gum

Long gone are the days of “Bazooka zooka bubblegum.” Remember how easy it was to recognize the small red, white, and blue in the bucket at the corner store? Remember how important it was to read about Bazooka Joe while chewing hard enough to blow bubbles? I collected so many of those wrappers that I could started pasting them in a scrapbook and read through them often. But Bazooka left those simple days behind.

I ignored the strange expansion of the Bazooka line to include flavors like strawberry and grape. I even turned the other way when they decided to change the signature red, white, and blue to match the flavor of the gum. I scratched my head when I saw a Bazooka lollipop. This has gone far enough! Now even the shape of the gum is no longer intact. It has conformed to the average chewy rectangle commonly associated with Winterfresh and DoubleMint gum.

The wrapper, gum color, and shape make Bazooka chewing gum virtually unrecognizable. Yes, it tastes the same. Yes, the comics can be found in the wrappers. However, I do wish for the simple times when I could reach into a plastic bucket and pull out a handful of red, white, and blues without wondering why on earth someone would tamper with such tradition. Bazooka chewing gum is no longer a part of our simple life.