Will Stay Fresh Forever

Growing up in the 50's, in Brooklyn, was a fun time! I had no idea that some day, more specifically..today, my world would fall apart because a snack cake would disappear off the shelves of Stop N Shop. But that's how my blog begins..a flashback in time, when eating something sweet, after an intense game of stoop-ball, always managed to make the summer afternoon end happily, no matter who had won the game.

My mom did not look like June Cleaver; although she did wear an apron. She did not wear a strand of pearls around her neck. Nor did my siblings act like Mary and Jeff Stone! The Donna Reed Show, yes, friends..BEFORE The Brady Bunch family, was the role model, where the kids never yelled at each other, and the dialogue.. "You're punished..get to your room" was never scripted. Things were different in the real world of growing up in Flatbush, when your dad was not a doctor, and your mom worked at a dress factory..unlike Donna Reed who played the role of a stay-at-home mom.

Yet, sitting on my concrete stoop with my best friends Andrea, Jeannie, and Susan, always made me happy, believing in my heart that I lacked nothing. Very much like 5th graders of today, we had much to talk about on lazy summer afternoons. Our conversations usually included topics such as: who liked whom..boys..what girl had the prettiest clothes..what teacher was the nicest..boys' behavior in the lunchroom..and how we were all going to grow up one day, and find ourselves living the life of luxury and fame as moviestars..much like Sandra Dee!!

Our afternoon was not complete, without my mom calling us in for a snack..usually around 3. We would wash our hands and at the same time, wash our Spalding "Pinkie".  As my friends waited around the table, I would help mom by folding the napkins into perfect triangles and placing them neatly by the little plates. I would get the four hard plastic cups from the cabinet. The rim of the cups were flared slightly, and the colors were bold..red, green, blue and yellow. Cold milk, delivered daily in tall glass bottles, was easy to pour into our cups. Then we waited, often anticipating which snack mom would serve us. Sometimes, it was left over "Ravanee," a Greek cake that she would bake, but, more often then not, it was a Twinkie or a Hostess Cupcake!!

Because we were not rushed, we took our time eating our snack. It was actually an eating ritual that we had mastered. The Twinkie was less complicated to eat, than was the cupcake. We would cut the Twinkie in half, using the little plastic knife that mom would give us. Then slowly, methodically, we would stick our tongues into the little vanilla cream hole and pull out our favorite part! We never dunked our Twinkie in the milk. It was not a dunking kind of snack! We loved Twinkies. They stayed fresh forever!!

Eating the cupcake was complicated and indeed, much more fun! First we would take off the hard, top icing using our front teeth and lips. Our hand would hold the cupcake securely from the bottom and rotate it slowly. Once the top was free from the cake part, we would place it on our plate. We would break off the top portion of cake and eat it; exposing the middle icing! Pure enjoyment! We would then eat the vanilla cream by once again using our tongues to get it out. It was a task..one we took seriously. We NEVER rushed it! NEVER, EVER!

We drank milk, we wiped our lips and nearing the end, we often paused. It was our silent way of saying, "We are almost done, and we've saved the best part for now." Subconsciously, I bet each of us was waiting for the others to finish eating first. In that way, the slowest of eaters could still linger in the sweetness of the moment!!

Eating a Hostess Snack was part of my childhood eating experience!! You may be wondering if I was still eating Hostess Twinkies or cupcakes as an adult. The answer is "Hell, no!" I had obviously moved on..to Suzie Q's!!  I will not lie. I hope that someone rescues Hostess! Where is The Donald when you need him?!                        

Peace.