Post #41 – Women’s Memoirs, Writing Prompt – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
By Promptly Portland
Think Popcorn
I love popcorn, don’t you? The sound evokes a response even before the smell fills the kitchen, eventually making its way into every corner of the house. I can’t resist once my nose picks up on that delicious aroma.
My older brothers like to reminisce about their childhood Sunday dinners that always consisted of popcorn, cheddar cheese slices, and apples. This treat meal was served in front of the television so they could watch the Disney television program of the week on the still-in-use black-and-white TV. These dinners were eaten in the garage-converted-to-family-room. Clearly a few popcorn kernels tossed back and forth didn’t create any problems. By the time I came along, my parents no longer allowed dinner in front of the TV and popcorn wasn’t part of the weekly rotation. We’d moved to a larger house by then but the new garage was also placed into use as a play area for all of us. Some things don’t change. We still watched that same black-and-white TV.
Trust me. I’ve tried to make up for all those missing popcorn dinners over the years.
Recently, I read in Spirit magazine (Southwest Airlines) statistics about popcorn. Did you know that Americans eat 16 billion (yes, that’s with a “b” not an “m”) quarts of popcorn each year? If every man, woman, and child ate an equal share, that would be 13 gallons each. Personally, I think I’m doing more than my share. The amount of money spent on popcorn has dramatically increased. For example, in 1979 Americans spent $520 million on popcorn and more than $1.1 billion in 1993.
What happened?
Convenience. Microwave ovens and microwave popcorn were widely adopted. Once you had a microwave oven, you wanted ways to use it and specially prepared packets of popcorn, already measured and encased in sealed paper sacks were one obvious choice. They were, in a word, convenient.
Recently, I’ve taken a giant step backwards. I got an old-fashioned hot-air popper at Goodwill. I buy popcorn in bulk and measure it myself. This way I can control the type of oil and the amount of salt. But I still think of popcorn as a convenience food.
500 Words (or more): Memoir Writing Prompt
1. Think about conveniences in your life. What makes your day simpler?
2. Write 500 words or more about your favorite convenience. Why does it matter to you? Is it something that gives you more time for writing? Does it let you spent more time with people you love? Does it help reduce an onerous task to a manageable one? Does it make life more fun?
Until next time,
Promptly Portland
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