The bag of corn that changed me

I have a love hate relationship with corn. Yes the grain.

Growing up in the suburbs around Chicago, I have seen my share of corn fields.

I have been on road trips throughout the state of Illinois and if there was one theme it could’ve been cornfields. My friend Owie even tried to rap about them once.

I have eaten many corn kernels in my life. Whether it be canned, casseroled, popped, high fructosed, etc.., I owe a few of my pounds to corn. I can’t even tell you how many times, I have heard baseball announcers say can of corn on a routine fly ball.

There was a time that I despised popcorn due to the fact that I had worked at a movie theatre when I was a young teen.

I remember the seemingly gratuitous amount of oil and butter that it took to make one round of the popular snack.

I remember coming home and smelling like that terrible place.

In fact it took just over four years until I tried popcorn again.

It wasn’t until years later that I had known that there was a confection called “kettle corn.”

It came in a bag and I was hooked. Since I moved here I have consumed dozens of bags of the sweet and buttery treat.

The other day, while at the Phillips County Fair I had noticed a table that I had often overlooked in past years; The Kettle Corn booth.

Susan and I had purchased a couple of bags that night. One was for us and the other for her parents. Not knowing what flavor to choose, we chose to buy a regular bag for her parents and caramel for us.

I was thinking this can’t be that great. Crunch! After that first bite… I saw sparks.

That scrumdiddlyumptious delight was the best version of corn that I had ever tasted. I sat on my couch with my wife and I went through the whole bag.

I continued my onslaught of kettle corn that next day after purchasing two more bags. I visited the booth one more time during the fair and got another bag.

I never thought that I could eat a version of corn that I could love that much. It was so tasty, it shook me to my core. And now I will long for another bag, but I realize I will have to wait one whole year.