-image by SCEhardt, released to public domain
When I was a kid, I collected things. This is no surprise to anyone who knows me. Stashing is cumbersome in adulthood. But as a kid, it was a goldmine.
I tended to be the slow, silent type who savored and squirreled things away. I cached items like carefully folded and dog-eared Life Savers books (12 candy rolls in every volume), a Mount Everest of Halloween goodies, bags of Tootsie Pops and Rolls, the half-bitten ears of milk chocolate Easter bunnies, and Peeps.
Okay, the Peeps didn’t last long in my sock drawer; they turned hard, chewy, and plastic tasting. And they made my socks smell like, well, that Peep smell. But the point is I could trade out bits and pieces of buried treasure to my brothers and sister for more valuable commodities. Important things like dusting the furniture, ironing, or doing the dishes (my chores).
Instead of cattle, cowrie shells, whale’s teeth, ornamental jewelry, tobacco, rice, indigo, wheat, or maize, I bartered candy.
“Hey, how about 3 Atomic Fire Balls, 1 pack of Black Jack gum, 3 Blow Pops, and a Wax Lips for dusting the living room?”
Pledge anyone?
I didn’t end up using the secret barter system all that much. The truth is I liked the savoring a lot more than I liked the bartering. I’ve never been all that interested in money. Maybe I should have paid more attention to the economics of candy. It might have afforded a much sweeter ride through later life. For now I’m left with visions of a 401-Kandy-K dancing in my head.
Friday, April 27th, 2007
-related to Topic post, WRITING TOPIC – CANDY FREAK
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