NEIGHBORHOOD CANDY STORE

The corner candy store. Where I grew up it was in an old glorified barn. A guy named Bud who smoked a big cigar, would allow us to take fifteen minutes of his time each week to spend our 25 cent allowance from home chores. Candy bars were a nickel and penny candy ... oh my.,you could get 3 for 1, 2 for 1, even 5 for one penny candies, Bazooka Gum, and Cracker Jacks. Now you know where our 3rd grade thought problems came from. Bud was always patient, kind, and always threw in an extra piece of my favorite. The paraffin candies with the colored flavored water was always the biggest let down for me. The older kids said if I would chew it long enough, it would turn in to gum. It never did. Then one day... Bud was gone. Another fellow showed up as the new owner. At first we thought he didn't like us kids and then the candy selection started to change. In fact, he did like kids, but it took a group of our Mothers to pay him a visit and remind him. He ended up with a thriving business, changing with the times, morphing into pizza, beer, and convenience items. I wonder how many kids today would ride their bikes 2-3 miles to get the thrill of spending their allowance on a little brown bag of goodies. I would make it last me a week, until the next sojourn. Sadly, later as a teenager, SOME kids went to get their little brown bag with airplane glue or even a beer there. Today the Barn is gone. BUT! we have Amazon.