Still Eating Candy Canes

Christmas is almost a month past. And you might recall I had my neighborhood Christmas get-together around then, maybe just a bit before Christmas.

I didn't know how much candy to get. Including candy canes. I was thinking, If a lot of kids show up, they'd probably be delighted each to get one. Maybe they'd line up and receive their little candy cane individually. Maybe we'd get some cute photos of toddlers trying to hang one from their finger.

But how many to buy? What if I only bought one box and had three boxes worth of kids show up. Then I have 24 kids disappointed and 12 kids happy. Suddenly the individual lining up wouldn't look so equitable. In fact, it'd be like a soup kitchen, or cattle at the trough, with the difference being that two thirds of them would not be served. At least at soup kitchens you can stretch the soup. But you can't be splitting candy canes.

So I was standing there at the store thinking over the whole situation. If I get too few, that's worse than too many. But on the other hand I'd already laid out some serious cash for summer sausage, salsa, chips, blue cheese, pop, etc. It was really adding up. And yet candy canes are relatively cheap, but then what do you do if you get way too many? It's just throwing good money away.

I weighed it in my mind for a while, then decided, We wouldn't do anything special with them. We'll put them on the table, and if a kid wants one he or she can have one. If we don't call attention to them, it's no big deal. First come, first served. Win or lose, it's your fate. Que sera sera. So I only bought one box, and sweated it all the way home.

When the big day came, I had the whole spread, and it was lovely. Ghiradelli candy, other candies, plus the mounds of other stuff mentioned above and more. With a mere 12 candy canes in a little clump on the table.

As it turned out, 12 was plenty. The kids must not have seen them that well. I don't think I saw even one kid with a candy cane. Maybe they get too many candy canes at school or something. Or maybe they're considered an old fashioned candy now, like horehound drops or sassafras sticks. I didn't see even one kid even looking at the candy canes.

Because of the lack of interest, of course all my prior thoughts about kids lined up to get one came to nought. And as far as anyone dangling one from their finger, it just wasn't the year for it, as it turned out.

So the 12 candy canes have been setting on the table, moved from the serving table to the regular table, because the serving table was put away. In the last few days I've been picking up one every now and then. They're good for a quick breath refresher if someone drops by or if I'm going out.

It's kind of hard to believe I could stretch out 12 candy canes this long. And actually there's plenty left, even though it seems like I must have eaten several by now. I've got a little piece of one right here. When you break them, they really snap. And they drop crumbs too. I had a crumb land right between the keys of my keyboard, and I had to work at it to keep it from dropping out of sight. When down there -- if you know anything about candy canes -- I'm sure it would get heated up, then melt, then gum up the works.

Anyway, as I close, I have the taste of candy canes in my mouth. They're very good.