Hidden Dangers

Last week, I had to send out a rather dire S.O.S. out to my sister because I had eaten too much candy corn. (My tummy hurt. There was moaning. It seemed like a good time to call my sister and complain. After all, she spends her life gutting houses in post-Katrina New Orleans or living in a house without electricity while she helps out with organic farming in Rhode Island, and I devote myself to the CSI franchise and the consumption of chips and salsa.) Her natural response was, "How much candy corn is too much candy corn?" And, that got me thinking. Before "the incident," I never even considered that there could be too much candy corn. (In a bad way that is. Before last Thursday, anyone claiming to have "too much candy corn," would have been my new best friend. "Too much candy corn? That sounds like too much fairy dust or too many children's dreams.") Thinking back, I'm pretty sure that the actual candy corn kernels didn't do me in. (You know what I'm talking about - the triangular, tri-colored pieces. While it might not have been the best idea to mix the white, orange, and yellow ones with the white, orange, and brown ones - based on past experience, I think my stomach can tolerate that.) What I think was the coup de grace, if you will, was the candy corns that are miniature little pumpkins. And, while I love the candy corn pumpkins most of all, I have concluded that it probably isn't the best idea to consume piece after piece of what are basically lumps of corn syrup and sugar-like chemicals. Even thinking about "the truth of candy corn" kind of makes me feel a little bit sick all over again. In short, beware of seasonal treats. There really can be too much of a good thing.