Why We Need Show Tunes – Poor Man’s Treat
Poor Man’s Treats are a very special treat with a great history! 
Tonight I realized that all of the gloom and doom is rubbing off of me and I’m here to tell you I’m not having it.
You see, within my mind lies a wealth of show tunes, show tunes which I have a tendency to hum and sing throughout my day and with very little conscious knowledge. I’m just a music-y person. I sing. I can’t help it. There is always a song in my head and my vocal chords like to get in on the jam session.
While walking through Wal Mart, I was humming. Now I’ve been known to hum a lot of things in Wal Mart. Once, while talking to a friend on the cell phone, I began humming the star spangled banner on the coffee aisle. I didn’t even realize I was doing it until she exclaimed in a disgusted voice “You have GOT to be the most patriotic person I have ever met”
“Huh?”
“No one I know randomly hums the star spangled banner”
Oh.
Minutes later I began humming My Country ‘Tis Of Thee
I wake my kids up with various up beat good morning songs and I sing the entire soundtrack from singing in the rain and just about every Judy Garland tune ever recorded (except the sad ones, of course!).
Tonight, while going through wal mart (okay so I spend way too much time in Wal Mart), I was humming, not really paying any attention to the tune until I heard my voice quietly singing the words and it hit me…
I gets weary, and sick of trying. I’m tired of livin’ and scared of dying…
Oh good grief, I’m singing Old Man River!
NUH UH! This stops here.
Now don’t get me wrong. I realize that life is harder now on some a lot folks than it has ever been in their lifetimes. Fact is, many of us have very valid reasons to complain and worry. What I’m saying though is that we also have valid reasons to be grateful, too, and the good things in our life deserve at least the same amount of air time as the difficult.
So I’ve decided to stop the cycle. I’m not buying into the whole “life is horrible, cower and worry” that is being sold to us all right now. I’m not going to spend my entire day in anxiety and I’m not going to exchange my inner peppy soundtrack for a slower beat or a mournful strain.
You know what we all need?
What we need are some upbeat show tunes and maybe even spontaneous choreographed dance.
Bring on the Judy Garland, Crank up Mary Poppins and hit play on the old version of Pollyanna, its time to bring back the good life!
We need to live our lives in such great appreciation of each day and each moment that we all find ourselves walking through Wal Mart humming the star spangled banner. It really wouldn’t hurt if the rest of the store joined in and we all started twirling and tap dancing about, now would it? Those without a partner can just grab a sack of potatoes or some of that abundant rice we all stocked up on during the panic over supposed shortage a few months back.
We need to realize that sometimes life gets so bad that we lose sight of just how very good it is!
There is ALWAYS something to be grateful for. There is always a positive side.
So here is your homework:
Smile at strangers today, count how many smile back.
Learn the words to at least one song from an old Technicolor musical
And lastly, hum the Star Spangled Banner. I don’t care who you root for in the elections, we live in a fine country and I got some “special” batch brownies for anyone who tells you different!
It’s like I tell my kids:
Each day when you wake up you have a choice. You can have a good day or you can have a bad one. So you might as well have a good one.
Same goes for life.
For the pessimists who haven’t left the room yet, things can ALWAYS get worse so you best get to enjoying them now. Don’t make me come over there and slap you around a bit because I will…and I’ll sing SHOW TUNES While I do it!
Oh and a recipe…here ya go. These were sent in to me by Cynthia, a reader who called them “poor man’s treats”. I asked my mother about them and she said her father practically lived on them as a child.
Spread crackers with peanut butter
Top with marshmallows
Place under broiler just until marshmallows are browned.
Eat with a grateful heart. 🙂
Ingredients
- Saltine Crackers
- Peanut Butter
- Marshmallows or marshmallow cream
Instructions
- Spread peanut butter on the crackers. Top with marshmallow or a dollop of marshmallow cream. Place under broiler in oven until marshmallow is just browned. Pay close attention because this will not take long at all! Devour.
Quick, easy, good. Make 'em tonight and eat like the po' folks do, our food tastes better than the rich people's anyway. Another thing to be grateful for.
Nutrition
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I gotta make these for my Mom, bet she will love them! as for your post, well, I wonder sometimes if we are related, LOL. My Mom and I both sing the show tunes and I really do feel sorry for the folks at Walmart sometimes because we have been known to start singing instead of humming, LOL. My Pop gave me words of wisdom when I was a young’un, his Mother had given the same words to him, “try each day to do something good for someone, but don’t let them know it was you, bring a smile to someone every day and you will be twice blessed!” I have done my best to live this way and ya know, it works, LOL!! Thanks for all you do!
Wow, am I ever surprised to see this posted. I grew up with this as a very special treat. In fact my older sister who is 78 yrs old and I were just recently talking about this very recipe just the other day. I guess this was the first version of S’mores Southern Style.
I haven’t thought about these in years! I don’t remember putting peanut butter on them, but when I was a kid, we would stick the marshmallow on a fork and hold it over the stove eye until it was as brown as we wanted it, then put it on a saltine cracker.
I guess my mama was more “uptown”! I learned to eat this on Ritz crackers! =) Didn’t know I was spoiled!
My mother used to make this as a treat for me and my sister. I thought they were the best thing also we would sometimes have Jiffy Pop popcorn. I can’t wait to make these for my grandson when he gets older!!!
My brother and I craved these when we were growing up. My Grandmother used to call them “do-dads” though!?? I made them for my children and now when the grandkids come over guess what I make? They like them better than s’mores!
This was my Papaw’s favorite snack!!! He always put peanut butter and marshmallow cream on a saltine cracker. Didn’t heat it or anything. Delicious!!!