August 18, 2011

Like Bees on Honey

Flashback to 1984 in a gymnasium filled with sweaty 5th graders who have just been  brought to a frenzy over raising money for the new gym floor by Mr. Fundraiser himself.
As the bell rings for the school day to end, hundreds of children race to the carpool line grasping their wares, prepared to knock on every neighborhood door until their boxes are empty.  I, on the other hand, casually stroll to my car and look my mother in the eye.

"Today's the day," I say.
Her eyes light up like glowing candles, "I know.  Hand it over."
The smell has already penetrated the confines of our 1982 Caprice Classic station wagon.
There is no pressure to rush home to beat the other little salesmen to the doors of our unsuspecting neighbors.
We carefully open the box and our mouths water like fountains.  Even the cardboard box smells good enough to eat.

We peer into the box and find 20 bars of World's Finest Chocolate.
We're in no hurry because this is one fundraiser my mom is willing to support.  Completely.
She hands me a twenty dollar bill, which is a big deal in our house, and just like that, I have reached my fundraising goal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just last week my mom and I were telling my kids about those wonderful chocolate bars.  Our eyes sparkled as we shared that memory, especially the part about her buying the whole box.
"I wonder if they still make those," she mused.  We doubted it.

Yesterday, as I sat in the waiting area of the hair salon a little girl opened the door carrying a box of .... World's Finest Chocolate.  I couldn't believe it.  I dug in my purse, desperate for cash.  I caught her eye and asked if she was selling chocolate bars.  I only had TWO dollars so I assumed that I would only be able to afford 1 bar.  She opened her treasure chest to this:

No longer is the choice limited to milk chocolate or milk chocolate with almonds.  Now there are at least 6 choices.  The best part?  They are still only $1 each!  I would have bought the whole box if I had more cash with me.

I looked up to see the little girl wander into the active part of the salon and before I knew it, she was surrounded by women like bees on honey.  Within minutes, her box was empty.
I sure hope her mama got her own box ahead of time.

It was so fun to show up at my own mama's door with a pocket full of chocolate and good memories to share.

15 comments:

Amber said...

That is such a fun story and memory! Love it!!

Jen~ Lipstick and Laundry said...

Soooo FUNNY, and I completely get it... I was the SAME way in school... Just this past month a friend of mine had a son selling "candy bars" for his soccer team, I told her I'd take 2... UNTIL he cam to deliver and when I saw they were WORLD'S FINEST, I bought 10 (I only had a 10) and I may or may not have ate 2 right there on the spot, hid the rest and devoured them in 2 days... HOWEVER did you notice they aren't as thick as they used to be?? None the less, they tasted WONDERFUL...

Richella Parham said...

I remember World's Finest Chocolate bars! Our school band always sold them. So much better than so many other things that get sold for fundraising. I can't believe they're still $1!

Little Oak Table said...

HA!

HA HA HA!!!!

This story HAS to be in your book when you write one someday because it is HILARIOUS!!!

I felt like I was in the car with ya'll!!! So funny!

One day last year our entire family was in the front yard working in the flower bed and some sweet little girls walked up to us with a box of these!

Dave Ramsey budget or not you better believe I marched right into the house and got some $1's...we all got one...crunch, peanut butter and caramel...YUM!

I LOVE that your Mama bought the entire box! too cute

Karen said...

Grace sells them for Latin club at LHS. We'll send you a note when they are in the house! YUM!!

Samantha said...

sweet sweet memory. i love it:)

Katie said...

O my goodness my mom did the same thing! I thought I was the only one! ha!

Mom said...

I'm "saving" my precious bar you brought until a real chocolate craving attack! But I'll also be on the lookout for anyone else selling these little gems!
You really should write a book!!!
Ah, what memories...

KR said...

OH MY GOODNESS that is the best chocolate EVER. I was always so happy when it was our band's fundraiser time again. A lovely, lovely lady at my bible study brought those to the end of the year luncheon. I may have taken more than my share. God bless that woman.

Kellie said...

I remember those candy bars. Selling them was not hard... we bought quite a few ourselves. Unfortunately, my parents did not buy the entire box because they knew full well that the box would be emptied by me within the first day. No self-control... nada... zip. However, your story has made me want to go find a little kid who is knocking on doors and run up to them with money yelling "PLEASE may I buy some!?" Of course, if I did so... it would scare the child away. Hope you savored every bite.

The Lord Family said...

I have been thinking about this post all day. Which is pretty sad, I know.
We sold these too, but our bars were flatter and wider. I have no idea what the name was but just thinking about my favorite one--the caramel--has my mouth watering.
Yum.
Thanks for the delicious memory!
(and now I'm waiting for the word from Karen D...)

Sherri said...

SWEET memories, literally. I'll buy a whole box any day.

Heather said...

i sold all four flavors...but not sure it was this brand. i do remember LOVING the caramel ones though...the soft kind i/o the chewy:)

Anonymous said...

I wonder if different regions have their chocolate made by different people because I loved those bars growing up in SC (sold them for band :) ), but the ones I've bought in different states over the last few years haven't tasted the way I remember.

Or maybe my taste buds are aging.

Joy for the Seasons said...

That is sweet--in 2 ways!