Mardi Gras tends to remind us all of Moon Pies, the ubiquitous treat tossed from the floats in the parades. And Moon Pies, remind me of my late sister, Bonnie.
Bonnie loved Moon Pies. I don't think she ever went to a Mardi Gras parade but bought her Moon Pies in the grocery store. When we were young and some of us still lived with our parents, Bonnie's late night snack was a Moon Pie and a small glass of milk. She kept a box of the pies in the cabinet above the refrigerator and every night around 10 p.m., she would enjoy her snack. If I was lucky, she would share one with me.
I don't think Moon Pies came in but two flavors in those days, chocolate and banana. Bonnie didn't care for the banana so it was the chocolate pie at our house. When a new box was opened, we always counted how many were in the box. A normal box contained 12 pies but frequently, we would discover 13 pies in the box. I don't think we ever had less than 12 but we always had to check. You would have thought we won the lottery when there was an additional pie in the box.
One hears the expression a " Baker's Dozen" describing 13 baked goods when a dozen was ordered and I guess that's why we got our extra treat. Somebody at the Moon Pie factory was being generous, or careless but we benefitted.
Later in life, a visit to Bonnie's house would result in a Little Debbie Oatmeal snack cake but that never created the memories like the Moon Pies did.
This past weekend, we had relatives in from out-of-town for them to take their young children to a parade. I asked one of the youngsters to bring me a Moon Pie. He came back with a bag full of beads and several Moon Pies and shared one with me.
The Moon Pies today are about half the size I remember from my childhood and I doubt the revealer who tossed the pie took the time to count and see if he or she got a Baker's Dozen before showering the crowd, but whoever they are, they certainly helped me relive a special memory
The pie tasted good, maybe just like the ones from long ago, but not nearly as special as the ones I shared with Bonnie.
