Him and his candy (and other food)

Ira, as you may know, was a candy fanatic. In his candy basket, there was everything from Baby Ruth bars to Gumdrops. He was especially fond of those small mints with the red spiral design on them; we found an old one in a pocket of his brown coat. I heard that he made regular trips to the Job Lot Plaza on Resevoir Avenue by the Route 10 junction, to buy candy that had fallen off the back of a boat or a truck and had been lying around for days before someone picked it up and sold it to the Job Lots place, which, in turn sold it for something like 50 cents! He obviously didn't mind. On top of that, he liked those Hostess cupcakes, which are small little chocolate cupcakes filled with creme filling and topped with a creme frosting squiggle. Even though they were dated September 1963, he'd eat them and wouldn't get stomach flu or something. Must have been the preservatives. But, as much as he loved candy, his favorite dessert was always chocolate pudding with a little milk or cream. Besides candy, he liked Thanksgiving food. He once agreed with Samantha that they could live on Mashed Potatoes and Gravy all their life. But, whatever he was served, he was always sure to finish it happily.