So Al乌鸦传媒� I tried the gum.
A short while back, I pieced together a column on some of the world乌鸦传媒檚 best smells.
Noted on the list was hockey card gum.
乌鸦传媒淐ould be number one on the list,乌鸦传媒� I said. 乌鸦传媒淣ow, actually eating the shards of pink glass is another story.乌鸦传媒�
Fast forward to last week, and an envelope arrived at the office. For me.
乌鸦传媒淲onder what it is?乌鸦传媒� I asked aloud, giving it a little shake and hearing a rattle. 乌鸦传媒淔rom Chilliwack.乌鸦传媒�
Inside was a nice letter from Al (last name withheld so folks don乌鸦传媒檛 ask him for free stuff), which I admittedly didn乌鸦传媒檛 read until after exclaiming 乌鸦传媒渋t乌鸦传媒檚 hockey cards!乌鸦传媒� and inspecting my glorious and unexpected windfall.
There were two packs of unopened hockey cards from 1991-92.
乌鸦传媒淣ot sure if there is any fragrance or not but they have been stored in a sealed container, thanks again for your column,乌鸦传媒� wrote Al.
乌鸦传媒淧.S. Don乌鸦传媒檛 advise you chew the gum, LOL. However, a buddy of mine did and he survived.乌鸦传媒�
It was indeed the gum that was the first thing I noticed.
Neither pack had the familiar intact stick of gum. The years had taken their toll, with one stick broken into a few shards and the one in the other pack shattered into 20-plus fragments.
乌鸦传媒淪hould I try to chew it?乌鸦传媒� I briefly wondered to myself, before turning back to the cards.
It was immediately like being a kid again, shuffling through hockey cards, looking for a hidden gem as I read their names out louds.
乌鸦传媒淕ary Nylund; Patrik Sundstrom; ooh, a Gretzky award winner; Jacques Cloutier; Ron Hextall; Greg Adams (the card just said Greg Adams, but I saw the picture and said 乌鸦传媒楪reg C. Adams乌鸦传媒� out loud); ooh, a Kamensky rookie乌鸦传媒ξ谘淮綕 and on and on.
Of particular interest were a pair of 乌鸦传媒楽oviets vs. NHL乌鸦传媒� cards, of Andrei Kvartlanov and Igor Stelnov, a pair of names my mind thought it remembered but wasn乌鸦传媒檛 sure.
Each had a piece of the gum essentially welded onto the front, and there was no getting it off.
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Pondering the chemicals involved in that process but noting it was still pink, I made the only rational decision.
I was going to chew some of it.
Not wishing to keel over alone, I summoned intrepid reporter Kevin Forsyth.
乌鸦传媒淗ey Kevin, want to try some 30-year-old hockey card gum with me?乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒沦耻谤别.乌鸦传媒�
We each selected our own little shard, and the experiment was on.
At first, there was no taste at all. There was certainly no hope of it doing gum-like things and allowing us to continue chewing.
乌鸦传媒楰inda gets stuck up in the old molars,乌鸦传媒� observed Kevin. 乌鸦传媒淣ot bad. Just tastes like powder. Can乌鸦传媒檛 chew it, so I might just have to eat it.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淣ah, don乌鸦传媒檛 do that,乌鸦传媒� I said, spitting the remains of the fragments into the garbage.
Kevin smartly had something on hand to drink, whereas I had to endure the aftertaste, which was somewhere between fresh hockey card gum and licking a rubber dish mat.
All in all, a delightful exercise.
It乌鸦传媒檚 been years since I had the pleasure of shuffling through some packs of hockey cards. Talk about instantly transporting yourself back in time.
And it乌鸦传媒檚 been even longer since I tried to chew hockey card gum. I乌鸦传媒檒l probably ignore that bit of nostalgia moving forward.
If anyone else has some throwback items they乌鸦传媒檇 like to send in, don乌鸦传媒檛 hold back. Always happy to take a fun look back.
But I think my days of trying any food or drink items from more than three decades ago are done.
Thanks for the laughs, Al. Very much appreciated.
PQB News/VI Free Daily editor Philip Wolf welcomes your questions, comments and story ideas. He can be reached at 250-905-0029, or via email at philip.wolf@blackpress.ca.
