AROUND THE DINING ROOM TABLE…in the 1940’s
Some of the best conversations I have ever enjoyed have been around the dining room table.
This was particularly true of my childhood home. As my Dad used to say, 'When the body is fed the mind follows". By the mid 40’s none of us had left home yet so our dining room table was always full. It was very large…room enough to seat 10 comfortably. We needed that space because we were 5 girls, (separated in age by 8 years!), my mother and father, and a never ending assortment of boyfriends and other guests.
Everyone
was welcome and it was understood that if you stayed for dinner you
would participate in the lively discussions and games that followed.
The menu might be scant, due to the Depression, rationing or lack of funds, but, the
enthusiasm was abundant.
One of our favorite games revolved around the Dictionary. One person would hold the opened book on their lap, eyes closed and point to a word. It was then up to all the participants to define the word and the winner was the one who came closest to the actual definition in the dictionary. An example might be: the word PICOT. (Typical answers could be: “a small bed”, “a quaint saying”, “ used to make a fancy fence”…etc.) Of course the actual definition is “ornamental loops in embroidery”. It was not only an amusing game but it helped to increase our vocabulary and to promote an interest in words.
Another high-light of those evenings were the discussions. We would relate our day’s events, talk about world or national events or just plain listen. The 1940'swere tough years, but my parents made them magical for me and my four sisters.
What a lucky little girl I was.
posted by Goldendaze-Ginnie at 5:45 AM
6 Comments:
A family who eats together and has discussions around the dinner table is very fortunate. You really were for sure, Ginnie.
Sounds like a fun meal at your house. We use to play word games too but you would have had me at Picot:)
Indeed, you were lucky. Our dinner table was Mom, Dad and me. As an only child, I missed the camaraderie that most of my friends had at meals. We had discussions, but they centered on the news or the latest family gossip. Dictionary games would have been much more fun for me, as I used to read the dictionary and encyclopedias when I had nothing else to read.
You were lucky indeed. We enjoyed conversation around the dinner table, too, but not all families do that I found out as i grew older.
Much later in time, someone ‘invented’ and sold the game, Balderdash, and made money.
Sounds like dinners in your family home were never boring and educational as well with the dictionary game, Ginnie.
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