Country Crest Dinner Music

Both my dad and Marv’s mom spent their final years at Country Crest SNF. There has got to be a way for decent food to be offered these people at the end of the road. There is precious little left for them to enjoy in life, and a good meal should be at the top of the list. I wrote this little song while Dad was there and I think he appreciated it.

Mystery Meals

(sung to the tune of Battle Hymn of the Republic)

They’re serving up the dinner and I sit down eagerly

I ask them what I’m eatin’ and they shrug quite helplessly

They tell me that it’s healthy and to eat it thankfully

The Mystery Meals are here

chorus

Come, and sit down at the table

Bring your Maalox if you’re able

Good nutrition’s just a fable

The Mystery Meals are here

I lift the cover on my dinner just to take a peek

I poke it gently with my fork and then hear someone shriek:

“What is this crap they’ve served us now, that we’re supposed to eat!?”

The Mystery Meals are here  (sing chorus)

I eat my dinner cautiously and try to keep it down

And hope for something yummy when they bring dessert around

Dessert is an enigma, too, a sort of greenish-brown

The Mystery Meals are here  (sing chorus)

Never Again

I read an article about some of the things school kids today will never experience. Stuff we “old folks” dealt with.

Encyclopedia sets

With the Internet, you can find anything. And while I find that fun, I can remember taking a volume from the set I grew up with and just looking through the entire book. Not looking for anything in particular, just browsing.

TV Carts/Projectors

There were no TVs for me in elementary school, but coming into the classroom and seeing that projector set up let me know that something fun was going to happen. I think I was the ONLY kid who really enjoyed those factory movies about how crayons are made, or how jam is put in the jars and sealed.

Walking to school alone

In second grade, we lived close enough for me to walk to school. On rainy days I took an umbrella. Both my kids walked to school in elementary and high school. For middle school, they rode a bus. If a child is seen walking alone now, CPS is called. And sadly, for good reason.

Pencils, “grinder” style sharpeners, troll toppers

I LOVED my pencil topper people!! I didn’t have trolls, but I did have fun toppers.

Cursive writing

Mrs. Berg in 5^th grade was a real stickler for good cursive writing. My daughter-in-law has the most amazing cursive style. A letter from her is a work of art.

Ditto machine/stencil copies

Was there ever a better aroma than this??

One of the biggest things that I DO NOT miss is the dress code. On days when we did physical fitness in elementary school, girls were permitted to wear shorts under their dresses/skirts. Once I got into junior/senior high school, of course we had uniforms. But those winter days in the lower grades when girls were only allowed dresses or skirts were awful. Once the dress code changed when I was in high school, the only thing I wore from that point on was jeans and some kind of shirt.