One day back in 2008 my son John, his wife Anne and their three boys, Tim, Alex and Jordan, were at our home for a party.
I had recently read a book by David Hoffman titled “Who Knew? Things You Didn’t Know About Things You Know Well,” which contained an interesting reference to Twinkies.
“The original Twinkies filling was banana; it was replaced by vanilla-flavored cream during World War II, when the United States experienced a banana shortage,” the book stated.
After I recited this information, 8-year-old Alex asked me, “Papa, what is a Twinkie?”
Can you imagine a child who has never had a Twinkie? He also did not know about Snoballs and CupCakes, two other Hostess treasures. What is a grandfather for, anyway?
I said, “Alex, get your coat. We are going to the grocery store.”
Hand in hand, we entered our local QFC. Seeing a man who looked like he could be the manager, I raised my free hand into the air and boldly called out, “We have an emergency.”
A natural look of concern spread across the man’s face. He approached us and asked how he could help.
“My grandson has never had a Twinkie,” I told him. “Quickly, please tell us where they can be found.”
A smile replaced his look of concern and in a friendly voice he directed us to the correct aisle. We made the short trip to that wonderland and saw a small section housing all three of the remembered treasures.
We bought one plastic-wrapped Twinkie.
Alex and I settled back into my car and decided we could not wait until we got back home. We opened the package and I revisited my childhood. Alex took his first bite. We both smiled.
Then I told him the other factoid I had read about Twinkies in the book: “On average, a Twinkie will explode in a microwave in 45 seconds.”
Alex’s eyes lit up and he asked, “Can we go back and get another one?”
(Later we learned that you must leave the sealed plastic covering on the Twinkie before microwaving. This allows steam pressure to build up and yield an explosion of sorts. It took exactly 45 seconds.)
When we got back home, I asked Alex to tell the family what he had just experienced. I am not sure what impact I have had on Alex’s life, but I do know that he is the least shy of all nine of my grandchildren.
He looked at his audience, raised his hand into the air and exclaimed, “We have an emergency.”
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