 His mother was also a writer for the "Register", she also wrote for magazines like "Better Homes" and "Gardens", "Good Housekeeping", and "House Beautiful".He recounts many things that were invented during his childhood that fascinated him, which include frozen dinners, atomic toilets, and television.His middle-class, all-American lifestyle is shown constantly throughout the book, and the influence of his depression-era raised parents rubs off on him.