Pal Gum

My love affair with Pal gum began as a child. The cheap people in my neighborhood would give us great handfuls of Pal (if we were lucky) or Super Bubble (if we weren't) as our treats on Halloween. If you got to those houses too late, you were often stuck with a linty piece of Juicy Fruit or some stale Starlite mints from the bottom of somebody's purse. I made sure to get to those houses early … strictly for the Pal.

Pal gum comes in a red, white and blue wax wrapper. The little nugget inside is pink, often dusted with a light coating of a powdery substance (sugar … or something more sinister?).

The texture is similar to chewing dried bathtub caulk … but that flavor … oh, that flavor. It's Tutti Fruti at its tutti fruitiness.

The flavor is what differentiates Pal from similar but inferior gums. Super Bubble has a slightly offensive wintergreen flavor, not entirely unlike Pepto Bismol. Bazooka is closer to Pal in terms of flavor … but it's not quite the same. Pal's flavor is "more red," Bazooka is "more pink" … if you follow that peculiar distinction.

After I became too old to trick or treat, and my sister refused to let me have her Pal gum, I lost touch with Pal. It was years later that we were reunited. My room mate was a great Pal aficionado, so I was hooked once again. I began to chew my way through bags of Pal year-round. When I went on a long trip abroad, my mother sent me a care package which included a 5 pound bag of Pal! My summer was made.

Most sadly, my love affair with Pal gum has ended, as I have been banned from chewing my favorite gum. Three tragic years ago, I sprained my jaw by chewing Pal gum during a very stressful job.

The swelling of my cheeks and horrific ache in my jaw sent me to the dentist. He took x-rays and determined that my jaw was sprained. He asked me if I'd been chewing a lot of gum and I said that I had. He asked me what kind and I said "Pal." He told me I'd be better off chewing concrete.

"NO MORE PAL GUM, " he ordered.

After weeks of ice packs and anti-inflamitories, I came to the horrible conclusion that my life would have to continue, without Pal. Recently, one of my students gave me a piece of Pal. I tucked it in my pocket to save for a day when I'm feeling a little more reckless.

Review by SIL