What is your favorite hard candy? Mine is and always has been Atomic Fireballs. I have a bowl of them in my sewing room, a bowl in the living room and a stash in my car. I don’t chew gum very often, but you can often see me with a huge bump in my cheek when I drive, compliments of a fireball. I enjoy one when I’m thirsty, when I want  something sweet and to rid myself of a too salty taste in my mouth. Wintergreen lozenges would be a distant second if I had to admit to another craving.

When I was in grade-school I lived across the street from a general store. They had a marvelous selection of penny candy, and each piece was indeed just a penny. I would sneak pennies out of the change bowl in the cupboard, or find a couple of pop bottles to return for the deposit and of course, get fireballs. My friend Judy wasn’t allowed to have them so I got her Tootsie rolls. I now buy my fireballs in the bulk section of the local big grocery store. I counted my treasure last time I got them and did the math, they are now five cents a piece. Inflation hits all walks of our lives.

According to the National Day of Calendar, hard candy is nothing more than boiled sugar with some coloring and flavoring added. I have made fudge before and that is a soft candy. It would be interesting to be able to visit a factory that makes hard candy. I can smell the boiling syrup but I have no imagery to visualize the little pieces coming into existence. I wonder what kind of machine wraps a Tootsie pop or twists the ends of the cellophane that holds the Smarties in their roll.

Currently in the family room there is a bowl with miniature candy canes in it. My grandson likes to stick a whole one crosswise in his mouth and suck on it till he can break it in half with his tongue then he chews it up and goes for another one. It wouldn’t be Christmas without some peppermint candy canes. The red and white add a festive look and make me think of the many different times and places I have enjoyed one over the years.