People either love them or hate them. I for one love them! Not sure why. They taste kind of funny (my research indicated
that they are banana flavored – go figure!), the texture is downright strange,
but all the same, just the name conjures up great memories and happy feelings!
The name alone sparks excitement – who doesn’t love a circus?
But for me it is pure and simple a summer time candy. Summer tends to bring big families
together. As kid growing up in the
suburbs when school let out for the summer you lost touch with your school
friends, and were forced to hang with your siblings. As one of seven kids we were never without a
playmate. This was especially true when
we would go to the lake. Suddenly we
were all best friends. We would spend
hours together, whether swimming, playing cards in the boat house, playing hide
and seek at night, ganging up on our parents to take us somewhere or another,
and of course going to the candy store. As
best friends, it was also a time of sharing with each other – and for my
sister, Kathy, and I it was sharing a bag of Circus Peanuts together. I’m not even sure I remember why we chose
Circus Peanuts as one of staple candies, perhaps it was because of our
Grandfather Curry or because the Candy Store had them, it doesn’t really
matter. They simply are one of those
nostalgic candies from my past and as such makes me incredibly happy! So I love
Circus Peanuts for the memory of my childhood, for spending time with my
brothers and sisters and enjoying our time together.
Fast forward to the present day – our dad passed away a month
ago. Something so sad was made quite special as I watched the seven of us band
together to help our mom through the funeral planning, the mass, and picking up
all the pieces after someone dies. We
may not see each other every day, and several of us live out of state, but you
know, we are still a family, we have a history together that we share with no
one but us, memories that don’t fade because when we are together they bubble
up and explode in joyful abandon around us!
Back to Circus Peanuts for a bit – did you know that in 1963, General
Mill’s vice president John Holahan stumbled upon a discovery that putting Circus
Peanuts shavings in his breakfast cereal made for a tasty combination, thus
invented the breakfast cereal Lucky Charms?
Did you know my Dad worked at General Mill’s? Also, did you know that back in the 1800’s
when Circus Peanuts were first on the market they were only a summertime candy
(due to a lack of packaging to preserve the candy)? Didn’t I say they were a summertime candy
for me? Coincidence? I think not!!
No matter, they are still quite simply one of my favorite candies (I
bought two bags as research in writing this post – the first bag I ended up
sharing with others, but the second bag, well let’s just say I kept it well
hidden so no sharing was involved!).
Go buy yourself a bag today.
I challenge you not to love these sweet, silly, orange colored,
banana-flavored, peanut-shaped treats!!
