My friend Chris wrote on his blog the other day about candy. It might seem like candy is not an intense enough subject for an entire blog post, but I disagree. I LOVE candy. Part of the candy mystique probably comes from the fact that when we were kids, it was a restricted commodity. At least it was for my family. I remember going to friends' houses who got ice cream for an after-school snack, and I thought they were pretty much the luckiest kids in the whole world.
Even though I'm an adult now and can buy candy anytime I want, some of that childhood awe of certain treats has not worn off. Chris mentioned Gushers in his post, and the same holds true for me. Gushers were so cool when I was a kid, and I was never allowed to have them. Same with Fruit Roll-ups. We always just had the nerdy, home-dehydrated kind made of actual fruit. Boring!
Another near-unattainable childhood candy was Big Chew (that's what I remember it being called, but apparently it was Big League Chew). Looking back, I can't believe this product even existed. If I didn't have such strong memories of coveting it and then savoring it whenever we did get it, I don't think I would believe it. Then again, I also remember enjoying candy cigarettes, so what's a little fake chewing tobacco?
I just know there are other childhood favorites that I'm forgetting, that they probably don't make anymore. Are Spree still out there? How about Pixy Stix or Fun Dip? Pop Rocks? Obviously it's been a while since I took a good look at the candy aisle. What were some of your favorite childhood candies? And what do you think about a parent who allows their child to have pseudo chewing tobacco and candy cigarettes, but not Fruit Roll-ups?