Country people eat an evening meal shortly after 5 o’clock each day. At 5 o’clock the “five o’clock whistle” blows to notify country men and women that they may leave work, briefly congregate at the post office or the gas station and then go home for supper. This routine is sometimes complicated during severe weather when the 5 o’clock whistle is easily mistaken for a tornado siren.
“Suppertime” is subject to several important parameters. First, supper must include either cream of mushroom soup or Jello. The cream of mushroom soup may not be served alone but rather in a casserole, poured over a can of vegetables or baked with chicken smothered with croutons, potato chips and/or cheese. Suppertime Jello should be mixed with a “fruit cocktail.” Second, supper may not occur after 6pm. The only exception to this rule is on fish fry nights when the town restaurant stays open until 7. Finally, supper parameters may be suspended on nights with “outatown ballgames.” On outatown game nights supper is eaten “in town” either before the game at fast food restrunt or after the game at a “shi shi” shit down restrunt like Applebee’s, Fazoli’s or Chili’s.
