From the editor: I should be hugging a Peep instead

Ignore the photo, just read on

 by Celeste Sepessy
 published on Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Sam Nalven / STATE PRESS MAGAZINE

This editorial is not about fashion. I'm sorry the picture is deceiving; I am just not a very fashionable person.

Instead, it's about my favorite holiday, Easter, and the candy that accompanies it. Mostly Peeps. Goodness gracious, how I love them.

I am not a chocolate person. I think it's nasty and I will only eat it in the form of mint flavored, Snickers and Reese's. Absolutely no chocolate bunnies.

My mom fills my Easter basket accordingly. I get a lot of jellybeans and gummy types. She usually stuffs a few all-chocolate treats (or nontreats) in there for herself to take at a later date.

Easter candy is the best. This year, my mom stumbled upon Hawaiian Punch jellybeans. You may recall from a previous editorial that I think HP is the nectar of gods.

And Peeps. Oh my. This year I received four packages. Three are beautiful, kelly green baby chicks and the other is a pack of yellow tulips marked "New!". Who knew?

I have a long history with these delightfully artificial candies.

Peeps have always been the favorite in my house. We open the package, leave them sitting for a couple of weeks and dive in.

When I was a senior in high school, I bought this amazing Peeps mini-purse. It was teal and adorable.

And then my friends decided to hot-glue googly eyes on it during art class. It was hilarious, but when they fell off the Peep looked like it had permanent eye boogers. So I retired it.

While I was probably a bit too old for the novelty Peeps purse at age 18, I am definitely above the age now. So I must make the most of Easter time (and other holidays too now, thanks Just Born Inc.).

I brought my Easter basket into the newsroom to share my parents' generosity. Some of our staff's parents think they are too old for baskets of fun.

I told our designer Scott to help himself, because he claims he is parentless. He's probably lying, but I can't be sure.

Anyway, he took a look into the basket and declared, "I don't want Peeps!" and refused my candy. "I want some jellybeans or something."

I told him yes, there were in fact jellybeans in there. Duh, it's freaking Easter. He just had to dig in the sparkly grass.

"I don't want to finger your Easter candy," he said.

"But that's what Easter is all about."

"Yeah, that's the spirit of Easter. Fingering candy."