Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Face on a lunch box

Davy Jones, 1945-2012
I was saddened to hear that Davy Jones, lead singer of the teen idol band The Monkees had passed away this morning at the age of 66.  Thinking about The Monkees brings back a personal recollection for me.  I had their faces for company every day at lunch time when I was in grade 2 back in 1968-69.  Our grade 2 class was so big from the last batch of baby boomers that some of us had to be bussed to the next town where they had a smaller enrollment.  I wasn't all that familiar with The Monkees as our tiny town only had one channel - CBC, which didn't carry their TV show.  So when it came time to pick a lunch box, I think it was The Beatles one I really wanted -- but it sold out!

I remembered my lunch kit as a sky blue colour but the only ones I could find a picture of were white.  I was fairly sure it wasn't white so I kept looking and BINGO! I found it.  Apparently only the ones manufactured in Canada were blue.  You will never guess how much it would be worth today (had I kept it in mint condition-- yeah right!)  One just sold recently for $374.00!



Here are some other examples.  
Did anyone have one of these?
Come to think of it, I don't remember my thermos looking like that blue and white one. I think mine was like the red capped one on the far right?  So far my memory has served me well.  Too bad I can't find an exact match, but nevermind.

This started out to be a post about Davy Jones and The Monkees, but since I really don't know much more than that this was one of my older sister's records, it is now about my lunch box and about me in Grade Two.  I remember the principal used to oversee our lunchroom, which was upstairs in one of the older kids' classrooms.  All the other kids went home for lunch as we were the only bus students.  No one ate lunch at school in those days.  There were very few working mothers.  I had a working mother.  She didn't work because we needed the money.  She was a career woman type who married late and wanted her own spending money.   If the moms were working, there were older siblings, or fathers, aunts, grandparents or neighbours that could be counted on to look after the children during the lunch hour.  Nowadays hardly anyone ever goes home for lunch. Nobody is home.  Our school had to start offering lunch time supervision because otherwise we kept losing students to the Catholic school which did have it.

Back to my lunch room.  This principal  was a short, older woman with her hair in a severe bun at the back of her head.  She was very no nonsense, strict and taciturn.  We had to be very quiet while eating or it was bad for our digestion.  There were rules about the order of eating things.  She monitored everything.  I remember I got heck once for not peeling an orange properly.  We all had to stop and watch one certain student peel her orange as she was doing it in the prescribed manner!

But not everything was bad at that school.  I liked my teacher, I always enjoyed school anyway, and recess was especially fun because I got to hang out with some new kids for a change.  I also met my future husband at that school!  We were in a split grade, and he was one of the grade three boys in our class.  I barely remember him as he was very quiet.  He says he remembers me singing at recess to "Que Sera, Sera".  I had forgotten I used to sing that!  I remember I loved singing on the bus ride home. Usually I would be singing Julie Andrews songs, like "My Favourite Things" and "Do Re Mi" but also "Just a Spoonful of Sugar" and Supercalifragilistikexpialidocious"!

Now that I'm a grown up career lady (that's a matter of opinion), I've been thinking I should treat my lunch with a bit more respect.  I've been bringing it in a shopping bag for years and I'm getting pretty tired of that.  Perhaps I need something more like this to make my lunch time more interesting...



Davy Jones, I tip my thermos to you for your inspiration!

How about it?  Does anybody else want to design an RA lunch box?  Send me your designs and I will display them here!  Who knows, maybe someday we will see some in the stores?

12 comments:

Faboamanto said...

What a great tribute to Davy Jones that he's brought back such vivid memories for many of us. You picked the best lunch box. I have such joyful memories of my crush on Davy back then.

That was some school principal you had - quite a tyrant! Ah, the freedom to peel an orange your own way :) So sweet also that you met your husband back then, it was fate. Thanks for sharing such great memories.

An Armitage lunch box! What a great idea! Can I have a Lucas one?

jazzbaby1 said...

This is sweet, phylly!

Phylly3 said...

Thanks for your super comments! You are so right that principal was a tyrant. I have a worse story about her, but it was too much of a tangent! :) Even though I met my husband then, I didn't really have any contact with him again until High School.
Re: Lucas Lunch box - Won't you design one for me? I am looking for submissions!

Phylly3 said...

I am glad you think so! Thanks for commenting! :)

LadyCassia said...

Lovely, lovely Davy Jones, we miss him a lot!

Phylly, if you are to choose a pic that scares and mesmerize at the same time, of course GoG is the best choice. In case you want to hold off people, better JP in full war-garments. LOL!

For sure you must be prepared to explanations. People would ask you who the good-looking stranger on your box is and where does he come from, and so on.

Are you ready to "evangelize" masses and proselytize during your lunch time or do you prefer to take your time quietly enjoying your food?

Faboamanto said...

I'll give it a try :) If anything turns out I'll let you know.

Phylly3 said...

Oh that would be super! Thanks for your efforts. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Phylly3 said...

I am thinking that by the time his face hits a lunch box he will already be a household name! :)

NovemberBride said...

Awww, nice Phylly!! I was in high school when the Monkees hit the scene. You could find me glued to the tv every Monday night when their program aired. My dad hated them tho! LOL!! He thought they were goofy. And they were. That's why we liked them. The next day, we'd all gather in the high school commons to dissect what Davy said or Mike did...my fav was Mike. He was tall and dark..well, kinda like someone else we know about!

And to answer Guy's question, "What's for lunch?"...why, it's BEEF, naturally. No silly, the kind that goes moooo!

Phylly3 said...

Funny, I liked Mike Nesmith best too! And the same thought occurred to me too! Only I didn't like that silly hat he always had on!
Do you have a picture for my lunch box? :)

NovemberBride said...

Yep that hat has always reminded me of Where's Waldo..Of course Waldo came after the Monkees, but when I saw Waldo, I thought Mike! Hmmm a pic? Must think a bit.

Anonymous said...

I have a Canadian one that I had as a child, has red lid in very good condition.