As I write this, it’s
high summer. After authoring dozens of stories about ocean beaches, swimming in
warm lakes, and dodging sharks off the coast of Cape Cod - I feel the need to
move on.
But It’s too soon to
start thinking about autumn, back to school, back to work, and like many other
folks of a certain age - back to Florida.
For no particular
reason I started thinking about the last few United States Presidents. I spent about 10 seconds pondering Number 45,
Donald Trump.
Another few seconds were
devoted to 44, Barack Obama. I gave
perhaps a combined minute to 43 and 41, the George Bushes. Number 42, Bill Clinton, got 25 seconds.
I stopped on number
40, Ronald Reagan, the actor, turned politician – and thought about him for a
long time. He wasn’t much of an actor
when compared to his peers. Bogie, Jimmy
Cagney, Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda, Edward G. Robinson were far bigger box
office sensations. Even Vincent Price
and Bela Lugosi could pack a movie theater much fuller than Reagan.
After ‘The Old
Ranger’ retired from Death Valley Days, a staple of radio and TV from 1930 to
1975, Reagan hosted the program for its last year or two. He was okay, but he was no ‘Old Ranger’. The O.R. helmed the broadcast from the radio
days and through most of its run on the tube.
So why did I skip
past Presidents 41 through 45 and focus on Reagan, Number 40?
Jelly Beans.
He was a jelly bean aficionado,
as am I. I have little in common with
Trump, Clinton, the pair of Bushes, and Obama.
Truth told, I don’t have much in common with Regan either, but there’s
always the Jelly Bean thing.
They are not as popular
as they used to be. It’s hard to find a
good J.B. today. They’ve been around
since the 1600s but really hit their stride in the United States in the early
1900s. Children of the 1930s could buy
them by the penny and pick the colors they liked best, as opposed to the
packages of today, which come with assorted flavors.
As the 1900s progressed,
kids could by J. B.s in bags of single colors.
You could get a whole bag of nothing but orange ones! Or blues.
At Christmas you would be able to land a bag of reds and a bag of
greens.
From the 17th
century when they were called Jordan Almonds up to the 1970s Jelly Beans
remained the same – a semi hard shell with a soft inside (pretty much like your
Mother in Law).
Everything changed in
the late 1970s, around the time of Reagan’s campaign for the office of U.S.
President. The Herman Goelitz Candy
Company invented ‘Jelly Bellies’.
The gourmet beans became
superstars during the Reagan era. Jelly
Bellies had tons of new flavors like melon, peach, grape, and various sour
fruit flavors.
The Goelitz Company has
many confectionary products in its stable, but Jelly Bellies account for almost
three fourths of the company’s total sales.
The new jelly beans
were vastly different, possessing a different taste as well as look. Even the
center was changed in some varieties, from the classic clear jelly to a
matching color of the bean.
When Reagan was
President, visitors noted that there were large vessels of Jelly Beans in
virtually every room in the official residence of the U.S. Presidents, the
White House.
During this era,
jelly beans even went into space. It is reliably reported that at least one of
the shuttles packed a full load of J.Bs for the crew to consume in the vastness
of space. In the immeasurable emptiness
of the dark universe, the Jelly Beans happily filled their minds with thoughts of
home and family.
With high summer upon us, it’s high
time for me to finish off this article and try to find an old fashioned candy
store where I can buy a whole bag of nothing but black jelly beans.
I just remembered that I did that one
time back in the 1970s and had a certain digestive difficulty that lasted for
two days. I think I’ll just head over to
the nearest supermarket and get regular JBs.
Happy Rest of the Summer to You and
Yours, from Me and Mine.
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