ODE TO HEATHCLIFF

A cartoon-adorned lunchbox contains memories.

If someone had once told me

that a memento from my childhood, a vintage Heathcliff metal lunchbox, would develop into a passionate hobby, I would never have believed them. The story began when I was in sixth grade. The year was 1981, and every Saturday morning I clamored to watch my favorite cartoon—Heathcliff, with the mischievous, orange-striped tabby cat. He always managed to fool the dogs in the neighborhood, and he looked similar to a male cat I owned through adulthood. I took pristine care of my Heathcliff lunchbox. I have moved many times between college, marriage and starting a family, yet the lunchbox still looks brand new. I keep it packed away in a box of memorabilia. Once in a while I pull it out and flash back to lunchtime fun and days gone by. The ’70s and ’80s were an era of less technology; people lived life at a slower pace. At the beginning of the school year, my friends and I would excitedly inspect one another’s lunchboxes during lunch. Many people carried lunchboxes with superheroes. A lot of my girlfriends owned lunchboxes featuring Snow White, characters from Little House on the Prairie, or other movies or TV shows. My usual lunch consisted of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a box of raisins, some potato chips and juice in the Thermos. If I was tired of “the usual,” my friends and I would play a game of swap during the lunch period. I treasure those childhood memories of conversation and laughter with some of my best buddies from childhood. Today I own 46 metal lunchboxes. They vary in age, from the early 1940s through the year 2018. I just recently acquired a Little House on the Prairie and a 1959 vintage Bugs Bunny. Looking at their unique artistic detail each morning while I drink my coffee and prepare breakfast makes me smile and feel young again.