Candy and common sense

Working in television is a bit like being sucked into a black hole for eight hours. Once you step foot in the door it is a very real possibility that you will not leave -- not even for a moment -- until the beast decides it is time to spit you out, broken and defeated, at the end of the day. Lunch is something few people get to have away from their desks and usually scrounged from the vending machine in the break room. A package of Pop Tarts is considered a balanced meal. That is why when the candy machine is broken -- all hell breaks loose.

It started out innocently enough -- an editor posted a note that said every time he put a quarter into said machine it did not fulfill the promise of a handful of hot tamales. No harm, no foul. But this was just the beginning.

The next day a second note was posted and this time something more important was at stake -- Mike & Ikes.
The note poster mentioned the strange similarities between the two events -- joking, but also alluding to a
possible candy conspiracy and a breakdown of the vending machine system as we know it.

Feeling that the candy empire was about to crumble others began piling on. Those who got candy began to complain about the quantity they had received. 12.5 cents per peanut M&M was not seen as reasonable. Not only that, they were both yellow. And then the inevitable jesters got into the act -- trying to make light of a truly serious situation. Their comments were accepted as well as a Mark Russell song about Granada.
After all, THIS WAS NOT FUNNY. Kids getting eaten by bears, the war in Iraq, genocide -- those are things to joke about. Not candy.

And then, as quickly as the notes had arrived -- they were gone. A single piece of tape now advises people to call a certain extension if they lose money in their search for candy. The hot headed note writing has been branded childish and unnecessary. The man has won.

At least until the Pepsi machine breaks...