One day in my late 20s or early 30s, I can’t remember when exactly, I suddenly had a hankering for some Count Chocula cereal. On my next trip to the supermarket I scanned the cereal aisle looking for the sugary treat I needed to satisfy my craving. No luck. A store manager walked by just as I was about to give up on my search.
“Excuse me, do you have any Count Chocula?” I asked, stopping the gentlemen in the blue vest and name tag.
He looked at me sideways. I had no kids in tow, didn’t look visibly pregnant, and it was around the turn of the 21st century in a month that was not October. “No, that only comes out at Halloween time…” he started to answer. But as a customer service expert, he continued with, “I can special order it for you, if you like.”
I thought for a second, but decided that special ordering cereal was too dramatic, even for me.
When I recounted this story to a friend, they were baffled. “Did you actually eat that as a child?!” Wait, everyone didn’t have sugary cereals as kids? I had no idea. I grew up on Fruity Pebbles and Cookie Crisp (when there was actual cereal around). I didn’t know that some kids had to eat Grape Nuts or Cheerios without the honey. Without the honey!! I thought that was just for adults.
My eating habits are much better now as a more mature adult, and sugary cereals usually come in the form of granola with some redeeming ingredients like flax or something fiber-y. But every once in awhile the idea of a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch sounds really good.
Why was I thinking about this anyway? Fast forward to last night when I read the headline below! I may have to treat myself this time around, maybe even get a box of Boo-Berry while I’m at it.
Did you eat sugary cereals as a kid or were you forced to eat something like Raisin Bran?
I was laughing out loud! First: “I had no kids in tow, didn’t look visibly pregnant…” I thought for sure the gentleman was going to tell you he’d never heard of it. Then your quiet deliberation about whether or not to special order it! And finally, the added punctuation after “Without the honey!!” added just the punch I was expecting from the start! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for reading! It was a rather nice surprise that the guy not only knew what I was talking about but had a solution. =D
I love those sugary cereals and salivate any time I go down that aisle at the store. Being diabetic, they’ve become a big no-no, but every once in a while, I let myself have a sample just to remember how good those cereals are!
Oh my goodness–a diabetic’s nightmare!
For me it was Cap’n Crunch. Still get a craving now and then.
I loved the Peanut Butter and the Cap’n Crunch Berry!
I love everything about this (including your new site, congrats!) We had our fair share of sugary cereal and you brought back all the feels…Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fruity and Chocolate Pebbles, Sugar Smacks, the ones with Dig’ Em the Frog, Super Sugar Crisp, Froot Loops and Frosted Flakes. We didn’t get them all the time and we definitely frowned when we had the giant box of King Vitamin, the wanna be Capn’ Crunch that would tear up the roof of your mouth.
Once, I thought I was being cool and requested Grape Nuts. We love all sorts of nuts in our family so I figured they’d be delicious, you know, like ground nuts with milk and already sweetened. Not only did I spit it out, when I added milk, it totally smelled like dog food to me. Nope. Never had them again.
This post made me chuckle all the way through, especially where you mention that special ordering cereal is too dramatic, lol!
For whatever reason, we never had the monster cereals, but I’ll be looking for them. And the prizes inside, those were so fun!
Thanks Alice. 🥰 You made LOL with that Grape Nuts ordering. It’s the worst! Like, why?