Kage Baker – born June 10, 1952; died January 31, 2010.
It’s raining on and off in Los Angeles today; which is a nice thing, actually. I’m not doing much; mostly sitting still and reading. It’s a sad day. Not paralytic. mind you – Kage herself would not approve of that – but sad, nonetheless.
Uncomfortable, too. In a childish fit of self-indulgence yestreday, I bought a box of Good ‘N Plenty. They tasted as good as ever, but I broke a back tooth on ’em. Now I have a busted molar; my dentist doesn’t open until tomorrow, and I can’t chew … so I’m hungry and toothache-ridden and embarrassed as well as sad.
Kage would scold me. She always said my appetite for black licorice would bring me to a bad end. And, let’s face it, Good ‘N Plenty is not exactly the Dom Perignon of licorice candies … sometimes, one just craves the cheap stuff. And a lot of good it usually does one, too. Ah, well.
It’s a good day to pull the covers up over your head, and wait for the entire mess to end.
I think I’ll have rum and Coke for dinner.
2010 (almost)
1952
Kathleen, Kage and the Company 
Rum and Coke for dinner sounds just fine, Kathleen.
{{{ Hugs }}} for care and rememberances.
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Hugs and thank you’s back to you, Luisa. All will be well!
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I’m sitting here, shaking my head, finding it so very hard to comprehend that six years have gone by since Kage’s passing….
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And the last year has been pretty wretched – but then, it has for nearly everyone. Things will be better.
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I agree with Marty. It seems so recently that we lost Kage. Rum and Coke sounds just what both the doctor and Kate would order. Hang in there. I’ve added a sprig of rosemary to my office computer today.
Speaking of doctors (and I’m not castigating you at all) my father with the high blood pressure has been denied black licorice for the rest of his life. It drastically raises blood pressure, especially a whole box, not to mention the sugar content. However, if your doctor hasn’t mentioned it you should be good. My dad’s weakness is the Black Crows you can get at movie houses and Dutch licorice, the bitter stuff that no one else will steal from him.
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Physical triggers for high blood pressure vary wildly among sufferers – thank goodness for me. Mine was caused by my zombie kidney, and it’s been under control for years. So there am I lucky. I sympathize enormously with your father!
I like Dutch licorice too, especially the salted kind. One of it’s undeniable great benefits is that almost no one else wants it. And I love Black Crows, which are now very hard to find anywhere except online, from vintage candy sites. One of the few good things about Good ‘N Plenty is that, while it does contain actual licorice extract, it is waaay down the ingredients list – Number 10 or 12, I think. Most of the flavouring there comes from molasses, of all things.
My biggest temptation is from Vermont Country Store – they sell 2-pound bags of JUST BLACK JELLY BEANS, which are exquisitely flavoured with genuine licorice. Bliss!
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Dental shame. Been there done that. I once rotted my molars with over-enthusiastic consumption of Gummi bears. The dentist called in two kids from the waiting room, pointed to me, sitting mouth-agape in the chair as the horrible stuff they covered my back teeth in dried, and said, “See what happens when you eat too much candy? You rot your teeth right out of your head.” Object lesson delivered. Dental scared straight.
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