Good & Plenty shortage

One evening heading off to do errands, Oleg asked if I needed or wanted anything. I told him I needed some Good n' Plenty. He had no idea what that was, nor an idea of black licorice. I could not wait to educate him.

Unfortunately, there was no Good n' Plenty to be found. I thought he was kidding until he sent me a picture of the empty shelf above the price in the grocery. I sent him across the street to the Walmart grocery because I had a craving. A yearning for those little pill-like pink and white candies had consumed me for days. Now, I was giving in. 

I wanted the damn candy!

And there was none. NONE anywhere in our vicinity. The damn pandemic has caused a shortage of Good n' Plenty?

Not at Publix. Not at Walgreens. Not at Walmart. Not at Dollar Tree. I thought I might have to go to the movies just to get the candy, but Oleg found some the next morning on his way home from working out. How I enjoy corrupting that kid. 

A few weeks later, the craving returned and I had the same problem finding those little suckers. This week my Walmart grocery got them in stock, and I hoarded five boxes. But in planning to write about it, I researched if there was a Good n' Plenty shortage, and found instead an FDA warming on consuming black licorice. Apparently, people over 40 years of age, and especially those with heart and liver ailments, should not consume more than 2 ounces of black licorice in a day.

Uh...

Delving into that further, I gave a sigh of relief because in America we only reproduce the smell, taste, and scent of black licorice and do not have the glycyrrhizic acid chemical found in natural licorice. Or at least the amount in the 2% of extract used in Good n' Plenty isn't enough for concern. But still, since I do have heart issues, maybe this FDA warning will knock out my craving, although researching further found that Good n' Plenty is good for relieving heartburn. 

Which reminded me of the time I brought in some Good n' Plenty for our recreation leader at work. I left the bag on her desk and went outside to guard. When I returned, I found she'd consumed the entire bag, had an allergic reaction and drove herself to the hospital. 

For weeks I had to put up with everyone reminding me how I tried to kill Veronica.

Now, I guess I'll go back to chewing gum. Or maybe I'll chop on a stalk of celery.