Page A2 / The Joan
De Arc Crusader / Monday, December 25, 2023
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Christmas Nostalgia
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Crossword
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“Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.” – Voltaire
Letter from the Editor
All I want
for Christmas are my mell-ow-cremes
by J. Bueker
One of the sadder aspects of aging is the gradual disappearance of
all the stuff you loved as a kid. My personal examples feel innumerable,
but at Christmastime I am particularly afflicted by the inescapable
melancholia of childhood holiday reminiscence.
My family will wearily attest to the fact that I remain a maniacal
stickler for Christmas tradition and I nurture in perpetuity eminently
fond memories of our Yuletides at 3219 W. Joan De Arc Avenue, as indeed
any devoted reader of the Crusader is well aware. Alas, with each passing
year, The Ghost of Christmas Past weighs a tad more heavily upon my soul.
I dearly miss such bygone Yuletide phenomena as the Sears Wish Book
catalog, Christmas shopping at Chris-Town mall, Christmas Eve at Grandma’s
house, the mildly inebriated Santa Claus at Westown Shopping City, to name
but a precious few. The Christmas cartoon standards like
A Charlie Brown Christmas
and Mr. Magoo’s Christmas
Carol seemed so much more
precious and meaningful back when we only had that one fleeting
opportunity to view them, else it was tough luck kid, wait ‘til next year.
When it comes to Christmas candy, I still
insist upon receiving the traditional Life Savers Sweet Story Book despite
its marked decline in recent decades, and I yet savor the occasional candy
cane. But there was one other holiday candy that I always considered truly
indispensable to the season, and unlike the other two, this one has
completely vanished into history: Brach’s Christmas Mellocremes.
The Brach’s Christmas Mellocremes of yore were delicious chocolate,
vanilla, banana, peppermint and lime flavored mellocreme candies shaped to
comport with a rich variety of Christmas iconography such as drums, dolls,
toy soldiers, trees, angels, Santas, and the like. The mellocremes first
appeared in the 1950s, and although I am unsure exactly when they
disappeared from store shelves, their absence has been keenly felt for
quite a few years now. Sadly, Brach’s has seemingly lost interest in
making a variety of beloved holiday candies from our youth -- they even
discontinued the legendary Easter Hunt Marshmallow Eggs for crying out
loud. Madness. In all fairness to Brach’s, it
should be duly noted that the company did reintroduce a Christmas
mellocreme candy of sorts a couple years back called “Elf Candy Cane
Forest,” which features such odd flavors as maple syrup, frosted sugar
cookie, and toasted marshmallow. With misplaced optimism I purchased a bag
of these “Christmas mellocremes” last year and let’s just say they are in
no way comparable to the beloved old mellocremes of yesteryear and thus
scarcely replacement for my all-time favorite Christmas candy.
Far be it from me to lecture candy companies on their own business just to
suit my quaint personal sense of nostalgia. I suppose there is little
choice but to add the Brach’s mellowcremes to my sad and growing list of
bygone Christmas joys. Alas, but at least we still have our Life Savers
(for now).
Que sera, sera. Peace on Earth and a very Merry Christmas to our
dear readers!
_______________________________
LETTERS
We welcome your letters at
jdacrusader@aol.com.
_______________________________
Cranky Chuck’s
Christmas and Year in Review
Season’s Greetings and Bah Humbug, loyal readers. Once again it is
time to look back at the twelve months we have just slogged though and
make an initial assessment. We are wrapping up what has been the Year of
the Dragon on the Chinese calendar, and just like a dragon, the past 365
days have been both majestic and fraught with hidden dangers.
So, was 2024 naughty or nice? Let us weigh the evidence.
On the nice side of the ledger, we have much to consider. A new grandchild
for us tops the list as the happy and beautiful baby April arrived in
July. The opportunity to spend time with our other grandchild Malcolm, and
watching him grow into such a clever little two-year-old, has been equally
cherished this year. In the immediate family we all mostly enjoy good
health and financial stability and a wealth of goods and services
available to us that our parents and grandparents could have only dreamed
about. The naughty side of the list is also
well populated, unfortunately. In this country we were faced with an
election year that was guaranteed to disappoint at least half of the
American population no matter what happened. Income inequality continues
to rise and too many of our working-class folks are just barely scraping
by, despite their best efforts. Internationally there are multiple wars
started or continuing this year on multiple fronts that are killing
innocent civilians, tearing apart families, and destroying property. At
last count there are 120 million people around the world who have been
forced to flee their homes. When you put it
all together, 2024 was a very mixed bag, just like most years. The
perceptive reader, however, might note that the worst of 2024 has taken
place well outside of their personal experience, and for that we should
all be grateful. My hope for 2025 is that all the problems in the world
will be solved, including yours, but that’s a lot to expect. I can only
echo and leave you with the words of the poet:
A very merry Christmas And a happy New Year
Let’s hope it’s a good one Without any fear
Less cranky Chuck may or may not make an
appearance for next year’s column. Be hopeful.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________JDA
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