Missed Opportunity

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I missed an opportunity a couple of weeks ago. But to be honest, I didn't think they would sell out completely.

Okay, that probably doesn't make sense at the moment. Trust me, it will very shortly.

If you spent any time in the candy aisle during the past few weeks, you will have noticed that, among other things, Hershey had Valentine's Day versions of some of its candy products. What particularly interested me was the Valentine's Day version of the Special Dark Kisses. Hershey does something with those Kisses that it doesn’t do with any of the other Valentine’s Day Kisses.

It's what they do with the flags, the plumes. Those little paper streamers that stick out of the top of the foil wrapping. Most of the year, the flags for the Special Dark Kisses simply have "Dark" printed on them. But for Valentine's Day, Hershey uses flags that have Valentine's Day messages printed on them. Not quite the fortunes in a fortune cookie, but I suppose you could call them a close relative.

As I recall, there were six different messages. "Be My Valentine" and "I Love You" are two of the messages, but those are the only ones that come to mind at the moment.

I was waiting for February 15, when all of the Valentine's Day candy gets discounted 50%, and I was going to get a bag then. But when I went to acquire a bag, I discovered that the Special Dark Kisses had all disappeared from the shelves. Oh, there was plenty of Valentine's Day candy; just not the Special Dark Kisses. And I checked several different stores.

So, it looks like I will have to wait until 2009 to write an entry on those messages.

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Fun In The Food Court

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I guess this was about two weeks ago. I was in Jefferson Mall, and I made a swing past the food court. I really wasn't hungry for anything at any of the restaurants, but I did linger for a minute or two at Max Orient.

Now, Max Orient serves what I have heard referred to as "food court Chinese." In other words, more or less generic stir-fries served with your choice of rice or noodles. The authenticity can probably be called into question, but it usually makes a pretty good lunch. And at least here in Louisville, most restaurants of this sort have developed a dish with a little bit of local flavor -- bourbon chicken.

In any case, what caught my attention this time was the jar near the register. It was full of fortune cookies, and a label on the jar said that they were three for 50 cents. I might not have been interested in getting anything else to eat, but a few fortune cookies were a different matter. I could crack them open later, and of course I would have material for a new entry.

When I got home, though, I promptly forgot about the fortune cookies for over a week. That changed earlier this morning. Curiosity finally got the better of me, and I wondered what words of wisdom these fortune cookies might hold. The fortunes were as follows:

"Be yourself, and you will always be in fashion."
"That special someone loves to see the light in your eyes."
"You are inclined to come up with unconventional solutions."

I'll have to remember to do this again. For that matter, I will also have to check some of the other Chinese restaurants in Louisville, and see if they do something similar.

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