In Season 2 of Stranger Things it’s 1984. A new girl, Madmax, is in town and she reminds us about the arcades we hung out at. She has a step brother from hell named Billy. Dustin adopts a pollywog that turns out to be demodog. Eleven goes on a trip to find Mama and then Sister.

What I liked about Season 1 is the world building. It’s always interesting how writers interpret their research. I never would have taken MK ULTRA as opening up the gates of hell or somewhere evil. And we got a good laugh when Michael Wheeler tells his wife Nancy that they need to trust the government. Nancy Wheeler and the other teenagers come to the realization that the world is a much different place than they thought. I feel like Nancy grows the most and you will see that in future seasons. Season 2 answers those questions about Mama and what part Papa took. By the end of Season 2, El looks like a rocker chick. I like that look. I love El’s character.

Can we talk about the hair? In general, the hair isn’t that great, but it is Indiana. So that’s probably how it was. I didn’t like Steve in Season 1, but by the end of Season 2 I’m liking him. Pretty Boy gets beat up in the face twice and still manages to look pretty. And he can wheel a bat. But I still don’t like his hair. I don’t remember Farrah Fawcett hairspray. I remember the Farrah Fawcett poster. Nancy Wheeler’s hair is most like Farrah’s and gets blonder in Season 2.

Did you notice how few veggies people ate back then? Yeah it was a lot of potatoes. We ate salad made with iceberg lettuce and cherry tomatoes and thousand island dressing. Sometimes there were grated carrots. I cheated and used pre-grated carrots for the photo. We didn’t have pre-grated carrots then. And we didn’t have arugula. I think we were eating romaine lettuce by 1984. As I recall the whole family was vegetarian by then.

Oh and in 1983 I was in private school. And in 1984 I went to a different private school. So the whole gang didn’t transfer to the same school. Things really changed. For me, sixth grade was such a great year. You have all your friends that are like family. And then by seventh grade you realize assholes are raising assholes. My friend’s family did not like the fact that I was vegetarian. And we had been such great friends, but her parents’ attitude changed my friend’s attitude. I remember Old Hippie saying something nice to make me feel better.

Here is the recipe with a veganized dressing. And you can add a teaspoon of agave if you want.

ICEBERG SALAD WITH THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING
1-2 leaves of iceberg lettuce
4 cherry tomatoes, whole
1 small handful of grated carrots

Dressing:
1 Tbsp. veganaise mayo
1 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. dill pickle relish

Yield: 1-2 small salads

Basically, Season 2 wraps it all up. They could have stopped there. The kids are dancing to Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time.” I used to play that song a lot. I don’t remember dancing that far apart, but Renaissance Man said he did. But, I’m glad we see the Upside Down still exists so we can watch Season 3. You can’t put the worms back in the can.

Happy Vegan!

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