Penny Candy

I never thought I’d grow older and become one of those people that always talks about, “remember when”. Well I was sitting here a few minutes ago unwrapping a Mary Jane (not the Colorado kind) and it got me thinking about penny candy. When I think about penny candy, I think about my grandparents and their little mom and pop store Thornton’s Grocery.

 Located on 4th Street in Brunswick, Georgia going to our grandparents store was a nearly monthly treat. Not only did it mean going on a road trip, but it also meant for a weekend we got to play around the store. Plus if dad was in the mood we also got go to Jekyll Island. So even though the trip made me car sick as hell, me and my brother and sister still had fun. That was especially true when at the end of our visit we were rewarded with a 25¢ worth of candy. 

 If you’re under a certain age you may be thinking, “That’s not much candy”. But back in the day, when some candy was three pieces for a penny (Yes, three for a penny!); if you’re smart you could fill up a Tiger 12 paper bag with candy. (If you’re a Union Camp orphan, you know what Tiger 12 means.) It means you have enough candy to make you good and sick on that 2 1/2 hour trip home. 

 I suppose the point I’m making here is it’s okay to glorify our pasts. It’s the past that shaped who we are today. It was the grandma’s and grandpa’s, the aunts and uncles, the cousins, brothers and sisters that knew us way back when, and that’s okay. While life is to be lived in the moment, the past cannot be ignored. The past should be used to gain perceptive for how we should live today.  

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