Of Corn Pops and Twinkies

These are hard times for people of my generation. Two of our childhood favorites may soon disappear -- Hostess Twinkies and Kellogg's Corn Pops. The sentimental value of these, shall we say, foods is much greater than the nutritional value, but sentiment counts for a lot.

When we read recently that Kellogg's Corn Pops will disappear in 2012, we went to the store for a box, for old time's sake. Back in the 50s, Tom loved watching Wild Bill Hickok, starring Guy Madison and Andy Devine, and has fond memories of the Sugar Pops ads, with Guy and Andy shooting Pops from their guns. (Well, at least that is how Tom remembered the ads. We didn't locate any such ads on YouTube but if you find one, let us know!)

OK, everybody, sing along with me: "Oh the Pops are sweeter and the taste is new, They're shot with sugar through and through. Kellogg's Sugar Corn Pops; Sugar Pops are tops!"

Earlier this week we learned that Hostess, maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, has filed for bankruptcy. The red, yellow and blue balloons on Wonder Bread's packaging and their claim of "building strong bodies 12 different ways" are as well-known to my peer group as are our own names. But what made Wonder Bread especially memorable for me was the nightshirt Mom made for my brother Tom when he was a teenager. Mid-calf, slits up the sides, long-sleeved and V-necked, Tom's roomy sleepwear was white with big red, yellow and blue polka-dots. He looked like an oversized loaf of Wonder Bread when he wore it. He loved that thing.

Twinkies, those sponge cakes with cream filling, have been around since the 1930s, when the Hostess company was founded. Of their 37 ingredients, perhaps only water would appear on today's stringent "good for you" lists. And you've probably heard jokes about the indomitable Twinkie that lasts for years.* With that in mind, NPR conducted an experiment to see how Twinkies would hold up in a bowl of Mountain Dew!

Now, like Corn Pops, Twinkies appear to be fading from the cultural scene. Not to worry. If you stock up on Twinkies now, they could last you for the rest of your life!

*(I'm perpetuating an urban legend here. Snopes says they really only have a shelf life of 25 days. But this is my blog, and I'm sticking with it!)