POPCORN BALLS NEXT DOOR

If our next door neighbors had any children of their own, I missed it. They were the Kykendalls, and even though they lived next door to me for almost my whole childhood, I never knew much about them. Including how to spell their name.

They were older, so it's possible they did have adult children (oxymoron) living out of the area, but I don't think so. My Dad once told me they made their money before the income tax came into being. So they were probably older than I thought. They had something to do with the best taffy in the world, Malone's, that made their way around various state fairs and town carnivals in the Summer.

But what they were known for was their popcorn balls. Every Halloween they would cook up (pop up?) a huge batch with caramel holding the popped kernels together. They were about the size of a small pumpkin and they were delicious. Hundreds of kids from all over town would flock to South 19th Street for the popcorn balls. Experienced treaters, for who would trick the Kykendalls?, knew that over on South 22nd Street, the Wallaces gave small apple pies, warm to the touch in a silver pie pan, to those who graced their threshold.

In between, or next door if you were the Quinns, you'd be handed out the usual suckers, bubble gum, maybe a pencil, bite size candy bars, toast. Ok, I was kidding about the toast, but I have to keep you honest to see if you're still reading. When I had my high school juniors write journals for my English III class, some creative ones who thought I wasn't reading closely would write, "Circle this sentence, if you're still reading?" And I did. I never missed one no matter how cleverly hidden.

Those molasses kisses, sticky candy wrapped in orange and black paper is what you generally got from us. My folks both loved them, so that's what they'd buy to tide them over for after Halloween days. They didn't eat many. There usually weren't many left. When your next door neighbors hand out popcorn balls, well that means you're going to see a lot of trick-or-treaters every year.

I wonder how many fillings were pulled out from those popcorn balls? I know I lost more than one from Bomonos Taffy. Maybe that's how the Kykendalls made their money. In dentistry. Or dental appliances. Maybe bridges. Don't laugh. I mean when your specialty is popcorn balls in the Fall and taffy in the Summer, hey you've got one-half of the year covered.