Weird, Fun & Random Childhood Memories

 Blame this one on Reddit. I saw a post about weird soda beverages and had a flashback to my younger days.

Whenever we kids visited my grandparents in Arkansas, I loved going to the corner store. It was a really old-fashioned family-run place. As bad as my memory is sometimes, I close my eyes right now and remember details about that store (except what it was called!)

On the counter, there was a huge carboy-style jar of dill pickles on one end. There was a big basket of lemons and little jars of fat peppermint sticks. One of my cousins and I would each get a peppermint stick. I would get a lemon and my cousin would get a pickle. We'd insert our peppermints in the center of the sour treats and suck the pickle or lemon juice that was sweetened by the candy. 

I also remember that this store had a little of everything. We'd pick up things for my grandma - borax soap flakes, butter, milk, and eggs, cleaning rags, liniment, aspirin powders, etc. For us kids there was candy and soda like I never saw in Alaska: Black Jack and Beeman's chewing gum, flavored wax (in the shape of lips), candy cigarettes, and little packs of black, licorice-flavored chewing tar. The sodas were the most amazing, in flavors like chocolate, peach, and apple. 

It's a wonder I had such good teeth (well, until I hit 60!). When I think of being young and dusty-kneed, I mostly remember the candy and treats. Laffy Taffy, string necklaces made of sugary candy, rock candy suckers, Tootsie Rolls, plastic rings with huge candy "stones", and - one of my favorites - little cloth bags filled with little "gold nuggets" of candy-coated gum.

One of my older brothers has always had a sweet tooth and when he and my other brothers and I went back for my dad's funeral, he made sure to stop at that corner store on the way out of town. He loaded up on sodas - chocolate, grape, and peach -  peanut patties, and honey buns for the long drive back to the airport. I got a stomach ache just watching him. This is pre-9-11 so he could pack his carry-on with all his goodies. Speaking of my dad, he loved those cinnamon toothpicks from his youth. He somehow always managed to find a place to buy them, no matter where we were stationed.

For a long time, I thought I would never be able to enjoy those treats from my childhood. Then along came the internet. Over the past 8 or 9 years, I have been able to track down most of those things.

• This is one website for old-fashioned treats
• This is another (I've ordered from them in the past but just right now noticed that they have cinnamon toothpicks)
• Amazon carries Dickies peanut patties (I'm not sure if that's the brand of my youth though)
• Here is a place I also just now discovered. I might have to see about getting my brother some "soda water", as we called it!
• Or I could buy Grape Nehi soda here...
• And, of course, you can shop for weird & crazy soda & retro candy at Blooms.  If you're into strange soda flavors, this is the place. They have the bacon-flavored soda mentioned on Reddit. Also... peanut butter and jelly soda???

Really, for just about any "retro" items you can think of can be found on Amazon or one of those other sites.

Since Christmas is soon to be here, I might have to find something retro and edible for my brother with a sweet tooth. Give him a map to a walk down memory lane.

Peace

--Free

New Addictions

Looks like I have traded my smoking addiction for new ones.

My Cessation Nation app tells me that I have been smoke-free for 71 days, 23 hours and 31 minutes. In that time, I have bought and used up about 22 candles. I can count the jars that I save to put my Starburst candy in.

Yep. Not only am I buying candles (they keep the air smelling so vanilla and fresh!), but Starburst "Favoreds" and the hard and chewy Jolly Ranchers have become my crack. Sweet, sweet moments of heaven...

I'm not crazy. Everybody knows Starbursts rock. Heck, they have a wiki page.

In case you are thinking that I only gave up one one bad habit for another, I can tell you not to worry. I have a third new addiction that works in my favor, despite all that sweet, sugary goodness going into my mouth.

Yes. Yes, I do have the best friends & family.

I've told you people before that I have friends and family that Verizon never heard of. Those 3 items up there are the latest gift from the roomie.

Since the 20th of last month, I have been walking every weekday. Not miles and miles, not over the willow and through the woods or however the heck that saying goes, but...

My neck of the woods ain't shabby

... I can get 2 miles if I make a few circuits through the neighborhood. With a view just as pretty as any willow or wood I've ever seen.

And apparently my family and friends are a lot more supportive of my fitness efforts than I imagined.

Yesterday, the roomie gave me a b.s. story about needing to make a run of errands and wanting my company. We hit Burlington's and split up while she looked for "some clothes" and I checked out purses. I lost track of her for about an hour. Then we hit Sears and split again. She was still looking for clothes and I was still checking out purses. I'm kinda into purses...

I should have been suspicious about it all since usually we chicks scrutinize clothing together. We are like a panel off of "Next Top Model" when we hit those fitting rooms. For some reason, she kept ditching me. Then,  when she did want my input, it was about tennis shoes. Wha-?

(I was busy looking at cowboy boots. Always wanted a pair because they make your butt look so tooted up there and cute.)

The cowboy boots were cheaply made & hurt. I got these cute booties for my niece's b-day tho!

Anyway, you probably guessed that this is how she sneaked and got me those workout gifts up there at the top of the page.

So, yeah, I have to leave this posting and get over there, light me an energy candle and learn how to use that Step-"thingie." I even have wrist weights to wear when I workout. How cool is that?

Peace
--Free