Penny candy was the first economy you understood. You had five cents and five cents bought five pieces of candy and the math was perfect. One cent one candy. The penny candy counter was the first place you learned that money was a choice. You could have five things you liked or one thing you loved and the woman behind the counter waited while you decided and she did not rush you because the decision was yours.

The candy had names. Mary Janes and Fireballs and Bit-O-Honey and Squirrel Nut Zippers and Necco Wafers and Atomic Fireballs and Jawbreakers and Bazooka Joe. The names were the advertising. The candy did not have commercials. The candy had a name and a wrapper and a place in the glass case and that was enough. Bazooka Joe came with a comic. The comic was terrible. The gum was worse. But the combination of terrible comic and worse gum was better than either one alone.

The penny candy counter had a glass case with a sliding door on the back. The woman reached in and pulled out what you pointed at. She did not wear gloves. Nobody wore gloves. The candy sat in the case all day and the flies knew about it and the woman swatted the flies and the candy survived. The penny candy counter was not sanitary. It was honest. You could see everything you were buying.

I bought penny candy at a store on Avenue C every day after school. The woman knew me. She knew what I liked. She put two Fireballs and two Mary Janes and a Bit-O-Honey in a small brown bag without asking. That was my order. I did not have to say it. She knew. The penny candy counter was the first place in my life where somebody knew what I wanted before I said it.

Penny candy does not exist. Candy costs a dollar now and a dollar buys one piece and the piece is wrapped in plastic inside a box inside a bag. The penny candy came from a glass case and the glass case told you the truth. You saw what you were getting. The wrapped candy is a secret until you open it. The penny candy counter was transparent. The candy aisle is not. That is the whole story of what happened to the economy.

See also: Candy Store, Egg Cream, Ice Cream Truck, Soda Fountain, Flea Market, Five and Dime, Drugstore