Childhood Problem-Solving

One of those rites of passage we experienced in the "big city" was permission to ride our bikes to other parts of the neighborhood - away from the block our own house was on.  In the fall one of the first places we were all allowed to ride was the local drug store.  It had a soda fountain, magazines, newspapers, candy and some other important "stuff" like bandaids and iodine.

One of the things my friends introduced me to was a little wax replica of a bottle with overly sweet koolaid-type liquid inside.  The idea was to buy one for a penny, bite the top off, drink the syrupy liquid, then chew the wax for the next three hours.  The caution was always announced, "DON'T SWALLOW IT....!!!!'  One was enough for me, but it was often the reward at the end of the drug store run for my bike-riding explorer friends.

It was shortly after the wax bottle experience that I was introduced to candy corn.

Candy Corn print - Ranger black ink on tan Strathmore 300 series paper.  Color added with Derwent Inktense pencils activated with water. 

Right from their introduction, I categorized the wax bottles from the local drug store and candy corn in the same group - waxy, chewy, and not meant to be swallowed.  It was quite some time before I learned that they were not intended to be alike at all, and that many people made it a point to add candy corn to their grocery list.

Candy Corn print - Ranger black ink on gessoed tan Strathmore 300 series paper.  Color added with Derwent Inktense pencils activated with water. Writing completed with Micron .8 black ink.

For some reason, my original grouping of candy corn has remained, however.  I imagine it was several years (4 or 5) before I realized they were not in the same group.....long enough to really make a waxy  impression.  Each time I give one a try and bite down on a triangular kernel, visions of waxy, flattened bottles pop into my head and my teeth squeak - or at least they feel like they squeak.