Mars Bars and Jackie O.

While living in Manhattan, I read a lot of books and magazines by hanging out in the bookstore. Most notably, I frequented the Strand Bookstore located at 12th and Broadway. It was only a few blocks from where I lived. I would sit for hours and go through all of the new books and catch up on my magazines without spending a dime. The Strand was stuffed with lots of old, out of print books too. It is always best to go to a bookstore rather than the library because you can catch the new titles. At the library, the new titles are immediately checked out and you will never get to see them until they are old.

I remember reading a lot about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis during that time. I picked up a used copy of her biography and started flipping through the pictures and then I couldn't put it down. I bookmarked my pages with a gum wrapper, so I could return to the bookstore and read another couple of chapters each day. I was fascinated how Jackie was widowed twice by the age of 46, how tragedy struck her family and yet she continued to be one of the most gracious women in history. All of this and somehow she managed to keep up with high fashion, literature and art.

What stuck with me somehow during this time is that while she was in Greece, on her private island, with her own zip code, Jackie would fly in cases of Coca Cola and Mars Bars. It was her favorite candy bar and you could often see her in the tabloids with her Coke and cigarette. I thought how glamorous this was and how expensive it must be to overnight cases of Coke and candy to the Mediterranean.

I kept the Mars Bar story in the back of my brain and it became an addiction. Much later, I would buy the 24-packs of Coca Cola (regular, not diet) and keep them in the trunk of my car. I kept the Mars Bars in a lunch bag with a cold pack squished in my glove compartment. I ate a minimum of three Mars Bars a day and probably double that in Cokes. I would have a cigarette afterward, just like Jackie.

Jackie O. got me through some tough times. I felt so glamorous and knew that someday I could have a case of Mars Bars flown into the Greek Isles. I have yet to claim my private island and I have yet to have the Mars Bars flown anywhere. But you can bet your bottom dollar that someday, I will.

May 19, 1994 marked a very sad day for the world. When it was announced that Jackie had died at the age of 64, I was stunned. Frozen. I immediately ran to the store to get my Mars Bars and Coca-Cola. I sat in front of the TV with CNN turned on and cried. By myself with my Jackie meal. The same followed suit on May 26th because I had to watch her funeral as well. This was one of the most depressing weeks and one that I will never forget.