Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

Halloween candy

Run For The Candy!

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by Kimberly A. Cook

It’s candy day! Forget the kids, this holiday is for us grown-ups who really need an excuse to sugar-load. There are no calories on Halloween. Trust me. They roll over to November first. So enjoy yourselves.

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How cute is this garden center ghost?

 

Today is our last day of bright sunshine for awhile. The rains are coming and cold temperatures. Today I am protecting faucets,  putting the fuchsias in the garage and stowing away my beloved lawn swing. I was only able to use it for six days this summer. better than none.

Right on schedule my Emergency Preparedness 5-day supply backpack arrived to put in the car. Given the horrendous weather we’ve had this year, maybe I should have bought two and one small cat one for Spec Ops Cat. (They need to make kitty and doggie emergency backpacks too.)

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Candy days! But not my favorites.

 

Learned logistics from my military days; if you don’t have supplies, you don’t have them when you need them. Another reason why I hoard purple ink pens and Post it Notes. And copy paper. And printer ink. And three-ring binders. You get the picture.

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Peanut M&Ms! My favorite. Along with Dove Dark Chocolate. Did you know M&Ms were developed in 1941 for World War II troops C-rations? Plus Tootsie Rolls helped save the lives of Marines at the Chosin Reservoir battle during the Korean War? Patriotic candy! 

So your one big decision today is what treat are you going to have? I let myself have one. It can be a piece of pie, or candy or a cinnamon roll. For some reason, cinnamon rolls have been prominent picks lately.

Enjoy Halloween.  Indulge but don’t overdo. And remember; running for the candy burns calories. Sweet!

 

 

Candy links:

M&Ms History – http://www.mars.com/global/about-us/history

Marine Corps and Tootsie Rolls – http://www.usmc-mccs.org/articles/how-tootsie-rolls-accidentally-saved-marines-during-war/

Skulls, Halloween Candy And Tiaras?

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by Kimberly A. Cook          (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

This year is flying by and I realized I don’t have any Halloween decorations up at home. My last luncheon visit to my favorite antique store I stumbled upon this snappy skull dressed with a tiara. Now I’m not that thrilled with skulls, but I’m a big fan of tiaras so I had to take a pic. Decorating idea. In my case the tiara would be on a pumpkin. A baby pumpkin.

Skull with tiara. I was not kidding!
Skull with tiara. I was not kidding.

I won a pumpkin decorating contest at the day job one year with a miniature pumpkin decked out in a mini Santa hat and sunglasses. No carving even. I’m lazy. It’s all in the presentation folks.

Organizing the candy shelf at home this past weekend, it used to be a bowl but it grew, I unearthed some leftover candy from last Halloween. Not sure how that happened, but miracles do occur during the holidays.

The sunrises and sunsets are getting closer together now and all I want to do is hunker down with a book, bottle and blankie. My bottle would be filled with chocolate milk. I’m a wild one! With the urge to hibernate coming on, I focus on the holidays to distract me from the short dark days. Plus I look forward to staying inside and reading.

A member of my writer group mentioned there might be another pumpkin shortage. I went straight to the store and loaded up on Libby’s canned pumpkin and Carnation evaporated milk. Safe for another year. I may still have some pumpkin leftover from the last shortage scare. Might this be a marketing ploy at some point?

I also picked up a new pumpkin spice muffin mix I saw at the grocery store. Plus I’m on the hunt for my special pumpkin chips I can buy only at this time of the year. Which is another reason why the repair person will be installing a new motor in my treadmill in a week; I actually killed the motor. Heaven knows I cannot go into the holidays without a working treadmill. It’s the calorie grazing season!

Hope you all are enjoying your pre-Halloween test candy so we can all go out and buy the real Halloween candy for the treaters.

Happy Snacking? Got candy? Run for the pumpkin products too!

Did You Eat “Military” Candy On Halloween?

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by Kimberly A. Cook              (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Some folks are amazed how easy it is for me to find military connections for my writing and blog posts. The history of the United States revolves around our men and women patrolling and fighting around the globe and in space to protect our freedom. One of my favorite research topics has always been the role that candy plays in the military.

Part of my patriotic candy stash!
Part of my patriotic candy stash!

If you ate M&Ms, Hershey chocolate bars, Tootsie Rolls or Necco wafers this last Friday, you ate candy either developed for and or supplied to our troops in their rations. American troops in Iraq prized the Peanut M&Ms since they didn’t melt in the heat. The Marines at The Chosin Reservoir in Korea were air dropped Tootsie Rolls and it saved their lives. World War II soldiers were given Hershey chocolate bars, Tootsie Rolls, Mars Candy bars and Necco wafers in their rations.

Aside from being treats and sugar for energy, candy was also a way to connect with locals. My Dad told a story about being in occupied Japan on patrol in the neighborhoods. Since he was among the first troops in after Japan’s surrender, locals were afraid of what the American GIs might do to the Japanese.

He said they came down a street and kids were outside playing. The children stopped in fright when they saw the soldiers. Dad called one kid over and gave him some of his Necco wafers. Dad ate one himself and then showed the child through pantomime to share with the other kids. The young one did as he was shown and the kids all scattered inside their homes. Later on, the children would come out to get the treats when troops came by, beginning détente after a brutal war.

Who knew the power of candy for improving world relations? One never knows how one single gesture can affect so many lives. To the Hershey company who produced more than a billion ration candy bars during World War II and Necco wafers and Tootsie Rolls who did the same, I feel it’s my patriotic duty to support these companies year-round.

The astronauts even chose M&Ms as the first candy to go into space.  If there is one thing we all have to do on this planet, it’s eat, so it might as well be patriotic candy. Especially on Election Day. Got any military candy stories?