Penny For Your Thoughts By: Nancy Whitaker
What is your favorite thing to do when you are watching TV? Me? I love to snack. I can sit and watch a favorite TV show and without even thinking I will be munching away and notice the bottom of my bag is empty.
I like to snack on hulless popcorn,, chips, cookies, candy, and pie or cake.
I know it’s not good to eat a lot of food before bedtime but “snacks are my downfall at night.”
Back when my little brother and I were growing up, I got home from school and was hungry. Mom got out a little waxed paper bag and put some chips in it and handed it to my brother to share.
Oh I got so mad because I wanted my own little bag. I started to cry and Mom said, “What’s wrong?” I turned around and screamed “I want my own bag”! Well I made a sharp turn, stomping my feet and ran right into the door casing.
My head spun and blood was running down my face from my cut and I thought I was going to die.
Well back then the doctors made house calls and I recall lying on the couch until he got there. Little brother sat there licking his lips and chomping away on the chips. Grrrr
Back then sometimes we got chips for a snack but most times it was popcorn. When I had my kids I always gave them some kind of snack before bed. (and I still have to have that late night snack.)
I have always been a candy eater and I love chocolate. I could snack all day on any kind of chocolate or any kind of candy.
I remember going to a corner store when I was about 5 and having a penny in my pocket. I could get a piece of candy for one cent. Oh what choices! For my precious penny i could get some bubble gum, maybe a stick of licorice, a lollipop, or tootsie roll. So tempting.
One of the first penny candies was Necco wafers of which I liked the pink ones. Then we had jelly beans, root beer barrels, Kits, candy dots and candy cigarettes.
Now a lot of candy bars are either distinct or obsolete. I am thinking of Sky Bars, the round chocolate bars filled with marshmallows, Caramelko, Bun Barsabd Milkshake bars.
As late as the early 60’s you could still go to a little store and get a bag of Penny Candy and take it home for a snack. Another item was those big, red parafine lips and the orange paragons harps you could blow into. Then remember those little pardone bottles that had a liquid in them that resembled a pop bottle?
Some candies and snack items run their course, but there is the Hershey Company, Russell Stover that makes those delectable boxes of chocolate
You can look online and find some boxes of the old penny candies but to me I just want a penny, a small general store and a Safety pop lollipop.
Ready for snacks? Will it be chips, candy or popcorn? I love the Sour Worm Candy but I don’t have any handy. So….. popcorn it is.
Do you eat snacks? What’s your favorite? Do you miss any of the old candies? Let me know and I’ll give you a Penny for your thoughts.
