I LOVE chocolate – fudge cake, fudge, frosting, M&Ms, 3 Musketeer Bars. You name it. Each has a particular association for me.
As a youngster, my family vacationed in Charlevoix, MI, a lovely resort spot on Lake Michigan. In their downtown was a fudge shop named Murdick’s. We would wander over, watch them make the fudge and buy some to take back to our room in the guest house; always chocolate for Dad and me, butterscotch for my mother. She didn’t like chocolate. I knew there was something wrong with her. Years later we discovered the same Murdick’s fudge shop on Martha’s Vineyard. I enquired. The manager confirmed that it was, indeed, the same. The store in Northern Michigan had been run by two brothers who had a falling out, so one came to our little island in the Atlantic Ocean to start his own shop. We can now buy the same velvety delicious fudge from my youth on our vacation island.
In college, the best item on the menu at the Student Union was the fudge cake. Since I was always dieting, I got it for lunch with skim milk to save calories. One must drink milk with chocolate cake. It’s in the rule book. My senior year, once Dan and I were serious, we bought a little black and white TV for my dorm room and Betty Crocker chocolate frosting to eat while watching TV. We had two spoons and just ate right out of the can; we could not devour the entire can in one sitting. I had a little fridge in the dorm room too. Looking back, it is amazing that I maintained my weight at 90 pounds.
Once married, we lived in a roach-infested apartment in Waltham, MA across from a supermarket. On Sunday mornings, Dan ran across the street to get the Sunday paper and a 3 Musketeer bar for each of us which we would savor as we read the paper. Good times.
Birthday cakes, wedding cake…always chocolate. None of this white cake. And what is Red Velvet? I wore a red velvet dress on my 10th birthday, but that is certainly not an allowable flavor for cake!
Four and half years ago, as I approached my 60th birthday, I looked in the mirror and didn’t recognize myself. Despite my sweet tooth, I had always been slim, but time had caught up with me and I didn’t like the profile of my body that looked back that day, so that summer, I worked with a trainer on exercise and diet. I became a gym rat and gave up my beloved sugar. I lost 18 pounds and looked great. Chocolate was only for very special occasions. But after four long years, I grew bored and motivation lagged. My husband always has sweets around the house. I can usually avoid the ice cream, but lately, I’ve been dipping into the M&Ms and, though I am in the gym six days a week, I see the damage the sugar is doing. So, it is back to the spartan eating for me. So long chocolate. I still love you, but I love a slender body more.
