Sky Bars and Dad

Saturday mornings were always the same when I was in grade school. Mom was still working full-time for the supermarket and usually had Wednesdays off. This meant she had to work on Saturdays. By the time I woke up on Saturday morning, she was already gone. Sometimes I would wake up early enough to say goodbye and catch her in her light blue and yellow polyester uniform which was the dress code for Weiss Market. If I could catch her before she left, she would get out the box of Honey Nut Cheerios for me and put it next to a bowl with the gallon jug of milk.

Mom actually seemed to like her job there and she had many friends at work. When we did our grocery shopping, you would think my mother was famous. First and foremost, when we walked into the store, we would immediately go by the cash office and say hello to whoever was there. While my Mom was talking to her friends, whoever was at the bakery next door would notice me and call me over for my free, warm chocolate chip cookie. It was an over-sized cookie and usually lasted me a few aisles of shopping. Sometimes, secretly, my Mom would get me another one to last me until we made it to the checkout line. At the checkout, inevitably, a dozen people would come say hello to us saying things like, "Linda told us you were here, we were trying to find you." Or "Julie! Look how big he is now, how old is he?" All the while, my Mom keeping complete focus on her stack of coupons for double-coupon day and double-checking her detailed grocery list to be sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

When Mom worked her Saturdays, Dad stayed home with us kids. He would usually wake up early and get some things done first. Mow the lawn, rake the leaves, sweep the driveway, wash the car or clean out the shed. We would get these tasks out of the way just in time for some sort of sports event on TV. He would turn his stereo on and play a variety of music throughout the day and would sit and watch the game. Usually we were left alone to either watch with him or find something else to do. Sometimes his friends would stop by and they would share a six pack of beer and a giant sized bag of barbecue potato chips.

One Saturday, my Mom didn't have to work and she told me that Dad was going to take me to the park and she would stay home with my brother. Sure enough, we woke up early Saturday morning and we went to the Kay Bee toy store. Dad told me to pick out a kite. I chose a rainbow kite and he grabbed the bolt of string. We drove over to Delaware Avenue and stopped at Hasbrouck Park. When we arrived, I noticed a chubby kid from school, Patrick and his Dad. There were a few other kids with their parents too, and I figured this must be what guys do with their Dads on Saturdays.

Dad said he would get the kite up and flying and then pass it to me. Well, I knew that this was highly unlikely. It was not a very windy day and the other kids did not have a kite in the air. In fact, there was one kite, a Superman kite, torn and stuck in a tree. All signs pointed towards a crashing kite. Sure enough, my Dad ran quickly through the park and with a little finesse, the kite took off beautifully. He handed me the string and with little confidence, I began flying my own kite as the other kids watched. I remember my kite staying in the air for quite some time as my Dad helped reel it in.

Afterward, we stopped at a little local joint adjacent to the park. I remember it being a candy store, but in retrospect, it was probably just a little convenience store. This was an older store and there were a few aisles of wooden shelves with all kinds of candy. My father told me to pick whatever I wanted and as usual, this type of task took some time. I had to look at each one as my Dad spoke to the man behind the counter. They seemed to be friends, but in all actuality, my father probably didn't know the man at all. He always made easy conversation and I remember wishing that I could be just like him.

I finally chose Charms candy. For those of you who are not familiar with Charms, they are the squares of fruit-flavored hard candy, each individually wrapped and rolled together in a package not unlike Lifesavers. They tasted different than Lifesavers though. They came in Lime, Grape, Lemon, Orange, Raspberry and Cherry. The package was a metallic white and spelled "Charms" in rainbow letters. Obviously, the rainbow, a big theme in my life...

My father was pleased with my choice, and actually got me two rolls, probably to be sure that he could have a few as well. Walking toward the register, the chocolate bar section caught his eye. This was not uncommon, as my Dad usually craved a chocolate bar of some kind and most days you could catch him with a Fifth Avenue candy bar, which was one of his favorites. He enjoyed a good piece of chocolate. He saw the Sky Bar by Necco Candies. He asked if I had ever tried one. No, I hadn't even heard of it. He told me it was his favorite when he was a kid and sold me the bar.

The Sky Bar, in its bright yellow package was a molded chocolate bar with four very distinct sections. Each section could be broken off and eaten separately without disturbing the neighboring section. The sections had four flavors- Caramel, Vanilla, Peanut and Fudge. The Necco factory probably did not have amazing quality control or crazy technology. Sometimes you would get two squares of one flavor and miss out on one of the others. However, I thought this was the coolest invention since television. You basically got four chocolate bars for the price of one. This was the perfect bar for someone who could not make a decision. Odds are, one of the flavors was something you were craving.

It can be difficult to find Charms and Sky Bars these days. But they are still around and you can even order them online. I usually scout out the best candy shops in whichever city I am in and will find them all alone, nobody knowing what they are and will stock up my inventory. The taste and quality of a Sky Bar will not impress anyone nowadays. There is that fake chocolate flavor, there is the caramel that poses as peanut butter, you can confuse the vanilla with marshmallow and you can actually feel the sugar grains in your teeth.

What it does for me is remind me of this day in Hasbrouck Park. Just me and my Dad.