Snow started a little bit ago, but it will be under an inch, more of a snow shower. The cold persists. Today will be in the 20’s and tonight down to the teens. I’ll hunker down with my book and some M&M’s. The dogs are already asleep on the couch. They had a traumatic morning. They had to go out into the cold.

When I was a kid, on a cold Saturday like today, I’d be home. I’d be planted in front of the TV with my cereal bowl in hand. Snap, Crackle and Pop would be the soundtrack. Back then, children’s programs ruled Saturday morning TV. I had some favorites. Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, Sky King, Robin Hood, Captain Midnight, The Cisco Kid, Kukla, Fran and Ollie and Howdy Doody come to mind. My favorite Howdy Doody characters were Flubadub and Dilly Dally. Captain Midnight was the first science fiction show I remember watching. Sky King with his plane was unique. Sergeant Preston shared the show with Rex, his horse, and his dog Yukon King. One summer we stayed on an island in Maine. The house had a radio. I remember sitting in the kitchen and listening to Sergeant Preston. I remember the sound of the wind and the clomp of Rex’s hooves.

My father loved Spam. He especially loved it fried. My sister too was a Spam fan, still is. Once in a while I’d eat it fried in a sandwich as a last resort for lunch. The biggest problem in opening the can was the key. It was attached to the bottom of the can. You pulled it off. The key had a slot. The can had a lip and under that was a strip of metal, a piece of which was inserted into the key slot then you turned the key. This is where it all went wrong for me. The key started fine then went awry. The strip would twist, bend and stop turning. I had to use a knife to finish the opening. I had to be careful. The top had a sharp edge. I admit I did cut myself a couple of times, not unexpectedly. I always keep band-aids on hand in a variety of sizes.

This entry was posted on February 7, 2026 at 1:20 pm and is filed under Musings. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.