A Chocolate-Covered Curse

A Saturday Story

You’ve probably heard the saying, “Too much of a good thing.” Well, that perfectly describes what I’m about to tell you.

I have a sweet tooth. But there are two candies I just can’t stand: chocolate-covered cherries and candy corn. Today, I’ll tell you the story of the first. (The second… well, that secret may stay buried forever.)

In the early 1970s, my dad worked at an International Harvester plant (now Navistar) in Denver. Just a few miles away was a Russell Stover factory, a magical place producing boxed chocolates, including Christmas favorites like chocolate-covered cherries.

Here’s where the trouble begins. A co-worker’s wife worked at the Russell Stover plant, and flawed chocolates—ones that didn’t make it to store shelves—were often sold to employees at steep discounts or given away. One day, she brought a boatload of these imperfect sweets to the plant, and my dad struck a deal. He came home with cases (yes, cases) of chocolate-covered cherries.

Since we couldn’t possibly finish them all before Christmas, Dad stashed the boxes in the chest freezer in our laundry room. Then, in a moment of sheer generosity, he declared something every kid dreams of hearing: “You can eat as many as you want.”

At first, it was heaven. I’d grab a whole box, not just a couple of pieces, step into the den, and sit cross-legged on the floor watching Batman on TV. Pure bliss… at least for the first few boxes.

But something changed. What started as a treat became a chore. My excitement soured into dread. Soon, I couldn’t even look at a chocolate-covered cherry without feeling queasy. My love for them had turned into utter disdain.

I don’t recall if we ever made it through all those frozen boxes. But I do know this: fifty years later, when I see a stack of chocolate-covered cherries at Christmastime, I think to myself, “Never again.”

chocolate covered cherries