Snickers

Back in the early 1970s, I was doing temporary office work in the Chicago area. I got a job in the sales department of M&M/Mars in Oak Park, Illinois. I don't remember much about the job except that every morning there was a basket of fun sized candy on my desk. All of the M&M/Mars products were in that basket: Mars Bars, Milky Way, M&Ms, Twix, and yes, Snickers.

A Snickers candy bar is the world's most perfect food: nougat topped with caramel, peanuts and covered in chocolate. What could be better? It was made right there in the factory and the smell wafted over to the sales department. Every day, I ate every single Snickers bar out of that basket, leaving the rest. I never got sick of that bar. After three months and ten extra pounds, I decided I had better move on.

A decade later, when I took my son Chris trick or treating, we had an understanding. All Snickers bars were to be saved for his mother. He was fine with that deal.

These days, I have a grandson who saves all his trick or treat Snickers bars for his grandmother. This is one sweet racket I have and it gets worse.

Gary was grocery shopping this past week and found bags of Snickers fun sized bars on sale for $1.25. He is now hiding them around the house, three bars a day, the theory being I won't eat as many that way. I find one and threaten him with bodily harm if he doesn't immediately get me the other two. I think I scare him because he always gives in.

Other than Halloween I don't keep Snickers in the house. That way I convince myself that I am not a Snickers addict. I couldn't possibly be, could I?