Bankruptcy takes the cake

OK, America, time to step up to the plate. And put a Twinkie on it.

Wonder Bread, the owners of Hostess Bakery, has filed for bankruptcy protection. Unless we do something now, it may be too late for this spongy, cream-filled piece of Americana.

If everyone in the country were to eat a Twinkie a day, we can save the company and ensure that junk food junkies won't have to switch allegiance to Little Debbie (although there's a lot to be said for Zebra Cakes).

I can't imagine a world without Twinkies. One of my earliest memories of first grade is taking my lunch to school. In my red plaid lunch box, thee would be a bologna sandwich, an apple or a banana, a red-plaid Thermos of milk which I managed to spill most days, and a twin package of Twinkies. Sometimes I'd share and swap a Twinkie for one of my friend's Hostess Cupcakes, chocolate cake and frosting with the white squiggle on top.

My education began with Hostess cakes. Twinkies, cupcakes. They were part of that healthy lunch that got me through the afternoon. Some of my classmates brought Hostess Snowballs, chocolate cakes mounds covered in white marshmallow frosting and drenched with coconut. Sometimes the frosting was pink. With Snowballs, one could "skin the cat." If one were especially skilled, one could rip the entire coconut/marshmallow coating off in one solid piece. Whether you ate it before or after you ate the cream-filled cake was a matter of personal preference.

Later on came Ding Dongs, Ho Hos, and I remember a small two-layer yellow cake with cream filling between the layers and raspberry jam and coconut on top. I forgot what they were called, but they were good.

But Twinkies are somehow special, little boats of sponge cake with that creamy center. To lose this tasty little icon would be like losing dime stores, Little LuLu comic books, Saturday morning Looney Tunes that went on for hours, and other stuff that made life fun.

Those other things are gone now, but we have a chance to do our part and save the Twinkie. C'mon America. A Twinkie a day isn't a big sacrifice. Think of it as a Twinkie a day keeps the lawyers away.