chocolates, anyone?

IN PRAISE OF CHOCOLATES

So I received this forward that said:

Can't eat Beef ......Mad cow 
  Can't eat chicken . bird flu 
   Can't eat eggs .. Salmonella 

Can't eat pork .. fears of trichinosis... 

I believe that leaves Chocolate!!!!!!!!

Indeed, there is nothing like the nerve soothing and mouth tickling taste of chocolates.

I became addicited to this brown stuff since I was a kid.

In Asingan, there was this corner store owned by a Chinese merchant ( named Monyang ) and as far as I remember I would always visit the place every time I receive some loose change from my dad. Because he was so kind and uncomplaining, I would also hit him for some coins almost every time I see anywhere in the house. Sometimes I justify my asking him money  by pulling his gray hair. One centavo per gray hair. After 20 hairs pulled, I would just say: "20 hairs, dad" Then he would give me 4 nickels ( called then as micol ) or 2 dimes ( diez). Frequently he did not even count the hair anymore because by that time, he was so sleepy. So he would just give me my money and I would run off to Monyang's store.

That place is Paradise then, as far as I am concerned. It has rows of the old fashioned glass jars all containing various mouth watering snacks. My favorite then was the jars with different brands of chocolates. These were US made even. At that time ( late '40s), inflation was not still so bad, so it was easy for US import  products to the Philippines.

So there was MILKY WAY by Mars. I must have eaten so much of this chocolate I would not know how I survived without it. And at that time it was only about 15 centavos. I also remember the Hersheys kisses, wrapped in foil. Most of the time, it was mixed with a locally made chocolate snack, shaped like Kisses, wrapped like Kisses, but after unwrapping it, you would find the color pale brown and it tasted mostly like ground peanuts.

They had also THREE MUSKEETERS or BOUNTY ( made with coconut filling ) , BABE RUTH, BUTTER FINGER, CHUCKLES and some other brands which are still available in the US. Thus each time I travel to the US, right in the US airport stores, I already start foraging for these brands while waiting for my connecting flight.

After a few years, I found out that the US chocolates dissapeared in Asingan. You have to go to Baguio, Dagupan or Manila in order to buy these delicacies. By then, I already lost most of my teeth because I hated going to the dentist for check ups. I just go when I felt a tooth aching and by that time, a big cavity have already grown in it, thanks to the chocolates.

Immigrating to Canada in the '70s was the most exciting trip I made. Only when I was already inside the Philippine Air Lines flight ( Manila - San Francisco ) that I discovered I had the fear for flying. Each time a turbulence shook the plane, I keep repeating the last prayer ( Prayer to say when you know you are about to die ). But I survived the long trip without losing my sanity.

So I arrived in Toronto. After waking up from a 2 hour nap on my first afternoon, I asked my sister if there are  stores nearby. She said, there was a small plaza just a 5 minute walk from our apartment. I went out with my brother on my first afternoon in Canada, walked to the store, and guess the first item I bought in Canada?

Right! A few bars of Hersheys chocolate. For some reasons, Milky Way, up to now, is not being sold in most Canadian stores. Otherwise, i could  have bought a whole box of it!---#

---victorio costes