Thursday, July 8, 2021

Penny Candy

 I was recently meeting in person with a group of long time friends.  We met on the back patio, even though we were all vaccinated, just to be safe. Somehow the talk turned to things we did when we were growing up. Somebody mentioned a new candy/ ice cream shop that had opened nearby.  The talk tuned to the days of the old five and dime stores.  

It hit me that my experiences were really different than some of my friends.  I had tasted some of the candy to which they referred.  I remember candy cigarettes (which never turned me into a smoker), and wax lips, and smarties.  But, I never had those candies very much.  It was a rare occasion if I was allowed to spend my allowance on such treats.  My siblings and I were allowed to pick out one candy bar or pack of gum per week after church when Dad got the Milwaukee Journal at the Rexall Drugstore.  The treat was a bribe to be good in church and it was the only one we got all week for the most part.  Just a few times do I remember being allowed to get the "penny candy" type of treats at the five and dime store.

Some of my friends though talked about stopping regularly at corner stores and buying the treats almost daily it sounded like. They went to stores without their parents and got what they wanted. It sounded like a different world than I lived in.  I was perhaps more sheltered or controlled. I never tasted the array and frequency of the candies they discussed.  But, perhaps I need to seek out that new candy/ ice cream store that opened and try out some of those candies.  They cost a lot more than a penny these days.

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