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Saturday mornings had a ritual, and everybody knew it.

You woke up early — earlier than school, which made no sense — and ran to the TV in your pajamas. The cartoons were only on for a few hours, and if you missed one, you missed it. There was no catching up later.

You ate cereal straight from the box if you had to, or a bowl so sweet it barely counted as breakfast. You watched superheroes, talking animals, and commercials for toys you immediately wanted. And then, just like that, it was over, and the regular shows came back on.

What was your Saturday morning lineup — the one show you never, ever missed?

There was a time when a drink of water didn’t come from a bottle with a label and a price tag. It came from a green garden hose, coiled up next to the garage, warm from sitting in the sun.

You’d turn it on, let it run for a second, and then drink straight from it — water that tasted faintly of rubber and summer. Nobody thought twice about it. Nobody got sick. At least, nobody we knew.

We’d come running in from the street, sweaty and out of breath, and that hose was the best thing in the world. We didn’t wash our hands. We didn’t get a clean glass. We just drank and went back to playing.

Did your family have a hose you drank from, or were you a “go inside for a glass” household?