Trina Machacek: Lifesavers

Well by checking the calendar on the wall I surmise it is candy season once again. Go into nearly any store and there will be mountains of treats to counteract any wayward tricks that could befall you this Halloween season.

Yes I have grabbed a bag of this and a bag of that. Hey I don’t even get trick-or-treaters but I do take advantage of the cute little candy bars. I figure that if they are small and I only eat one — HAHA. Come on who only eats one!

I have in the past written about watching the “adults” in the candy aisle at different times of the year. Always a delightful show to watch. But today I want to talk about a special candy that, considering the way of the world today, might just help you get through today to tomorrow and beyond. Lifesavers.

Of course, there are a variety of this hard candy treat. But! Yes, a sweet “but.” But don’t get stuck in a rut with just one flavor. Over and over again you put a wild cherry or a root beer sphere in your pie hole. No, no. This is all about variety. Get the five-flavor tube of happiness. Here’s why and just how it might help you along your path of life.

The obvious reason to carry a supply of any candy is to satisfy the sweet tooth which rears its ugly head way too often.

Now when that happens it is not like you can reach into your pocket, purse or cup holder between the seats of your car and find say a chocolate bar in any shape to eat that has been in there for the last several months just waiting to be gobbled to quell that dang tooth. Keeping chocolate in your pocket can get pretty ugly about the third warm day in June. But a Lifesaver? Well you might have to pull off some lint, but hey a little lint never hurt anybody. Right?

Lifesavers are these wonderfully-designed hard candies that I have found can be good for the soul and also within the same little tube have the ability to kick frustration down the road.

Here’s how. To suck on a Lifesaver takes time. It gets all slippery and coats the inside of your mouth and the hole gets bigger and you fiddle with it as it travels across your tongue. All this takes time.

During that time your thoughts are bound to be all about the party going on in your mouth and your brain calms and as the last little nib of candy dissolves so does your problem. Especially when you get a green one. There is that sour twang that gets you at the base of your jaw until your mouth succumbs to the flavor and lets go of any thought of going for the next one because it is a red one!

Yes sucking slowly on a Lifesaver can bring you back to center to get on with your day and life. However. If you need to vent? I mean someone just done you wrong, instead of getting all red in the face and planning subterfuge of retaliation, slam a Lifesaver in your mouth and chomp, chew and smash it.

It is not unheard of to put two or even three in your mouth at the same time to work through whatever is raising your blood to make your face red and hot. Might even consider doing it with your mouth open to reach the maximum AARRGGHH you need to get past any undoing that has befallen you.

Now with all that being said there are those who will say, “Ah but what of gum?” Well of course there is a time and place for gum. Over and over chewing a stick of gum will clean teeth, freshen breath and may bring a smile to your face as you go about your day.

If you need to have that chewy chew to get you to where you want to be? Try a Tootsie Pop. You can lick the sucker slowly and methodically and in a timely manner or you can crunch away with abandon until you get to the chocolate center and by the time you are there you will be ready for a nice long slurp and chew of chocolate. And they come in — well look at that, five flavors.

But to carry five different flavors of gum in one little package that fits so neatly into a pocket like a tube of five flavored Lifesavers is not easy — or even available. Oh wow. Another million dollar idea someone will grab and run with. Oh well, I was never meant to be rich. Just sweet.

Trina lives in Eureka, Nevada. Her book They Call Me Weener is available at Amazon.com or email her at itybytrina@yahoo.com