A Hard Candy Christmas: Advent 2023 DAY 6

For those of you who are complaining that there's not enough hard candy in an Advent titled 'A Hard Candy Christmas', I've thrown today's treat into the mix just for you.

Primrose Old Fashioned Cut Rock Candy is a confection that I don't really like to eat. But I am fascinated to look at it. Every tiny little piece has a microscopic image in the middle. The orange flavored pieces have an orange slice design in the middle. Watermelon has an image of a slice of melon. The spiced flavor is the one that carries the name of the candy, as a minuscule primrose flower is presented in the center of those pieces. (Although, I think some spice pieces are also of snowflakes. But that might just be in the Christmas variety.)

Primrose candy has only been around since the depression. I would have thought this stuff was being bought by Laura Ingles for pennies on the pound during her days on the prairie. I'm also surprised that this stuff isn't from England or some other part of Europe. Instead its manufacturing origins come from Chicago! Another thing I didn't know is that the original recipe calls for honey instead of sugar. Although that's not the case any more, as sugar and corn syrup are the two main ingredients of this deceptively timeless candy treat. 

From this image, it appears that butterflies, American flags and strawberries are other images made by Primrose in their cut rock candies.

Just like ribbon candy, Primrose is the stuff that you'd see filling grandma's candy dish each holiday season. In my belief, nobody actually buys the stuff. It just keeps getting recycled year after year. Though, if you have a grandchild like me, who would pick through the whole dish just to see all the pretty designs, please throw that stuff away to prevent food-borne illness from contact with unwashed hands. 

V #15

The gangs all here in this issue that sees Julie and Donovan taking Bron, the eldest son of the Leader to the Windy City. If you remember, a few issues back, Ham Tyler and Chris Farber took up residence in Chicago. The mercenaries were trying to protect Robin, the mother of Elizabeth the Star Child, from Visitor scientists looking to replicate the hybrid child's amazing powers. 

After the disaster of Mike and Julie's stop in that small town of unsupervised adolescents, the leaders of the Resistance look for calmer waters in Chi-Town. But as you can see from the cover, Chicago is swarming with Visitors.

Meanwhile, back in the City of Angels, Diana, thanks to a mole wearing a skin of Visitor Resistance ally Willie, is beginning her siege of the metropolitan area. 

The least memorable entry into the Bron Saga. The penultimate chapter of this amazing Cary Bates penned epic. 

Only 3 issues of the DC series adaptation remain!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

V #8

Issue #8 spins off directly from the V television series. Episode 12, titled 'The Betrayal' was the final appearances of Ham Tyler, Chris Farber and Robin Maxwell. Robin is the mother of Elizabeth, the Star Child and the Visitors are eager to capture Robin and impregnate her once again in hopes of creating another super-powered hybrid child. 

Ham and Chris take Robin to Chicago in hopes of hiding her there. That's how all 3 characters left the show. But in reality, this was how writers wrote off actor Michael Ironside, who felt that the TV series lacked the quality of the original miniseries. Considering that the budget for each show was dramatically slashed, episodes looked more like Dynasty instead of The Invaders, and most of the special effects were recycled scenes from V and V: The Final Battle, Inronside might have been on to something. 

I like that guest scripter Bob Rozankis decided to focus on parts of the show left unfinished. The viewers got to see the trio leave for the Midwest. But we never find out if they made it and how they transitioned in an area reportedly known to be safe from Visitor influences thanks to the Red Dust. 

SPOILER- they are not safe!

I think Bob Rozankis wrote about Ham, Chris and Robin because they weren't off limits. Main characters such as Mike, Julie and Diana were probably listed as off limits until Cary Bates' return to the series. Just where is Mister Bates? Not sure. The letter col doesn't mention why he's absent from issue #8. However, the editors do mention that the fate of V: The TV Series is in danger of cancellation. But they reassure fans that if that happens, DC has been given permission to wrap up the storyline. I can live with that. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 48

  It's a look at another true crime from 1977!

   My mom was hooked on true crime. If there was a new book by Ann Rule, she was first in line for it. If there was a new made-for-TV movie about it, she would have the VCR set and ready to go. I guess that's why I'm a little partial to in myself.

    On this day in 1977 history, Chicago candy heiress Helen Brach disappears. She was last seen in a Minneapolis medical clinic for routine treatment. She supposedly went to the gift shop, mentioned that she was in a hurry, and never seen or heard from again.

The Brach family tomb.

    A massive manhunt was underway a few days later, but nothing ever turned up. Some believe that the 'Candy Lady' was murdered by a known Windy City Lothario named Richard Bailey who was eventually jailed for conning rich little old ladies out of their life savings, including Brach. (The judge in Bailey's racketeering case even added extra years to his sentence because of the possibility he might have gotten away with Mrs. Brach's death. I didn't even know that was legal to do...) Bailey is now in his late 80s and is still incarcerated in a Florida prison.

    Though her body was never discovered, Helen Brach was legally declared dead 7 years later in 1984. Her fortune went to the care of her beloved dogs Candy and Sugar, who are entombed in an empty crypt bearing the Candy Lady's name. 

     In the past 20 years, numerous books have been published about the Brach disappearance. Many believe that Richard Bailey and his brother Paul got Helen Brach tied up in a horse breeding scandal that attempted to defraud the mafia and Brach was murdered in retaliation for the ruse. However, nobody has ever been tried for the murder despite numerous 'eyewitness' accounts of the crime.

My theory:
Mrs. Brach was murdered for producing this cringe-worthy junk...

     That's a general overview of the case. If you are interested in reading more about the Brach disappearance and the possible mob ties involved, check out the book 'Who Killed The Candy Lady?' by James Ylisela. It seems to have some very interesting theories.

     Well, until tomorrow...

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

WORTH CONSUMING!

Great story of the 1st World’s Fair and one of America’s most evil Serial Killers. The First few Chapters dealing with the planning of the fair kinda sucks, but every chapter on the murderer was great. Excellent book- would make a great movie or documentary.