Matt over at X-Entertainment has begun his beloved Halloween countdown. Going on his 6th year, it really is a treat to read and had become part of my Halloween traditions. He inspires, entertains and amazes. Definitely check it out.On his latest post the comments centered around bad Halloween candy (specifically Mary Janes) and what started as a brief posting by myself, sparked a lengthy memoir/rant that I thought other Halloween Addicts may find interesting.
I realized not too long ago to stop blaming the givers of bad Halloween candy. Not to condone it, but I believe that the giving out of crappy candy is a generational thing.
Let me explain: I grew up in a pretty rural area and my mom would only take me to the houses of the people in the area she knew. A lot of those people were in their 50s and they were giving out candy that THEY liked when THEY were kids.So I would wind up with lots of yellow cellophane wrapped butterscotch hard candies...
White stripes (tolerable at Christmas... unforgivable at Halloween)...
Mini Zagnuts (I didn't even know what a Zagnut was... I opened up one and there was a SPIDER-WEB IN IT. God knows how long that had been in their cupboard!!!! I've still, to this day, never eaten a Zagnut)...
And the absolute worst of all: Necco wafers.Oof.
(Varying licorice-like flavored chalky discs.)
Blech.
BLECH!!!!
Necco wafers were the candy that the kids in the back of the bus would thrown at you on November 1st. They are THAT hated by children that they are used as weapons.
Why didn't the old people know to just buy the brightly colored bags of Wacky Wafers or Jolly Ranchers or or or... ANYTHING else?
Seriously. Turn on a television. Read the newspaper flyers. Anything advertised is popular.
Even timeless classics like Snickers and Reese's they should know about. THOSE candies were around when Ike was raging against the machine.
I just don't get it.
BUT: all that crappy candy did one important thing. When you dumped your loot on the table that night it made the gems stand out that much more. It was like panning for gold."Crap... crap... crap... Hershey bar... crap... Eureka! A mini-Nerds box!"
3 comments:
Haha!! Well done! If you'll remember, though, Beetlejuice uses a Zagnut to lure a fly into the model before he attaches himself to the Maitlands. So maybe a Zagnut isn't all bad. hehe But I've never had one either.
I actually like Mary Janes for some reason. I said like, not love--if I had to pick between a Mary Jane and a Bit-O-Honey, I would go for the latter. I wonder if wrappers are a regional thing? I've only ever seen them in the solid orange and black wrappers.
I like Necco wafers!
Vinylmacabre: You're totally proving my point--- a Zagnut is FLYBAIT! Like a rotten piece of road-kill!
Erick: I'm sorry you like Necco wafers. What flavor is your favorite? Purple-licorice-disk 1, or Yellow-licorice-disk 5?
Ha! I kid!
Give me a barometer on your candy taste-o-meter. What other candies do you like?
Post a Comment