Hostess, Please Keep Making Twinkies

As I was clocking in at school Friday, John, a fellow staff member, said to me “Did you hear? Hostess is going out of business.” I know John wasn’t expecting my reaction upon hearing his news. I asked him if he was sure, then I went on to explain the sheer panic on my face. You see, Tuesday is Twinkie day according to Cody (autistic) and Hostess makes Twinkies.


Immediately the wheels in my head started spinning and I began devising a plan:

I will have to buy a years supply of Twinkies, at least, because it will probably take me that long to help Cody cope with the fact that Twinkies will no longer exist. There are 10 Twinkies in a box and 52 weeks in a year, so in order for Cody to have 1 Twinkie a week (on Tuesdays, mind you), I will have to make room in my freezer for at least 6 boxes and maybe a few more for good measure.

Having a little time to kill this morning before going to work, I decided to get online and see what articles I could find regarding Hostess going out of business. As you can imagine, there are all kinds of stories floating around the internet, but the one I take comfort in is on CNNMoney. It says…

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)-- Rest easy, Twinkie lovers: Hostess Brands, the storied American manufacturer of snack cakes, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Wednesday, but said it will continue to churn out Ho Hos, Ding Dongs and other iconic products.

"Throughout the proceeding, we're going to operate business as normal," said Hostess spokesman Erik Halvorson. "They'll keep making Twinkies."

I am hoping, if worse comes to worst, that another big company will buy Hostess out and continue making their products as insinuated in the following paragraph of the same article…

Published reports indicated that Hostess sought potential buyers, including Oreo-cookie maker Kraft Foods (KFT, Fortune 500) and Campbell Soup (CPB, Fortune 500)'s Pepperidge Farm.

Regardless, I am going to purchase those aforementioned boxes. It’s better to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, right?!

One Autistic Girl's Amazing Story

My friend at The Fragile X Files posted an amazing clip about an autistic girl's breakthrough. Much like Temple Grandin, this child is helping us understand autism. Please click on the link, watch the video and prepare to be enlightened. I promise, you will be glad that you did.

The Fragile X Files: Thanks to Carly Fleischmann: If you haven't heard of Carly Fleischmann, let me introduce you. Watch this video. It's almost 10 minutes long and usually I hate videos (...

Locked Out

Last year, in June, I wrote a post called 'Who's Weird, Besides Me?' I talked about Cody's autism and the fact that he won't do certain things, like get out of bed on his own in the morning. Then, in October, I wrote a post titled 'Miracles Happen' about how, after 29 years, Cody drained the bathtub without being told. This week we experienced yet another miracle. Let me share with you what happened.


It was evening and Cody and I were home alone. We were following the usual routine; I had just fixed Cody a bath and told him to get in. After a few minutes had passed, I went back to the bathroom, like I always do, to see if he was undressed and in the tub. The door was locked. I knew there was no way I could pick that lock before his bathwater turned frigid, so I did the only thing I could do... I talked to Cody through the door. Our conversation went something like this:

Me- "Cody, you locked the door. I cannot get in to help you unless you unlock it."

Cody- "Oh maan!"

Me- "Cody, you're gonna have to get your naked butt out of the tub and unlock it."

Cody- "Oh maan!"

Me- "Cody, if you don't get out and let me in, the water is going to get really cold. Do you want to sit in cold water?"

Cody- "Oh maan!"

Me- "Cody, YOU CAN DO THIS. You're going to be wet and that's okay. Get out of the tub, unlock the door for me and get back in."

I stood there listening through the door and couldn't believe my ears. I heard him actually get out of the water and unlock the door! It was all I could do not to laugh, partly because it was so cute seeing his dripping head and naked butt climbing back in the tub and partly because I was ecstatic that he did something I thought he'd never do.


This brings to mind the words of Winston Churchill, "Never, never, never give up!"