I grew up in this house and lived here from 1973-2003.
Thirty years. I never thought of it until now.
During the ’70s we had no internet—we played with toys! One of my favorite toys was Bionic Woman, Jamie Somers.
who lived in this “modern” dome house
I can still remember blowing the dome house and assembling the furniture vividly
My brother had the Six Million Dollar Man, whose eye you could peer through. Meet Steve Austin, astronaut.
I played with the little Charlie’s Angels dolls in colorful jumpsuits
Back in the day you couldn’t buy imported goods in the supermarket, unlike now where M&Ms and Hershey bars can be bought even at the 7-11.
If you wanted imported goods, you went to shops like Cashelmara in Quezon City, Cartimar in Pasay, or Dau in Pampanga. I wasn’t born yet, but this was Cartimar in 1966. (Source)
Back in the day, Cartimar wasn’t a pet depot. It used to sell PX goods, where my sister and I bought scented Hallmark postalettes to trade and collect, while one of my gay friends said he bought comic books and Playgirl magazines there as a young kid 
My siblings, cousins and I used to buy army ration food in boxes and eat them at home. I remember it to have canned goods with spaghetti and meatballs or pork and beans, a fork, matches, towelette, coffee and sugar packets, and the yummiest kind of chewing gum. It looked something like this.
This army ration has been haunting me lately. Memories came back as I found some current versions of it online. They are called MREs or Meals, Ready-to-Eat.
An MRE usually contains an entree, side dish, dessert or snack, crackers or bread, peanut butter or jelly spread, a powdered drink mix, utensils, a napkin, matches, seasonings, plus a flameless ration heater.
You can buy MREs in single meals, as separate components (entree, side dish, desserts, drinks), in 3-day supplies, a month’s supply or even a year’s supply. (Source).
Here are some modern-day MRE samples I found online. Instead of the can, entrees are packed in a retort pouch, a thin container built with multiple layers to allow food to be sealed and cooked evenly from the outside, and never exposed to the air until it is opened.
I find them so cute. I wish I could eat them with my boys, but my boys are not adventurous in food. I am really tempted to order or assemble my own.
So maybe my gay friend will join me.
Does anybody else remember eating army ration in the ’70s or is it just me?
CVS Reply:
May 17th, 2012 at 1:32 AM
we could’ve played together! Sabrina was my favorite! LOL. even then I was diff’rent :0
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