Streaking Out

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Have you ever had rock candy? Hey, I’m talking about lollies not some euphemism for crack cocaine. This is a family-friendly blog. You know, that hard sweetie they roll into long tubes of sugary, colourful fun and then slice up like some sweet tooth’s version of kabana.

fruit-salad-rock-candy

Fruit salad rock candy from Red Balloon Candy

I remember standing at the window of more than one confectionary establishment watching the candy man or candy woman rolling out the soft and pliable candy dough and wondering what the end product would look like – would it be a rainbow of colours, an interior designer’s dream of colour scheming or, if they were really clever, would there be a word or picture through that sugar rope?

I wonder what you would look like as a piece of rock candy? What runs through the middle of you? (That’s not a literal question. I don’t need to see what a dissection of a human body would look like, thank you very much.)

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase that someone may have a “streak of madness”. What’s your streak? Maybe you have more than one. Maybe you’d be a rainbow of streakiness if you turned into rock candy.

I’ve spoken before about my inherent streak of stubbornness. It’s what got me through training for and completing my first marathon. Despite the voices telling me I’d never make it, that stubborn streak just wouldn’t let me give up. That streak took over again recently when I put myself through a process I’d sworn I’d never do again because my first experience had crushed my self-confidence. But when the opportunity arose, that stubborn part of me just wouldn’t let it beat me and I felt compelled to give it another shot. That stubborn streak is so hard, I reckon it would rival an Everlasting Gobstopper.

Willy-Wonka-Gobstopper

You mean one of these?

However, if you sliced me up, it wouldn’t just be the word “stubborn” through the middle. I can be pretty streaky.

There’s the Freak Streak for starters. The one that makes middle-aged me go out in public in fluoro orange sneakers and a hoodie saying “I am a Whovian Mum. Just like a normal mum except much cooler.” The one that dresses up in a nerd costume for a trivia night even though it’s not a dress up event.

Then there’s definitely a stereotypical streak of madness. What else would make me take on a marathon at age 50? Or decide I could put together my own she-shed with no building skills whatsoever?

There’s a wobbly and uneven streak we’ll call a combination of over-thinking and lack of self-confidence. Sometimes it’s a thick streak and sometimes you can hardly see it.

A crafty/arty streak definitely flows through me. It’s not a particularly refined one and is probably a bit lumpy with undissolved sugar but it goes through my core.

Post-Apocalyptic-Life-Skill-t-shirt-teeturtle_800x

I want this shirt. (© Teeturtle.com)

 

I’m not sure the MOSY Rock Candy would be a bestseller and it certainly wouldn’t appear in any of your exclusive confectionery establishments. It’s more likely to be in the clearance bin in amongst the other imperfect packages. But it’s definitely a limited edition.

So, what would your rock candy look like?

Postscript: The day after I wrote the first draft of this post, the most famous rock candy manufacturer in Australia, Castlemaine Rock, announced they were closing their doors. Tapping into the zeitgeist…

Castlemaine Rock

Vale Castlemaine Rock 😦

35 thoughts on “Streaking Out”

  1. It’d look like a really nice place called ‘home’. Somewhere for my pot-plants (in the sun) and somewhere for Lui to chatter his jaws at scornful birdies. NO NOISY NEIGHBOURS. NO ****ING BARKING DOGS. A cross-section of a peaceful little place: kitchen bench-tops easily able to accommodate Big Red and Little Red.
    I’m workin on it, H …

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  2. Mmmm… I used to love that rock with the fruit pictures, totally bad for the teeth though! I also loved the Edinburgh rock which is very soft (and also very very sweet). As for what would run through my middle, then it would also have to be stubbornness and determination. I hate to give up, even though at certain times in my life that would have been the most sensible thing to do! There would be a blunt streak too. Honesty is the best policy? Er… no. Not always. But I will leave the fluoro orange sneakers to you MOSY. I am sure you wear them well 😀

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  3. Your rock candy sounds like a delicious mixture my friend. I think mine would have a big splash of adventure and I’d link to think covered in sprinkles of compassion. What a fabulous and fun way to do some self reflection.

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  4. I rather hoped you wouldn’t ask. 🙂 🙂 Pig-headed, headstrong, wilful, selfish… that do for starters? And I do have fond memories of fruit rock, though I prefer rhubarb and custard or sour apples. Something with a bit of…. Or lemon sherbets. 🙂

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    • I think sour apple would be my favourite flavour in anything. Except maybe in an actual apple.
      Those qualities sound like they’d get you where you need to be doing what you need to be doing which seems like useful qualities to me. Although, I don’t agree with selfish. I mean, you read my blog. No selfish person would bother doing that. 😁😊

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  5. I’ve never been a fan of rock candy although my dad was well-known for always carrying some in his pockets. Either that or peppermints. Can’t say I’m a big fan of peppermint either. Funny … I’ve never thought of that before 🙂

    What would my streaks look like? Well first, they would be soft – like Australian liquorice 🙂 – which is probably just another way of saying one of my streak would likely be flowing against the current 😉

    Like Sue said, this was a fun post of self-reflection. Rather brilliant to compare yourself to candy!

    mmmmm – liquorice ….

    Now look what you’ve done …

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    • I feel like I should direct you to lie down on this couch while I psychoanalyse you about the link between your dislike of rock candy and your father’s pockets. Hm. Probably just a natural reaction to preferring your sweet things not covered in lint.

      You know I’m a fan of going against the flow so by all means go off script and liken yourself to liquorice. Or even licorice.

      Mmmmmmm……

      Oh man, look what I did to myself. Can you eat chocolate-coated liquorice for breakfast? That’s a thing, right?

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  6. Ah, rock candy I am on the fence about that. It always seemed much too hard for my liking, and I prefer my candy soft and chewable. Or maybe the ones I got were super hard.

    I love shirts from TeeTurtle and have way too many of them 😂

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  7. Mine would have a streak of lemon paranoia down the middle and fruit roll-up flavor and when they fizz in your mouth it would taste like vodka strawberry Jell-O shots. But then vanish immediately after the vodka infuses into your blood steam leaving you spinning and of course frazzled.

    I really needed this today too! It was a goody-Turvy upsidown kind of Monday. Good and bad

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  8. Love this!! Your rock candy sounds pretty good to me; definitely interesting. I hate the stuff myself; if I going to eat sweets I like them soft — jelly beans, jelly babies, liquorice allsorts. But you’ve reminded me of a conversation I had years ago about what flavour ice cream I’d be (if I were ice cream).i
    In the end I figured orange and cardamom; a bit weird and unusual, and probably an acquired taste.

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  9. My grandmother would bring out the rock candy whenever we had the out of town relatives stop by. It was usually the holidays. Probably Christmas. Whenever I see the word Rock Candy I vision a flocked tree.

    I remember the rock candy would stick together in a way where it would eventually create the worlds most dangerous ball. When that happened, Grandma did the most amazing thing: She placed wax paper underneath and suddenly – the rock candy separated.

    To this day that is the most amazing magic trick I have ever seen.

    Fun post and excellent site!!!!

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    • I thought you were going to say she’d cover it with wax paper and then smash it with a rolling pin (which would be my solution). Now I’m all intrigued about it magically separating.
      Thanks for dropping by to read and comment. 🙂

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  11. I used to love seaside rock. That would be the highlight of my summer holidays as a child – buying the rock with the name of the seaside town through it for myself and for my friends, and also hoping that my friends would bring some back for me from wherever they went on their holiday. As for what would my rock candy have through the middle? I’m not sure – perhaps a swan… I am known for appearing calm and controlled to the outside world, but that’s because I am paddling like mad underneath! 😀 😀

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  12. I’m so sorry I missed your post. The photo of rock candy brought me back to my childhood, when we would peel sugary dots off paper, try to break our teeth on chewy taffy and pick out flavored sticks of candy at a local store. Those were the days when I could eat that stuff and not put on excess weight.

    I liken myself to lemon drops rather than rock candy. Sweet and tangy.

    Oh, okay, if I must…my rock candy is very organizational when it has to be, but laid back when necessary. It prefers the outdoors to indoors, except in winter. It likes lazy mornings and coffee, then afternoon bike rides. It wants to volunteer for something, but is really hoping to retire its wrapper next year for the new edition of its inner being.

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Talk to me. I love a discussion. I might learn new stuff.