Spring Baskets

Today is Saturday, tomorrow is Easter Sunday.  Crows wheel in the air outside my window, the overcast sky supports their silhouettes.  If anything, my parents believed in candy.  My father was taught to squeeze a penny till Abe hollered, but his mother ran a small grocery during the Depression and they did okay within the tight Polish community of the East side.  By the time he was a kid running the streets, his older brothers and sisters (thirteen children in all) had jobs at Houdaille, Pivot Punch, and Herr Manufacturing which means they had paychecks, all turned over to Ma.  They weren't rich, but I don't think the Depression hit them like it did my Mom's family.

Mom's father was a streetcar driver when he met grandma.  They weren't well off by any means, and I don't know what happened except that they lost everything to a landlord who locked them out and kept their furniture, dishes, all of it.  Mom was sent to live with relatives while the rest of the family went to Buffalo, but there was no nest egg to help.  I think it was the rest of Grandma's family who got them going here.

My dad didn't care for baked goods as much as he adored candy.  His favorite was anything maple-flavored; Mom loved anything with coconut, especially the little coconut pigs dipped in dark chocolate that would show up around Easter time, or the Neapolitan coconut bars.  Whether it was memories of childhood or just the ability to buy it, we always had a slew of candy bars in the house, and we kids were not limited to what or when.  Just within reason, and god forbid you eat the last one of someone's favorite.

Baby Ruth's, Fifth Avenues, Clark Bars, Mars Bars, Paydays, Forever Yours, Three Musketeers, Sky Bars, black licorice, Mounds, Almond Joy, bags of orange slices, marshmallow circus peanuts that smelled of banana, Hershey bars, Cracker Jacks, Oh Henrys, Snickers, Milky Ways, Nik L Nips; it was an explosion of post-WWII abundance.  And let me tell you young'uns, you could buy this stuff in full size bars for a nickel.  Each.  Popsicles were 3 cents, something fancy like a Drumstick was one thin dime.

So Easter ended up a pretty good time as far as our baskets went, the hard boiled eggs were returned to the fridge and appeared during the week as egg salad sandwiches.  I saved the sugary Peeps for last, as I liked them after they became stale, hard, and crusty.  None of us liked the spice flavored jelly beans, favoring the fruit ones.  It was a stay at home holiday, Mom would bake up a fresh pork ham and we would pray that Dad would eat so that he would fall asleep.

I remember the excitement and anticipation of wearing my new spring hat and coat to church, of having a basket of candy at my command, of dyeing hard boiled eggs the night before which was allowed and encouraged.  Mom got a large coconut egg covered in milk chocolate that would sometimes have a bright yellow blop in the middle of the white filling, mimicking a real egg.  She would wrap it in waxed paper and keep it in the fridge, slicing off bits for her afternoon soaps.  

I miss the Easters of my son's time, when his eyes grew large at finding his chocolate rabbit, or looking for plastic eggs in the yard.  Children add so much to holidays, now since everyone is older, the coming together for a meal is celebratory enough.  Grown up faces do glow for a nice platter of ham slices, sautee up a few pineapple rings for added hypnotic effect.

Fare well with your families, with those you love and if no one is there, be grateful for the country we live in, the life you are able to have, and how far you have thus come.  I hear pots and pans down the corridor, and aromas of cooking wend around hallways and stairwells throughout the building.  Daffodils and early tulips are popping, fisherfolk cast lines from the breakwall, robins are yelling their heads off, and another day is ending.  The moon is hidden by the layer of clouds, as are any stray meteorites from the recent Lyrid shower.  Do what work is left, hide eggs, hop around, fold papers, pull down covers, sleep well. Early spring night.