Tag: Jellybeans

Posted in Food

Terrible snacks

Posted on by William Douthwaite

“These jellybeans are terrible.”

Said no one. Ever. Until I did.

As we drove home from visiting my son, we searched every gas station convenience store for circus peanuts. Circus peanuts? Yeah, those sort of pink, half-way orange, stale peanut-shaped marshmallow treat. They have no nutritional value, little taste, and feel weird when you bite in. But some find them irresistible. So we keep searching.

Persistence paid off at a Keith’s Superstore in the middle of rural Mississippi. There they were in the candy aisle. Two for a buck fifty. One pack is enough, so let’s grab one circus peanuts and one…bag of jellybeans. Can’t go wrong with jellybeans.

When I popped a couple jellybeans in my mouth, I knew something was wrong. I was wrong. These jellybeans were terrible. No flavor, strange texture, sickeningly sweet. In a word, blech.

The circus peanuts weren’t much better. “These are nasty.” And very disappointing. Styro-bland. Once again, bleach. We tossed them. At the next stop we found real jellybeans, Brach’s. But sadly, no circus peanuts.

Posted in faith, family, Life

The excitement is building: It’s almost Easter!

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Growing up, Easter was as exciting as Christmas. I had a hard time getting to sleep the night before. My brother, sister, and I all woke up way too early on Easter Sunday morning. Why? We couldn’t wait to get our Easter baskets! The church was always a part of our family life, but we never missed out on all the other good stuff, too.

I have no idea where the tradition came from, but every Easter our baskets would have a string tied to them. It was a treasure hunt. The string would wind around furniture, through different rooms, and finally lead us to a small present. The only specific present I remember receiving was a Matchbox bulldozer. I know, that has nothing to do with Easter, but I thought it was really cool.

In addition to the hard-boiled eggs we had dyed the day before, our baskets were filled with jellybeans, malted milk balls coated to look like candy eggs, a few marshmallow bunnies, and sometimes a solid chocolate bunny.

This one comes in sizes up to 64 oz!

My mom always ordered a special dark-chocolate covered coconut cream egg from a local candy store. A little larger than the size of a softball, I remember it weighing several pounds and was unbelievably sweet. Apparently, these eggs were a Philadelphia tradition. My mom always ate most of it, slicing off pieces like she was carving a roast.

When I walked through Walmart a few days ago, I saw four aisles devoted to Easter baskets, candy, decorations, and toys. It’s still very exciting. It’s very exciting for retailers, who predict we’ll spend $23 billion dollars on Easter this year. That’s every kind of chocolate candy you can imagine is wrapped for Easter. That’s why jellybeans come in so many flavors.

But I saw no solid bunnies. Just the hollow chocolate ones. The big coconut cream eggs? I would probably have to order one online. Other Easter candy? We’ve got plenty of that. Don’t worry, I’ll let the grandkids have some, too.