Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans

I went to Redlands the other day, a city about 50 miles from where I live. We had passed through the town on our way home from a tennis tournament last year, and remarked on how cute it was. Coincidentally, there was recently an article in Westways Magazine about taking a day trip to Redlands http://www.calif.aaa.com/westways/2012/03-04/Pages/day-trip-redlands.aspx?zip=90068&stateprov=ca&city=los+angeles&devicecd=PC&referer=www.google.com. A girlfriend and I said ‘let’s do it!’ We took the article and visited every place listed and some that weren’t. While exploring the town, we came across a retro style candy and toy store called Sweet Memories. Here is one of the treasures I found there:

If you’re not familiar with Bertie Bott’s every flavor beans, we probably can’t be friends. Here are some of the flavors:

I immediately bought several packs to give to my nephew. Myles is 11 and we often share a similar sense of humor. His response to getting the Bertie Bott’s was, “Thank you Auntie. I love getting gross stuff like this.” He then proceeded to try each flavor or attempt to convince someone else to try them. In that fashion, we gave his 2 year old sister the rotten egg flavor. At first, she was so happy to get a piece of candy, but then things went horribly wrong. Myles and I got in trouble. We later tried to convince Uncle Mike to try some, but he was on to us from the get go. “Get out of here you two,” he brushed us aside. We may have pulled a few tricks on him in the past, but you can’t prove it.

Having Myles around reminds me of my own childhood with my little brother. Here is the little devil sleeping in this morning:

When he was awake for a little while, Uncle Mike asked him to go with him to walk the dog.

“I just woke up 18 seconds ago Uncle!” and that was the end of that.

I love my time with Myles, even when, on our walks together with the dog, he throws things at me- whatever he can pick up from the ground, or he might trip me, or just generally get into some mischief along the way. I know that soon he will turn into one of these guys:

But hopefully we won’t ever stop having fun. He has also been very supportive while I wrote The Energy Crusades. When I asked my brother to draw me a logo (which you can see at the top of this website), Myles drew me a version to:

He has also drawn several versions of the energy suits, the ruined city, and hover crafts. Most importantly, he totally believes in me and thinks my book is awesome.

Mike Noble is my sun and stars, my daughter is the moon of my life, and Myles is my ocean because I love him oceans and oceans.

I’ll leave you with this advice: if you ever find yourself a guest in my home, beware the jelly bean dish. You’ve been warned.