Parlor Spider...Step In, Little Fly

Insightful thoughts and/or rants from atop the soapbox from one who wishes to share the "right" opinion with everyone.

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Long-Lost Alexander Returns

We read all the time about a long-lost letter from somebody who knew John Wilkes Booth or somesuch missive being discovered hidden in an attic...or a letter from a G.I. during WWI finding its way home after almost a century. This story is not like that. At all. It is riveting, perhaps, only to me, but maybe my telling of it will inspire you to remember fondly a snippet of your childhood and embark on the same kind of odyssey I've been on lately.
We were not destitute when I was a kid. True, some nights we just had cornbread for dinner, and we ate a lot of small game that my dad shot, but I suspect event then that there were a lot of people far worse off than we were. Mom was always home, Dad worked hard to support us, and there was always heat, food and clothing. We got to (or were forced to, depending on your perspective)attend a parochial school, and we always got at least one thing that was NOT socks or underwear for Christmas. Otherwise, though, there were not a lot of extras. I remember going to the A&W drive in and getting a "baby" root beer because they were free, and I remember going to the drive in movies on occasion; but things like pop and candy did not exists as a regular occurrence. That's what made Alexander so special.
This inexpensive form of candy might have been my first experience with sweets of that nature. A round, purple, grape-flavored ball of sugar called "Alexander the Grape" was something I discovered as a teenager. I loved them even better than the tart Lemonheads which were made by the same company. Little did I know that our relationship would be a brief one.
Sometime when I was not paying attention, the grape version was no longer available: Lemonheads abounded in profusion, but Alexander was gone. Over the last twenty years or so, I've searched on and off, more or less seriously, for the treat I remembered as a child...often substituting the lemon-flavored one out of desperation. Until two weeks ago.
My son Ryun who seems to know everything about anything, informed me that the Ferrara Pan company was located in Chicago...and they still made the grape-flavored candy. Now it was called simply "Grapeheads," but it was, indeed, the same candy. I located it on the website and called to find out where I could purchase such a long-lost friend here in Green Bay. I was transferred to a distributor who, in turn, transferred me to the local distributor for Ferrara Pan who was kind enough to name each location in the city that carried its product. AND ONE WAS LESS THAN 2 MILES FROM MY HOUSE!
Barely able to contain my excitement, I rushed over to the Triangle Shell station, only to find disappointment as I scanned the shelves. The manager tried to console me with Cherryheads, but I managed to convince her that this was a quest not to be fulfilled by something cherry-flavored. She agreed to discuss the matter with her distributor and told me to return in a week. Tucking a few Cherryhead boxes in my pocket in appreciation, I left whistling...only to return yesterday to the disheartened manager who informed me that my desire was simply not available. Euphoria gave way to the deepest of depression, and horrible childhood memories came flooding back.
Unwilling to accept defeat, I went back to the online store and ordered a case of Grapeheads, to be delivered to my house tomorrow.
Birthdays, Christmases, World Series victories: none will have been as eagerly awaited at tomorrow's postperson.
Just as Odysseus eventually returned to Ithaca to reclaim his wife and his kingship, on the morrow I will return to my childhood to regain the euphoria as the sugary, grape-flavored ooze trickles down my throat: the halcyon days of youth.
So, I urge you to think back to a special aspect of your childhood that you could, possibly, reclaim; go for it. Don't know how to start or where?
I'd suggest you call Ryun. He knows, literally, everything about everything.

1 Comments:

At 3:34 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

oh...the old fashioned ribbon candy that filled my Grandmother's candy jar. Year in and year out. I know I can find some around Christmas time but it just never tastes the same - or looks right.

 

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