Wall of Gum
As kids, gum was not something we chewed often. The general prohibition might have had something to do with that Halloween when I was 5. My father brought home a bag of Dubble Bubble and, with the Guinness Book of World Records in mind, I proceeded to stuff all of the individually wrapped pieces into my mouth. Perhaps from the exhaustion of chewing, I then fell asleep. Overnight, I rolled in the giant pink wad. The next morning my mother had to cut off all my hair. The Maplewood, NJ wall of gum puts that isolated polymer gob to shame. The wall stretches at least 50 feet along an underpass close to the town’s middle school. Granted, NJ has nothing on either of the gum walls in Seattle or San Luis Obispo, but give it time. That last photo is of my nephew’s hand, proudly pointing out his very own addition to the collage.
Wednesday 01.22.14 at 7:23 pm
Eeew. I think I would have enjoyed this post more if I didn’t know what it was. And yet now I’m unusually tempted to travel to NJ just add a wad!
Thursday 01.23.14 at 12:58 am
Melissa!
What fun! Yours was the last email I looked at tonight. The gum photos made me smile and the recollection of that lovely day made me smile even more. Love that you blogged this one. Now I can go to sleep w/ such a pleasant memory in my head. Thanks.
Thursday 01.23.14 at 9:56 am
Kathlen, The wall of gum in Seattle is voted second most germy historic site after The Blarney Stone.
Thursday 01.23.14 at 8:35 pm
Ha! It’s funny that this is even voted on.