What is the definition of nostalgia? According to Webster’s, it means "a longing to go back to one’s home, homesickness" or " a longing for something far away or long ago". Or how about this one: " longing for former happy circumstances".

Does candy have a place in nostalgia?

What kinds of things bring back those sweet memories for you? Certain smells, the name of someone dear, a picture. An old movie or television show. Just recently, I re-read my "travel diaries". I did quite a bit of traveling while growing up and it was a lot of fun to read what I had written. To remind myself of my family, the places we visited, the games we played. Bonfires, sudden thunderstorms, a hurricane I got caught in. Freshly caught and cooked trout. That’s right…the good ole days.

But what about candy? I ask you again. Does candy have a place in our view of nostalgia?

Razzles? Parachute Jumpers? Bazooka Bubble Gum? Sugar Babies? Sugar Daddies?

All of the above? I used to earn a whopping $2.00 a week for my allowance. Do you know what that bought me back then? A soda, a magazine, and enough candy to last me the whole day. It’s amazing how far $2.00 used to go! It’s also amazing that I still have all of my teeth!

How fun it is to sit down with candy that is now hard to find, and my kids, and a great movie. It’s one way to share my past pleasures with them, one way of showing them what it was like when I was a kid (although we, of course, didn’t have DVD’s or videos!). But this is another form of nostalgia ~the chance to watch those great shows that they would otherwise never get to see.

Can you still get a lot of that candy that you grew up with? Yes. Is it hard to find? Mostly, yes. But now-a-days, with the great technology that we know as the computer age, then the answer is now "no". It’s virtually right at your fingertips. You just have to know where to look. Once you find it, you will be glad that you did. Because now, you will be able to share the same with your loved ones, or the ones from your past.

Again, does candy have a place in nostalgia? The only answer to that is: absolutely!