No excuse

I got really busy.
I published a book.
Christmas came...
My other responsibilities piled up.
I kinda forgot about it...

All of this isn't a good excuse, I know, but I am finally back and ready to blog all things '70s. Since releasing my book, I've had a lot of positive reviews and I've learned a lot about the world of publishing. Of course my book is all about growing up in the '70s. Many people have shared with me so many cool things about their experiences growing up. I'll try to share on one or two specific memories per post and see how that works out, ok?

The local candy store. I grew up in a suburb north of Seattle and we had a few little stores in the area, but none had the same compelling attraction as Godfrey’s. Mom took any of our appliances there to have them fixed when they went on the fritz - apparently he was quite the tinkerer/handyman, but my siblings and I loved going there because he had the best, oddest, couldn't-find-at-the-local-7-11 candy.


Of course we walked there. It was only 5 or 6 blocks away - although since we lived above the Puget Sound, it was all downhill there and all uphill home. We must've been quite the site - Mom lugging some sort of broken appliance in a shopping bag, and all of us kids running along beside her. My brother and I would be especially excited and would most likely be daydreaming about all the goodies that we'd spend our whole 25 cents on.

As we walked in, Mom would greet Mr. Godfrey and begin to explain her latest appliance woe, but us kids would totally zone them out and begin the arduous task of scanning the endless bins of penny candy in an effort to begin to decide which of the sweet treasures we would actually buy. There were candy cigarettes, atom bombs pixies, rock candy strings, candy sticks (root beer was the BEST), smarties, pixy sticks - you know - a tube of flavored sugar, Necco wafers, laffy taffy, sweet tarts, little tootsie rolls, caramels, slo pokes, lemon drops, root beer barrels, jawbreakers, candy necklaces, licorices, gummy bears, etc. etc. etc.

Mom always let us buy our allotted amount, but we had to consume in moderation... so picking what to eat first and what to save for last was sometimes just as difficult as figuring out what to buy.

I realize that this was such a simple pleasure compared to what it takes to appease kids today. It was a good walk in the fresh air; it was spending time with the family; a chance to watch someone who was a good fix-it guy and store owner working and relating with the local neighbors; a lesson in decision making (all those candy choices); an opportunity to learn about commerce – even on a very small scale – as it related directly to my pocket; and a great lot of fun and something to look forward to, especially for a little kid.

What types of penny candy do you remember when you grew up? Did you have a little local store like me? I’d love to hear your stories.