I think I've done a rather good job of entering this new century. Eight years in and I've already let go of most fast food, many fat and sugar loaded baked goods, owning every book I read, and using my truck everyday. I walk daily. I remain fairly open-minded about music I buy and listen to, (blues music will always come first) I get that life in the first half of the 21st century demands change, flexibility, humility, and tolerance. I am trying to age gracefully and use my considerable experience and knowledge with precision and empathy. Some things, like Levis are not negotiable. Chocolate, real, dark, antioxident loaded 75-85% chocolate is here to stay.
Last weekend, while buying a Sunday paper in my local convenience store, I noticed something revolutionary. Dots, the gumdrops we all grew up with, have gone new age. On the shelf, next to the traditional rainbow of familiar gumdrops were the new names and flavors. Dots now come in 4 elements: Earth Wind, Fire, and Water. The flavors are cinnamon (fire) green tea (earth) pomegranate (water) and wintergreen (wind).
I recall first buying Dots at the Lankersheim Theater, in North Hollywood, on Saturday mornings when kids got in for 20 cents and that nickel left over from the quarter we got would buy a box of Dots. Most often the nickel went for an all day caramel sucker, a box of JuJubies (I can still feel them in my teeth) some licorice dots called Black Crows, or any number of 5 cent candy bars. By the way, I picked up a rather thin foil wrapped item that morning in the store. About the size of a large French fry, it was a 3 Musketeers candy bar! What happened there?
About twelve years ago I had one of those bug shields installed on the hood of my truck. It came with a few small plastic bumpers wedged in between the shield and the hood, probably to stabilize the fit. In time, with, rainstorms, hail storms, car washes, and wind, the little dot gumdrop sized gaskets dropped away. When I asked my mechanic if he had extras, he said that they only came with the original installation kit for the bug shield. I tried to buy some at a few auto supply stores but they just didn't exist. Then it hit me. Dots...green dots would work perfectly. They were dead ringers and even matched the color of my truck. I bought a box of traditional Dots, wedged in the green ones and found they worked perfectly...until it rained. They hardened within a week, but water tended to reduce their size just like consuming them in the movies. I wonder if these new Dots "elements" will perform better?
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