Did you ever dance around a Maypole as a child? As a little girl attending public school in Brooklyn, I did just that. Each May, various colored crepe paper ribbons were tied at the top of the flagpole in the schoolgrounds. We would grab a streamer and weave in and out around the flagpole until we were dizzy and out of breath and couldn’t go any lower. I still smile at the memory.
Education was very thorough in the boroughs then, even including Music Appreciation. I still remember the ditties we used to sing to remind us of a tune and it’s composer – one being “Humoresque, a composition, written by a great musician, Antonin Dvorjak was his name.”
You couldn’t leave grade school then without learning a smattering of every subject. It was a total education and I appreciate it more when I realize what children aren’t learning today.
They also had school lunches you could buy. The only time I bought lunch it included Pea Soup. The dreaded pea soup. I hated pea soup.
My mother could not get me to eat pea soup. I couldn’t (wouldn’t) eat it. The teacher in charge insisted and I insisted back.
I sat in the cafeteria, which doubled as the Gym, until all the tables were folded and put away around me, and all the kids went back to class. Then they called my mother.
My mom said “She doesn’t eat pea soup. I paid for it and you can throw it out and send her back to class”. My mother, my champion!
Funny enough, when I became an adult I acquired a liking for the stuff. Here’s my recipe. I really like it.
Pat’s Pea Soup: Pour 8 cups water in large pot, add 1 lb. dried split peas, 1 ham bone, any ham juice and ham pieces, 2 large carrots and 2 large celery stalks, both thinly sliced, 1-1/2 large onions chopped, l bay leaf, ½ tsp. thyme, 1 tsp. garlic powder, ¼ tsp. marjoram, salt to taste, 2 shakes tabasco and 2 beef bouillon cubes.
Cook until carrots are very soft. Can be from 2 to 3 hours. When done, add 2-3 drops liquid smoke. Adjust seasonings, remove bay leaf. Serve.
