Today's Reality Sandwich

On the school yard playground, she was simply known as “Cassius Clay" largely in reference to her ability to beat up any boy in the school. She had a wild frizzy hair style, not commonly seen on white girls. She was the butt of school jokes. Some of those jokes revolved around the name of her daily "reality sandwich" that she carried in an reused paper bag.

Her self imposed name for her sandwiches, and that brown paper bag made her a lunchroom target of supreme uncoolness and ostracizing. Virtually no table had room for her, and to invite her to sit with you, was the kiss of social death.

This was the era of the school lunch box, and your lunch box had the power to elevate your status among your peers. Those with domed lid lunch boxes, were socially above those with standard square lunch boxes. Those with cartoon's were socially below, second only to not having a lunch box. Boys showed up with:

• Daniel Boone
• Paladin
• Col. Ed McCauley: Space Explorer (from the Men Into Space TV show)
• Disneyland’s monorail (we lived within blocks of Disneyland)
• Seawolf (America's first ballistic sub)
• VW Bus

Among the girls of our class, some of the more popular lunch boxes were:

• Deb U Teen
• Red Plaid Metal Lunchboxes
• Any lunch box with horses on them
• Junior Nurse
• Barbie

Everyone also scrutinized the contents of each other's lunch boxes. Peanut butter and jelly was the hands-down most popular sandwich. Bring a tuna sandwich, was a big no-no.

Having store bought white bread was socially acceptable, having home-made bread was stigmatized with being "poor." This led to a lot of sandwiches being thrown out as soon as mothers, or the school bus was out-of-sight.

I must confess at this point, I'm as guilty as the rest of them, Gram's home-made bread was "everything" at home, but not something I would have been caught dead with at school. Even Cassius Clay's mom didn't send her to school with home-made bread. The fact that she had ten children, probably had a lot to do with her time to make home-made bread.

"Hey Cassius Clay! What kinda smelly sandwich do you have today?" yelled one of the boys. "Bet it's another onion sandwich!" chimed in another boy.

Of course, he was met with steely silence. Then, one of the bolder boys ran over and grabbed her sandwich and proudly showed everyone the contents.

"It's sugar and butter! She's got a sugar sandwich!" as he tossed one half of it in the air, whereupon it promptly landed on the floor.

Before we knew it the other half was grabbed by Cassius Clay, quickly folded in half as she marched back to her paper bag. Then, red-faced, she sat down and slowly ate what was left of her sandwich. Few took note that she had nothing else for lunch, not even milk.

Finally, she stood up and said to everyone within hearing distance:

"It's a reality sandwich," she retorted. "It' a perfectly good sandwich and it's what I like."

Recess followed lunch, and it came as no surprise to most of us that at some point, there was a fight on the playground. Not among the boys, but between Cassius Clay and the boy who had ruined half her lunch. He's the one who got the black eye and busted lip. She's the one who got hauled off to the principal's office and suspended for three days.

Her real name was Barbara Jean Smith, not Cassius Clay, of course. She lived in our upper middle class neighborhood, in one of the few rental houses. Her father worked as a mechanic by day, and as a short order cook by night. Her mother worked at the bowling alley grill.

At school, we weren't friends, but in the neighborhood we all played with her and her many siblings. Those of us who knew her better, felt like traitors, and cowards for not defending her, or acknowledging our friendship. There were discussions behind her back and in front of her -- she could defend herself against the bullies in the classroom. She bravely explained to us that this was "her battle."

Her father had coined the term "reality sandwiches" to describe the lunches his wife made out of financial necessity. He'd come up with the term, after reading Allen Ginsberg's book of poetry (of the same name), that included a poem titled, "On Burroughs' Work" -- the best lines of it:

"A naked lunch is natural to us, we eat reality sandwiches."

Some things stick in your mind forever, like Barbara Jean's butter and sugar sandwiches, her cucumber sandwiches, and her onion sandwiches. As a girl, I asked my dad about them shortly after the schoolyard fight. His eyes welled up with carefully guarded unshed tears.

"During the Great Depression, we lived in the family car, ate baloney sandwiches everyday, as that was all we had. We didn't call them "reality sandwiches" but they were our "reality."

With that one comment, he closed his tool box where he was working, and marched me down the street to Barbara Jean's house. There he had me introduce him to her dad. Much to my mother's surprise, the whole family came for a barbecue at our house the next Saturday. Soon after, Barbara Jean's dad was hired to work at Douglas Aircraft (where both of my parents worked), based on my dad's recommendation.

A few years later, right before they moved out of the neighborhood, Barbara Jean's dad came over to thank my dad for helping make his family's life better. I don't know what happened to Barbara Jean, but I just know that she grew up to be someone who knows today what a good sandwich is, and is what it is not. God bless the Barbara Jean's of this world.

In thinking about Barbara Jean's reality sandwiches and knowing that cook books of the Depression era also shared a common bond -- I thought maybe we could all take some frugal lessons from similar hard times, and explore the "reality sandwiches" still valid today.

Today, we have evolved into thinking that sandwiches should be more than the legal definition of two slices of bread with something in between.

In the not so distant past, when processed lunch meats weren’t the norm, sandwiches were not only more frugal dollar wise, but probably a lot healthier. It seems to me that in today’s economy we might do well, to look back to the 1930s and 1940s for some “how-to’s” in terms of saving our grocery dollars.

Here are some common sandwiches from that era:

• Egg and Olive Sandwich
• Grated Pineapple and Peanut Butter Sandwich
• Raspberry and English Walnut Sandwich
• Creamed cheese and Green Peppers Sandwich
• Bacon and Chili Sauce Sandwich
• Walnut and Watercress Sandwich
• Vegetable Club Sandwich
• Cream cheese and Guava Jelly Sandwich
• Apple and Walnut Sandwich
• Butter, Sugar, and Cinnamon Sandwich

That's the short list, the real list is quite endless as you search old cookbooks. Maybe, we need to take a new look at sandwiches and not just for lunch, but for dinners too -- as people try to stretch their grocery dollars.

The myth of the sandwich being invented by the Earl of Sandwich, is a bit of a stretch of the imagination. Sandwiches have been around since Biblical times, but Edward Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, did lend his name to the meal.

Living in the 18^th century, this English upper crust was more interested in the sandwich as a means to keep up his stamina while playing cards, without getting dirty in a time when silverware wasn’t the norm.

For those who don't know it, the Hawaiian Islands were originally named the Sandwich Islands. It seems that the 4th Earl of Sandwich also sponsored Captain Cook's "English discovery" of these already inhabited islands by native peoples.

South Sandwich Islandsare isolated and desolate islands, devoid of native peoples. These islands are still part of a British dependency ownership, are known as South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean.

The ownership of these islands is still widely disputed today between Argentina and the British.

Personally, I'm in favor of the penguins and other wild life that are unique to the region being the rightful owners.

In the town of Sandwich, New Hampshire you'll find a quaint little historic community, that is one of the most scenic and peaceful places to vacation in New Hampshire. If you go there in the fall, when the leaves are changing, your eyes won’t be disappointed.

It was named after the 4^th Earl of Sandwich in 1763. Even the Sandwich Mountain, which overlooks this small town, is a favorite among hikers in terms of scenic trails. There are also many covered bridges of yesteryear in the area that make nice photo opportunities.

Not too many towns can boast that they are the oldest in their state, but the town of Sandwich, Massachusetts, can since 1639. This seaside town, was settled by a handful of pilgrims who wanted to worship God and farm cotton. They later had more than a few squabbles with Quakers, who had different ideas for the area.

Today, it's one of the finest areas if you are looking for hand-made crafts and enjoying scenic quaintness.

Argentina -- The Choripán, is a chorizo sausage sandwich -- made of both beef and pork, is grilled, served with various sauces, but most likely found with Chimichurri sauce (cilantro, salt, pepper, garlic, onion, paprika, lemon and vinegar).

Brazil -- Bauru, a Brazilian mozzarella cheese sandwich is the primary ingredient in this melted cheese sandwich, made with roast beef, tomato, pickled cucumbers, and housed in a French bread bun that has been hollowed out.

Chile -- Barros Jarpa and Barros Lucoare both popular sandwiches in Chile. The first is a cheese and fried ham sandwich, the latter is a cheese and thinly sliced roast beef sandwich.

France -- The Croque-monsieur is a hot ham and melted cheese sandwich.

India -- Vada payis India’s vegetarian sandwich extraordinaire. Made from mashed potatoes, green chilies, ginger, and a mixture of mustard seeds and the spice turmeric, they are then coated with a herbal batter of flour, deep fried and then placed in the bread bun. They are also accompanied by variations of chutney’s sometimes made from coconut or garlic as the main ingredients.

Italy-- We are ever grateful to the Italians for the Panini. Of course, today we know it as a sandwich filled with salami, ham, meat, and cheese, among other things. Generally it’s served hot, buttered on the outside, and pressed inside a grill. The true Italian sandwich, however, is actually called a “panino” and generally is made from roasted pork.

Mexico -- The Torta in Mexico usually contains some sort of marinated meat, avocado, sour cream, lettuce, jalapeno peppers, and tomatoes.

Pakistan -- Bun Kabab, which consists of a spicy patty of meat, onions, and chutney in a popular Pakistan bun (similar to a hot dog bun). Unlike an American traditional hamburger, the primary spice used in the meat is coriander, and it is mixed with ground lentils.

Portugal -- The Francesinha sandwich is made with a special wet-cured ham, sausages, or other meats -- then it is smothered with melted cheese, and a special beer sauce.

Singapore -- The Roti john is pan fried slices of french bread, with onions, and eggs, with each maker's secret spices. Originally designed for western tastes, it quickly became an Asian novelty and a favorite of all who tried it.

Sweden -- The Smörgåstårta seems more like a work of culinary art, than what we tend to think of as a sandwich. It's a large sandwich "cake" that is served cold and often contains seafood, among other ingredients.

United States-- It's claimed that the old fashioned BLT (bacon, lettuce, tomato) is the most popular sandwich in America. Second to that, the next most popular sandwich is the Philly Cheese Steak. Other popular sandwiches are the club sandwich, Elvis sandwich, hamburger, hero subs, Reuben, and of course, our ever popular Subway subs.

Uruguay -- This sandwich consists of a thick cut of shirt steak, and is called a churrasco. It is combined with bacon, mayo, olives, mozzarella cheese and tomatoes. Other variations are the addition of eggs, red beets, grilled red peppers, pickles and sometimes ham.

Vietnam - Banh Mi, is a popular Vietnamese sandwich, usually made on a wheat and rice baguette bread. Inside are thinly sliced carrots, daikon, cucumbers, onions, cilantro, jalapeno peppers -- then filled with a variety of meat or tofu fillings (grilled pork, ham, head cheese, etc.)