Sunday Night Popcorn

We may not have watched Sunday night football growing up, but we did eat a lot of Sunday night popcorn. Maybe it was because we had large Sunday dinners at noon or maybe it was to give Mom a break from cooking, but often popcorn was our supper on Sundays.
Our "Earl May Popcorn Popper" looked just like this one. We didn't use a thermometer to tell us when the oil was hot though. We just tried a kernal or two when we thought it was hot enough. If it popped right away, in went the cup of popcorn kernals. Then we twisted the little red knobbed stirrer around and around until the popping stopped.
There were years when we raised our own popcorn or when Grandpa & Grandma Ridnour would raise popcorn and give us some. It was fun to shell the kernals from the cob, then take it outside in the wind to winnow it back and forth between two containers, letting the wind blow away the chaff.
There were times we ate the popcorn in bowls of milk and sugar just like cereal. Other times we ate popcorn and apples. When Mom made fudge to go along with the popcorn and apples we really feasted.
I can still hear Earl May on KMA radio saying, "It's a good night for Earl May popcorn." He was the Orville Redenbacher of our childhood - his popcorn was "the best". It supposedly popped better than other brands; fewer 'old maids' (the kernals that didn't pop and were left behind). Sometimes we had yellow popcorn, other times Mom thought white popcorn was better. It was all good, especially with melted butter poured over it.
Popcorn is thought to have originated in Mexico and is over 5,000 years old. Native Americans greeted Columbus with popcorn. It was brought by Indians to the first Thanksgiving. It was a staple food during the depression. Once you smell it popping, it is nearly impossible to resist.
Microwave popcorn and an apple was my supper tonight as I watched Sunday night football. Gee I wish I could have had a piece or two of Mom's fudge to go with it.