Pandemic opportunity for pop culture lessons

“Time to make the doughnuts.” I said this while my children sat in the living room eating Froot Loops and watching cartoons.

“Wait, you’re making doughnuts?” Ozzie asked as he sat down his cereal bowl. “How do you do that? Can I help?”

What he obviously didn’t know is that I was referring to the long-running Dunkin’ Donuts ad campaign from the 1980s. In the ad, Fred the Baker wakes up early every day to get to the bakery to make doughnuts for his morning customers.

Fred would say to his wife, “Time to make the doughnuts” as he donned the Dunkin’ cap and headed to work.

He never seemed angry about having to work so early, but he always said his patented line with a slight sigh to express exhaustion. I like to think that Fred considered it an honor and duty to the serve the people of his town with fresh doughnuts each day.

When I left the living room to walk upstairs to my makeshift home office, I was reminded of other important cultural artifacts my children have been deprived of over the years.

“How do my kids not know about Fred?” I thought to myself. “What else have they missed?”

This had to be remedied.

Read more at https://www.vindy.com/life/lifestyles/2020/05/pandemic-opportunity-for-pop-culture-lessons/ (may encounter paywall).