Monthly Archives: November 2012

Ding dong the ::sooobbbbb:: Ding Dong is dead

Today’s news about Hostess going out of business has got my facebook and twitter feeds all in a tizz.

There are stories of people buying up all of the Twinkies but settling for Ding Dongs and Zingers when the Twinkies can’t be found.

I think it’s all craziness. Except for the fact that the company has to go out of business or be dictated to by the union. I think that’s bold.

My parents never bought junk food for us. My mom was one of the original Weight Watchers leaders and she made sure that we ate very healthfully. I remember the rare occasion when we would have pizza and pop. Purple Passion was a favorite choice!

Without fun junk food, my school lunch was boring. And I will never eat grape jelly again. Have you ever seen a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich on white bread after a few hours in a locker? Eeuuww.

But this Hostess thing got me to thinking. When I was in fourth grade, I had a friend named Cindy Weller. Now her lunch was fun. It had a non peanut butter and jelly sandwich, potato chips and a Ding Dong. Like every single day she got a Ding Dong in her lunch.

I was envious. I had nothing to even trade her for it. But she was great and sometimes she would share her Ding Dong with me.

We would peel the frosting off, eating it little bit by little bit before biting into the cake and yummy cream.

That’s about my extent of Hostess knowledge. And it’s a sweet memory.

But I can’t help but thinking about the people who are buying the Twinkies today and how they will still be “fresh” in 100 years. Eeuuww.

And the winner is…

I haven’t blogged in SO long and SO much has happened since I have that I need to tell you. But not now.

Yesterday, Pantone put a question on facebook:

And I had to think about that one.

It reminded me of that interview question at the back of Bon Appetit magazine where they interview someone and ask, “If you could have dinner with any three people, alive or dead, who would you chose?”

If they asked me, I would say: Ronald Reagan, Princess Diana, and Mark Knopfler.

If you have known me for very long, you know how much I loved and adored President Reagan. My brother lives in Reagan’s boyhood hometown, Dixon, IL. Every time we go there, I take the same photos in front of the Reagan signs, the Reagan statues, etc. Same photos, different clothes. I have tons of them. 😉

I really tracked with Princess Diana. I felt like I knew her and our lives seemed to run parallel courses until she died. And I felt like I lost a really dear friend.

So… when considering the Pantone question, I had to X out Ronald Reagan and Princess Diana because they are no longer in the world.

Which leaves… and the winner is… Mark Knopfler.

Mark Knopfler

Mark Knopler is a singer, song writer, and guitarist. You probably know his work best from the band Dire Straits. He’s collaborated with Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, Emmylou Harris and Van Morrison. He has composed distinctive soundtracks for such classic films as Local Hero, The Princess BrideLast Exit To Brooklyn and Wag The Dog.

I never got to see Dire Straits in concert but I did see Mark Knopfler with Eric Clapton at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin in 1988. I was so excited I almost hyperventilated! 🙂

I think he’s a musical genius. I love all of his work. I’d love to sit in the chair next to him (I’d take the turquoise one, Mark. I hope you don’t mind the yellow one) and talk about his work and his life.

How cool would that be? 🙂