I had a horrible realization last night as we walked through the grocery store. I totally forgot to stock up on cereal in October. See, once upon a time there were these cereals from General Mills all based on monster mascots. They were flavored cereals with marshmallows shaped like the monster in question. The only one that's still around on a semi-regular basis (at least in my neck of the woods) is Count Chocula (chocolate flavored, obviously, with a vampire mascot). However, every Halloween the grocery stores magickally supply themselves with Frankenberry (strawberry with a Frankenstein's Monster-like mascot) and Boo Berry (blueberry... sorta, with a ghost mascot). Thus, when Halloween rolls around I always stalk the cereal aisle and buy up as much of the Frankenberry and Boo Berry as I can find and afford. It's like reaching back and rescuing a small part of my childhood from the mists of time. Of course, back in those halcyon days there were actually a couple other monster cereals in the line as well. There was Fruit Brute (fruity cereal with a werewolf mascot) and Yummy Mummy (I don't remember the flavor and I really don't have to tell you what the mascot was, do I?). These two, though, disappeared long before the rest. I guess they didn't sell very well, though I remember quite liking Fruit Brute. Thinking about these things reminded me of all the other mascots and such that have gone missing through the years. There was a cereal called Quisp that had a weird alien with a green body-suit and a pinkish head with a propeller on the top (I don't think the alien had a name, but he might've been "Quisp"). And I think I would've completely forgotten the characters from Funny Face drink mix (Choo-Choo Cherry, Goofy Grape, Lefty Lemon, and maybe some others) except that I made my parents order a set of plastic cups with their likenesses and my sister still has them. And does anyone remember that Cap'n Crunch used to have a nemesis named Jean LaFoote? I didn't until I stumbled on him while doing a google search. What happens to all these mascots when they get retired or their product goes away? I wonder if there is anyone working on a project to immortalize all these icons of our over-commercialized childhoods? If not, it could be an interesting project to take on. Oh, and the cereal drama from last night had a happy ending. Further along in the store I passed by the "Reduced price for quick sale" rack and was delighted to find a box of Frankenberry and two boxes of Boo Berry. Nostalgia in a bowl, and marked down to $2 a box. You just can't beat that. :) Hurdy gur, -Marc