That Which Remains

This bowl was overflowing with candy the day after Halloween.



We're a tiny Sheriff's Office, and kids have come by during Trick or Treating ever since I've been around. So we always have tons of candy for October 31st, and lots of "leftovers" after.

The first to go in those heady days in very early November are the chocolatey and peanutbuttery things; the Reeses, Kit Kat, Snickers... you get the drift. Also popular for those moments when you can't even look at the chocolate without suffering involuntary uvula twitches are the gummy sorts of candies such as the Dots and Twizzlers.

But eventually all the "good stuff" is gone. At that stage, the office scrounge is left looking at what you see here.

Tootsie rolls and pops.

Oh, they're not bad. In a way I feel sorry for them, just like I did for the chubby kid when we were picking kickball teams, or as I felt for myself during "girls' choice" dances of my early teen years when I was sprouting my most spectacular acne.

But it's easier to pass by the bowl now without feeling those pangs I felt just a few days ago.