nose but didn't seem to mind."

by Beth Kane 

"Beth, your mother and my mother would have gotten along fine. Mum used to give us cream cheese on hot dog buns. When my sister got married, she put that in her new husband's lunch one morning. At noon the phone rang, and she heard, "What the #@%&^* is THIS???" She never did THAT again. Ya know, that was never that bad to me. In fact, I could go for one of those sandwiches right now! Your dad sounds like a character. Please tell the story of the comb with the string! I loved the story. Thanks for bringing up so many memories."

by Susan Neal 

""They said this EVERY day" -- HILARIOUS!!!"

by Michael Kane 

"I passed through the Dallas Airport two days ago with my daughter and left a barf bag with a note on it for my brother. We had a "falling out" four years ago. He's a captain with a major airline, and I am very proud of him despite the "falling out." I have no clue what happened...really I dont. I wrote "Dear Rich, Just passing through with Bethie from the Heifer Ranch in Arkansas. 'Do you remember when we took our lunches to school in bags like these that Dad brought home from Northeast Airlines?' Love, Your big sister, Betty Lou." Really my parents named me Elizabeth Louise which was a lot better than Mabel Lou (which was whay my dad wanted to name me)."

by Beth Kane