Why are the orange ones always gone?!

– Time For A Tiara: Column by Ginna Young –

It’s an age-old debate – OK, actually, they’ve only been around since 1985 – but one that is heated...at least between teens and me. I speak, of course, of the candy known as Airheads, not to be confused with Nerds, which are little pebbles of coated candy that I liken to aquarium gravel.

Airheads are like a cross between taffy and Roll-Ups, but come in a lot more flavors. My favorite is the orange flavor, hence the debate. Most of the teens, pre-teens and just out of their teens, agree the blue raspberry is the best.

I really can’t fault them for that belief; blue is almost always the best choice in any candy, but in this case, I’m afraid they are greatly misinformed.

If I have to pick a second flavor, cherry is the winner, followed by...and this one puzzles me why I like it...grape. Grape and I aren’t normally friends, but for some reason, the Airheads ones are really good.

There’s a flavor called “mystery,” which is OK, but not that great, so I’d put the blue raspberry ahead of that one and the watermelon, but not above the citrus rush that is, unfortunately, a limited edition.

Hey, Airheads execs, pleeeeeeaaassseeeeee bring that one back!

Apparently, there are a whole bunch of flavors I’ve never even heard of or tried, but wouldn’t mind doing so, such as the green apple, strawberry, pink lemonade and fruit punch.

Then, there are those I have no desire to taste at all: mango-chili, birthday cake, cotton candy and maple, which is only available in Canada, thankfully.

Every now and then, I purchase a package of a mix of the basic flavors, so I have to eat the ones I’m not that crazy about, along with the ones I love. I haven’t tried the bites option out there, because when I touch the package, the contents feel hard as a brick bat. There’s also the newer item called Xtreme Airheads that look like sugar-coated gummy strips. They’re pretty popular with the kids, younger and teens, but I don’t know, I don’t like gummy stuff. Maybe some day I’ll get brave enough to try them. Maybe. Wouldn’t hold my breath if I was you or make a deal with a bookie.

What I really enjoy, is when I’m at a concession stand and you can pick what flavors you want. Of course, I always go with the orange, but I better get there early, because, contrary to their insistence that blue are the best, the kids have already wiped out the oranges.

I should break down and just order a box of orange Airheads off Amazon, but those are priced at more than double what it costs me to buy them at concession stands, so my pride (and wallet) won’t let me go through with the online purchase.

So, until then, I’ll continue to battle the sugarcrazed youth, who claim to luuuuvvveee the blue ones and instead, poach my orange ones. You greedy, little devils, you know who you are!