The Perfect Kiss

 

Sometimes it is hard not to get stuck in the muck of world events, but… I think it is important, at least once in a while for sanity's sake, to try to keep your head above all of that and fight to shake off the mud.  With that in mind – I am going to talk about kisses today.  More specifically – about Hershey kisses. (Hope you aren’t disappointed that it is not the kind of kiss you might have been thinking of, but then... I did sort of lead you there.  Not sorry.)

So… during the past month I confess that I purchased two party size bags of the original Hershey Kisses. I am an old-fashioned girl.  I am not one to deviate from the normal milk chocolate or even to try the other varieties Hershey has come out with of late. (Seriously – peppermint kisses?  No. I think not. Never.) I stick with the tried and true.  Now I try to tell myself that it is nice to have a few treats around for the grandchildren - especially during the Season, but I know – deep in my heart – that I really buy them mostly for me. They are a holiday guilty pleasure and I enjoy them every day during the season – sometimes one at a time and sometimes by the mouthful – a mouthful of melting wonderfulness. I have even eaten them for breakfast dessert.  My granddaughter and I think there needs to be a better way to wrap them though – that little paper strip and foil are a bit of a nuisance.  Seriously we had a meaningful discussion about this.  I think she is brilliant in her observations. 

Ah… Then again -- remember “It melts in your mouth, not in your hand(s)”?  That is a whole other world of melting wonderfulness – the M&M… also eaten one at a time or by the mouthful.  Yes… chocolate.  I actually know two people who don’t like chocolate.  They think it tastes like dirt.  I don’t remember what dirt tastes like – actually don’t remember ever tasting dirt… but I can say this.  I love these two people anyway and figure that I will just eat their share.  Somebody has to do it. Right?  It’s never good to waste good chocolate.

Must mention at this point in the excellent chocolate discussion that you haven’t lived if you have not had the opportunity to try Peggy Gray chocolate treats and candy.  They have a lovely shop in North Springfield, PA on Holliday Road.  I wish I lived closer. You need to put a trip there on your bucket list. Truly. I also have to mention, for local people, who will most definitely know what I mean,  that I still long for the now gone Ritz candy – I used to eat their chocolate until my tongue was raw. Ah – those were the days.

One last comment…. Not that I would ever feel the need to justify this need for sweetness, but really -- it does provide a way up and out of the muck. Actually there is a scientific basis to this -- endorphin release  -- caused by chocolate  - aka the "feel good" chemicals.  I think it is a relatively harmless guilty pleasure and a nice temporary escape. It sure beats other things that I can think of. Yes… the perfect kiss is one of the best.  So … I have now kissed and told. I don't think that I am alone in all of this.