Chocolate Bunnies Make Me Sad

It's that time of year again, when you cannot go into a drugstore or supermarket without seeing them.  Shelf after shelf of chocolate bunnies, on display in festive, colorful packaging.  The first time I saw them again, the spring after my mother died, I had a panic attack.  Not over the chocolate bunnies.  Over the packaging.  My mother designed most of it.  She was gone, and there I was in CVS, standing in front of an entire wall of her boxes.

My mother had grown up wanting to be an artist, like her father.  She went to art school and years later, she was making somewhat of a living as a graphic designer, and had said to me on several occasions that she was reduced to "drawing bunny boxes" for a living.  She told me she had lost the artistic ability that she once had; she could only draw cartoon rabbits, hopping over flowers while looking insanely happy.  She was not particularly proud of her bunny boxes.  Ironically, it's the bunny boxes that have given her a bit of immortality, even though graphic designers never get to sign their work.  I'm not sure anyone ever looks at  "Busy Bigby" and "Sunny" at Walgreen's and thinks about who created the artwork that adorns the box.  But I do.

I no longer feel sad at the annual return of the bunny boxes, but I do feel nauseous.  Why? Because the chocolate is pretty awful.  Do you remember the wax tubes that held juice (aka dyed sugar water)?  You could bite off the end, drink the juice and then chew the wax, thereby ingesting at least 37 different carcinogens.  Those wax tubes o'juice tasted better than this chocolate.  One of the perks of having a mother who designed candy packaging was that every now and then, she would bring home FREE SAMPLES!  I will never forget the case of Rolos, circa 1972.  And the Hershey Bars...every time they unveiled a new seasonal version of Miniatures, we reaped the benefits.  But she knew not to bring home the bunnies.  The bunnies were awful.  And thank God she never worked on the packaging for Peeps.

Beryl's bunny boxes (the two on the left):

 
Humor

Comments

[Janine]

I've been friends with Ellen since December 1988, and this is the first I've heard of her mother's bunny boxes. What other secrets are you hiding, Ellen?

[Ellen]

Janine,
My life is an open book.
xo,
Ellen

[David (Ellen's brother)]

Wow! What memories… That and Whitman's Candy.

I don't know if you remember Mom's office on 17th St. and the time we discovered the closet full of candy samples.

Here was a room that would make Violet Beauregarde blush. It was filled from floor to ceiling with packaging examples from the past 15 or so years of business. The best part was, they still had candy in them!

I remember the day I discovered the secret stash. I felt like a young Indiana Jones finding the treasure of a lifetime. Immediately I summoned my assistant (Ellen) and we began to explore this cache of untold ancient history.

Of course, no monumental expedition would be complete without taking some samples, so we began our scientific excavation, strictly for research purposes of course.

Quietly we slipped open the antiquated containers and began taking samples. “This one’s white chocolate!” “I found a Hershey’s bar!” “Yummmm, chocolate easter eggs!”

All this free chocolate was just too good to be true! More tests were needed and we plunged deeper into the ‘Samples of Doom’ closet with a frenzy that only a sugar shocked child could conjure.

Package after package was violated, its contents ransacked in the name of science never to be seen on the face of the Earth again.

Suddenly, a beam of light shone into the closet and cast a golden glow upon the treasure in my hand. Did someone bump open the door? Did a light come on? Or was this divine intervention? The cause may never be known but the effect was earth shattering!

As that light glowed upon the relic in my hand I couldn’t help but notice something was not quite right. My treasure, my coveted idol, that great chunk of bunny chocolate still in its paper and cellophane sarcophagus seemed to move. Was that fur on the Bunny? Is this thing alive?

I stood there transfixed for what seemed to be as long as this thing was old, staring unblinking at the slowly morphing effigy. The “fur” was moving as if it was blowing in a slow motion wind, soundless.

BUGS! Millions of tiny mites swarming all over my bunny idol doing the mite equivalent of a stadium wave! I frantically searched the other empty sarcophagi scattered about the closet floor. More mites, or at least the remnants of their respective mite herds.

My throat gagged, my stomach heaved my assistant’s face went white. Fear welled up inside me and I knew the worst was yet to come. . Maybe mites would be rushing out of every orifice in a full blown mite-a-thon? Surely we would be rushed to the hospital for a complete chocolatectomy How would I go to school? Hey, maybe I COULDN’T go to school!

When the panic finally subsided I decided to do what I always did best, act casual and ignore the situation. However I still had to be sure, so in my best “I didn’t do it” nonchalant tone, I took a package to my mother and said “Hey mom, this candy has bugs in it.”

To which I got the reply “How much did you eat”?

Awww Mom!

[Wendy]

Hello, I found this page through Google searching for "Busy Bigby". I love the artwork on bunny boxes, and just received a "Busy Bigby" today. I get chocolate bunnies every year from my mother, and while I'm eating it, I admire the box, and even like to make things out of the boxes when I am finished, because they have such cute designs. I've always enjoyed the smiling little faces, and how happy the characters look, as does my Mom. I can't believe I stumbled across someone who was related to the designer for this. The artwork is amazing. I'm happy to have found this little personal bit about the artist. It gives it more meaning.

Have a lovely day.

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[Granville Lochrico]

Chocolate packaging attraction is essential. I'm sorry about your mother. I bet you're very proud of her because, if I were you, I would be. Also, just like you, I love free samples - especially if it's coming from your favorite brand.