Peppermint Shortage

This week was the first week in which I decided to ride my bike to work. I couldn't ride Monday because it rained all day and today has promised to have the same watery problem. I was, however, able to ride Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The benefits of these rides are already beginning to show and I'm excited about that. Where previously there was somewhat of a tan line separating my gleaming white ankles and feet from my just off-white legs, there is now no visible difference and I'm proud to say that I have graduated to "signs of life" pigment from the knees down. I don't know if I've lost any weight or gained any muscle definition because I don't keep track of those things, but I'm hopeful that I'll also eventually notice some improvement in those categories as well.

I hope that I don't sound like a health nut or worse: a fat guy. But, I apparently like to talk about myself, so just deal with it. This should come as no surprise to you anyway if you've ever read any of my blogs before. I'm really off the intended subject, though. Which, I've yet to even touch on. I told you the biking thing just to explain that I stopped at PriceCutter on the way home from work yesterday to pick up some dishwashing detergent. We tried some "eco-friendly", good for the environment dishwashing detergent and it's terrible. It leaves a milky-white powdery substance on everything. I hope that it is equally as good for humans to consume than it is for the environment, because I failed to get it all off a glass and used the glass anyway. I'll probably turn into the swamp thing or something. Or do you have to live near a swamp for that to happen? Maybe just the Thing, then.

Anyway, again off-subject, while standing in line with my Electrosol liquid (which is awesome, by the way, but probably kills flowers in the swamp that it winds up in) I noticed that Peppermint flavored Eclipse brand gum was more expensive than its other flavors. I wondered how this came to be. I even asked the checkout girl if it could possibly be a mistake. She took the time to scan it and one of the other flavors to do a price check, but indeed the computer showed the same price difference. I might have discussed the matter with her further if I had not connected eyes with some customers behind me who were apparently very busy and important people who did not have the time to bear witness to a 15-second price check experiment. I took my Electrosol and my 10 cent cheaper spearmint flavored Eclipse brand gum and pedalled home.

I did a simple Google search on Peppermint to see what I would come up with and I did have some interesting findings. Okay, they're not very interesting, but I have to at least say things like that to keep you people reading. I found two sites that claim there are nationwide peppermint shortages. One site briefly mentions China's shortage of the product while the other is a gossip site for all things Starbucks and it makes mention of a shortage of Peppermint in their stores as well as their lack of ability to get it from their supplier. These two little known facts don't prove anything, I admit. But I needed something that sounds like proof. A wise man once said, "As long as you make a case, weak as it may be, you are bound to convince somebody." Okay, I just made that up, but someone wise could've said it. It's possible, and you can't argue with that.

So, whether the possibility of a Peppermint shortage concerns you or not, I think that I'll be growing my own Peppermint and selling it in dime bags. For every bag I sell, I can afford to buy one more pack of Peppermint flavored Eclipse gum and sneer at the other cheaper flavors that poor people are forced to buy.

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