Chocolate

A long time love affair

I have been locked out of my apartment. Bought my first stock. Rode my first roller coaster. Bought 100 truffles at a time. If you wonder how these are all connected — you can thank chocolate.

I’ve loved chocolate for as long as I can remember. As a small child in England, I fell in love with Milky Buttons, Smarties, Aero bars, Cadbury. The list goes on. If you are wondering if first loves ever honestly go away, I went back to England a couple of years ago and stood in the candy aisle at Waitrose with the biggest grin on my face. It was a glorious moment.

Later on, when my family moved back to the States, my Dad offered to buy my sibling and me stock to help teach us about investing. I bought what was most important to me as a 6th-grade girl: Claire’s and Hersheys.

Ah, I should back up a moment and tell you that I am from Pennsylvania. The land of Hershey. Now some people turn their noses up at Hershey chocolate. I suspect these are the same people who only drink craft beers. I’m, however, not that classy; I always liked Hershey’s chocolate. It reminded me of childhood. And let’s be honest — if it is good enough for ET, it is more than good enough for me.

Now in the town of Hershey, there is not only a world-famous hotel and spa and street lights shaped like Hershey Kisses (adorable), there is also an amusement park. And so, sometime during my grade school years, I rode my first roller coaster there with my Dad. An old wooden roller coaster called the Comet that…