What's in your Lunch box?

Remember going to school carrying your Scooby Doo lunch box or whatever favorite character was on it at the time. This was always a mystery to be solved when lunchtime arrived unless you requested something the night before, but you were not sure if your request would be granted. I will always remember asking for Hostess Ding Dongs or even potato chips and sometimes even pop when I got into fourth and fifth grades and above.

Who remembers trading lunch items when you were not too keen on what your mom and dad packed for you? I kind of remember trading for cookies or some other item of some kind. Also, I remember looking forward to lunch when my mom would say she packed something good like a Snack Pack pudding can or some kind of candy.

Believe it or not the best thing that I remember best of all were the little notes that my mom and dad sometimes would write and stick in the lunch box. Uh oh, I almost forgot about the thermos that went along with the lunch box and what was your favorite drink back then. My favorite was Kool Aid of sometimes in the winter there would be, believe it or not Hot Tea or some kind of soup. I remember Campbell's chicken noodle or vegetable. Don't remember trading on those days.

When the schools back then decided to have hot meals, I only took a lunch when I did not like what they were serving like the famous 'Mystery meat' or at my school when hearing about green hot dogs. Of course, my favorite hot lunches that schools offered back when were pizza, spaghetti and I liked the fish sandwiches along with the tiny souffle cups of vanilla or chocolate pudding or even Jello.

Who also remembers those little paper cups of juice we would get sometimes? When I got to middle school or at the time I was in school still known as junior high was the installation of a Salad Bar for this was the mid to late seventies and remember the health crazes that were happening. In the 7th grade we had to 'order' a salad in the morning when we got off the bus to buy our lunch tickets before going to our lockers and homeroom. Actually, these salads were really good and big and then making it to high school we could have salads every day except on Fridays that as you guessed it was Pizza Day. In high school we were allowed to make our own salads too which was great for we actually had time to eat them instead of scarfing down food in a hurry because of waiting in the lunch line that seemed to move so slowly.

From our favorite lunch boxes in elementary school to brown bags and now today bento boxes I guess one will never forget these kind of treasures and memories, as mentioned like the little notes that mom left for you tucked behind the sandwich or bags of cookies or even the piece of fruit like an apple that for some reason you did not eat or the half of sandwich you really did care to eat like mine was bologna for when I had lunch the sandwich was warm and who really liked eating a warm bologna sandwich unless it was fried. School lunches sure have changed over the years, but who can never forget those lunches whatever may have been served at your school cafeteria, and in whatever decade that you had attended back when you were still learning to grow into your own person.