Gone But Not Forgotten

It all started with Cuban Lunch chocolate bars.

  

When I was a little girl I had a weekly tradition:  After receiving my allowance, I would head for Ken's Confectionary -- the local convenience store -- and make my usual purchases.  

                    - The latest Archie comic book   (25 cents)

                    - A bottle of Grape Crush soda.   (15 cents)

                    - A Cuban Lunch chocolate bar.  (10 cents)

And although my allowance increased as I got older, I'm pretty sure I kept up this weekly ritual for many years.  Probably until I graduated from high school.  Then I moved away to college in the states and forgot about my love of Cuban Lunches.

It wasn't until I was married with children of my own, that I decided to purchase a Cuban Lunch so I could introduce its crunchy goodness to my young daughters.  Alas it was not to be found!  No matter where I looked, no store seemed to sell it.  

Was life still worth living?

Then came Cinnamon Dentyne gum.

For years it was my favourite gum -- I chewed it almost every day for as long as I can remember.  I could chew it for hours on end, and it still kept it's cinnamony flavour.  

And then one traumatic day back in the 1980's (or was it the 90's?) it was no longer being sold. Anywhere!  It was as if one of the best parts of my life just up and disappeared.  Rude!

Oh, I tried the other kinds.  "Big Red", "Trident", "Fire".

But they just weren't the same.  It was a sad day for sure.

Over the course of the next several years, I became an experimental chewer.  Never being completely satisfied with one particular brand of gum, I kept trying new flavours.  One day The Mr. brought home a package of "Stride Sweet Peppermint".     

It was pretty good!  It became our new favourite for a few months until -- you guessed it -- they quit selling that too!

And then I started noticing it happening with a few more of my favourite things:  

                              - Perfume

                              - Hairspray

                              - Lotion

                              - Tuna

                              - Canned Tomato Sauce

                              - Pasta

                              - Refried Black Beans

And the list goes on.

So, on a recent trip to Utah, I was on a mission.  Normally while I'm there, I enjoy doing a little shopping -- usually for dresses -- but this time I didn't do any of that.  Instead, I spent my time and money on things I can no longer get in Canada.

Now, if I could just get my hands on a Cuban Lunch and a case of refried black beans, my life would be complete!

Dixie