Candy

A few days ago it arrived. The Vermont Country Store catalog. Big old red Santa on the cover and goodies galore waiting inside. I’m not plugging for the store, but they sure do have a neat catalog. And right away when you open it up you see the candy. Like the kind from when you were a kid or even when your parents or grandparents were kids. Think glistening ribbon candy and chocolate cherry cordials. Stuff like that. Yum.

The candy from my childhood comes to mind as I thumb the pages. With Halloween coming up candy is all over the place. Walmart and CVS have huge sale bins overflowing with bite size this, that and the other. I’m a sucker for them and at only three bucks a bag how can I not indulge? But I wonder if today’s kids are missing anything because Big Hunk is no longer around. Oh? You never heard of Big Hunk? It was a rip your teeth out hunk of taffy that cost a nickel. I used to walk to the grocery store, Alpha Beta (yeah, that was its name), in my shorts and flip flops, plunk my nickel down and walk home with the precious bar in my little fist. It took a while to eat the thing, but I was in hog heaven. If you put it in the fridge for a while you could whack it on the table and share the pieces. I only did it if forced.

Then there was Lick ‘m Ade – I think that’s how you spell it. It came in a square package and was a flavored powder. If you were caught with such a package now, you’d probably be arrested, but the sweet-sour powder that you poured into your palm and licked off was wonderful. The first lick made you shiver, but you went back in for more. Kids with pink or purple palms had status. Pixie Stix were similar. Remember those?

More recently I found a deluxe box of Pop Rocks and bought them to send to my granddaughters in Washington State. We were on Skype when they opened them up. The squeals of delight let me know I’d done well and they couldn’t wait for the little sugar bomb crystals to fizz up on their tongues.

While on that same Skype session Lillie, who’s ten, told me about her favorite chocolate. It’s called Kinder Chocolate and it’s from Germany. I found it on Google and almost ordered some for her, but held off. I knew her big sis, Elaina, would be traveling to Germany a few weeks later and sure enough, she brought home some Kinder Chocolate for her little sister. They bond over sugar.

So, what are you giving out this Halloween? If you can’t decide, I’ve got a really cool catalog to get your head going in the right direction. Or you could just head to Walmart or CVS. Your choice.

 Image: Free Digital Photos