Ding-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling! Triangle Dinner Bells

I spoke to someone last week who was longing for the days when a simple clang on the back-porch dinner bell would bring everyone in for supper. She had a vision of going outside, giving an old-fashioned ranch house triangle a long jangle, and seeing everyone -- kids, husbands, dogs -- scatter out of her yard and into their own. Husbands would stop puttering (in the garage or on the computer). Children would magically appear at the table washed and ready to sit. And everyone would be ready to eat. (Come to think of it, maybe she doesn't need a dinner bell, she needs a Harry Potter spell.)

Our first step in her Utopian suburban vision? The old school triangle. (Here are some available in three sizes from $29.99). It may take her a while to perfect the Pavlovian response she's going for, but as an old school "call to supper", it couldn't be a better idea.