Candyfreak

I'm reading Steve Almond's "Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America," a sort of memoir/walk down candy memory lane, and finding it wholly entertaining. The first chapter of Almond's book brought to mind my own favorite candies, which I bought at The Variety Store (walking distance from Arden Park), some 90 decades ago.

I remember the store well -- its high ceilings, dark linoleum floor, and sundry offerings from sunglasses to Slinkies to lined notebook paper -- as well as the set-up of the candy rack, which rested on top of a glass case, near the cash register. Penny candies were arranged in slotted boxes on the bottom row, within arm's reach, but the pricier candies -- full sized bars, which cost five cents each -- were lined end to end, filling four tiered rows of the candy box, so that a kid could lose his mind while making a decision, sometimes buying a Sugar Daddy out of sheer desperation and wildly regretting it later.

Too, I remember my favorites, as well as the proper method of eating to achieve premium enjoyment. In no particular order they include:

• Candy Cigarettes (bite tip off end and blow imaginary smoke while simultaneously chewing candy)
• Peanut M&Ms (separate colors, eat reds first, check hands for chocolate-residue)
• Payday (pick off peanuts, eat peanuts, save caramel nougat for last)
• Jujubees (a movie favorite, although choking is sometimes a problem)
• Good 'N Plenty (shake small amount into palm, toss directly into mouth)
• Burnt Peanuts (delicious little toothbusters; ingest with caution)
• Boston Baked Beans (boxed candies quite good, but better if purchased from gumball machine with twisty metal handle; often available in tire repair shops, and at your dad's local mechanic)
• Ice Cubes (available for purchase in 1967 for two cents each; now cost $39.99 for tub of 120, making them 33 cents each; that, my friend, is a travesty)
  

I would giddily devour any and all of these candies today, and can only imagine how much fun I'd have with a pack of cinnamon toothpicks. Ooh, and a Chick-O-Stick. Yum.