ZZZ....zzz...zzz

CARSON recently shipped an order to Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, a city which is located in Brown County. The town was named after Chief Sleepy Eye who was known as a compassionate man with droopy eyelids. The Chief's real name was Ishtakhaba. There are around 3500 people who call Sleepy Eye home. The thing I like best about Sleepy Eye is the name. I love sleep. I don't seem to get much of it these days. It is weird to like something that you are not conscious for, but I do. There are so many good forms of sleep: sleeping after an extra long day at work; sleep after driving all night to get home; the first nights of sleep on a new mattress; the extra hour of sleep you get when you move the clocks back an hour from daylight savings time; an afternoon nap on a cold winter day; sleeping during the day after staying up all night writing a paper for school. On average, Americans are sleeping an hour less a night than they did twenty years ago. This is very troubling to me. Aside from the health risks, loss of production at work and increase in automobile accidents, being lost is the fun of sleep. The fun of waking up before your alarm clock beeps and knowing you can sleep more. The comfort of a favorite blanket. The warmth and fun of a water bed. I advise everyone to sleep more. Take a nap, sleep late on Sunday, enjoy a hammock. Whatever you do GET SOME SLEEP.

What's in a Name?

There are many names of many towns. Some towns are named after people. Some towns are named after saints. Some towns are named after other towns. Sometimes a name describes the landscape. For a town in Pennsylvania that we shipped to the name comes from a number. Eighty Four, Pennsylvania is a town of around 5000 people located approximately 25 miles from Pittsburgh. Why would a town name itself after a number? A number of theories exist. The most likely theory is that the name was given to commemorate the election of Grover Cleveland as President. Other theories exist such as the town being mail drop number 84 or being 80 degrees and 4 minutes west longitude. Another is 84 soldiers and a man named General David "Crazy Legs" Hamilton (I love the name by the way) held off an attack of outlaws at the location of the town. I personally think it is weird to name your town a number. Then I began to think of what I would name a city if I had the power. Would I pay homage to a family member? Would I name it after an early settler? Would I steal the name of another city? Would I describe the landscape? I would want it to be exciting, memorable, distinguished and fun. I think I would name it.......

Silent in Texas

We sent a package to Pflugerville, a city in Central Texas located about 15 miles north of the Colorado River. The town was founded by William Bohls in 1860 when he established a general store and post office in his residence. He named the town after Henry Pfluger, who owned land in the area. Pflugerville is home to around 35,000 residents. More importantly, the city has a silent letter in its name. The P in Pflugerville is silent.

I love silent letters. There are so many words that incorporate silent letters. A lot of times you do not think about them unless you are reading them. I will demonstrate some of my favorites in the following sentences. I was eating a gherkin I had retrieved from the cupboard when I began to cough. A crumb was lodged in my throat. I began to kneel and a gnome appeared and put pressure on my diaphragm. Crisis averted. I was in serious debt and started looking at my receipts. Oprah was on TV and it was a week before Christmas. There was no doubt she would be talking to the "psychiatrist" Dr. Phil. I decided to see what my neighbor was doing. He was planning a trip to Ghana. I needed something different and comfortable. A documentary would do. I grabbed my favorite beverage and headed out into the night. I took a wrong turn and ended up in the ghetto. I was looking for a sign but saw a ghost instead. The bright light behind the ghost was a foreigner with a flashlight. I asked him where Lincoln Road was located. He wrote the answer on his wrist. The road was right past those folks. I turned onto Lincoln and headed home to my castle. I took off my clothes and climbed into bed. Tomorrow will be a solemn, autumn night.

Welcome to Manchester

In early December, we sent an order to Manchester, New Hampshire. The population of Manchester is close to 110,000 people. That makes Manchester the largest city in New Hampshire. It is also the largest city in northern New England. Manchester was incorporated as a city in 1846. The name Manchester comes from the city of Manchester in England.

In the early 1800's a man by the name of Samuel Blodgett opened a canal and lock system to allow ships into the New Jersey city. He wanted the city to become an industrial center and to create the Manchester of America. In the 1840's a number of mills opened including the largest cotton mill in the world. The mill was 900 feet long and 103 feet wide. The number of mills that opened required workers, and these people settled in Manchester. Many residents today are descended from the immigrants who settled in the 1800's.

Today Manchester has the fastest growing metropolitan area in New England. Actor and comedian Adam Sandler moved to Manchester when he was five years old and grew up in Manchester.

A Sac Full...

Last month, we sent a package to Sac City, Iowa. Sac City is a rural town in Northwest Iowa. In 1855 Judge Eugene Criss erected the first log cabin in Sac City. This helped establish him in the hotel business. He is known as the father of Sac City. The city was incorporated in 1874. More importantly, the city has the word sac in its name. The word sac is a glorious word. So many good things have the word sac (or sack) in them. There are potato sacks, which are good for transporting the delicious tuber and for racing in. You can sack the quarterback. You can get a sack of fries from White Castle. When you are tired you can hit the sack. The U.S. dollar coin is named after Sacagawea. You can live on a cul-de-sac. The bursa sac serves many functions inside your body. A woman's ovary is known as an egg sac. Spiders carry all of their eggs in an egg sac. Virtually any bag can be called a sack. You can take a sack lunch somewhere. The sound of the word is cool too. It is one syllable. It has power when you say it. Santa Claus carries a sack full of goodies to deliver to children on Christmas every year. I would have to say that sack is one of my top 5 favorite words. If you examine it yourself, I think it will be in your top 5 as well.

Chevy Chase’s Chocolate

On a day in October we sent 275 candy bars on a journey. They did not go on a Vacation. Not to Wally World, Europe or Las Vegas. They did not go to the Funny Farm. They did not go to the Caddyshack. They did not go to the 2nd Caddyshack. They did not take a trip to Orange County. They did not go to Los Angeles to visit Fletch. They did not visit any Spies Like Us. I'm sure they did not go on a journey with the 3 Amigos. The candy bars in question actually went to Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Chevy Chase, Marylandwas not named after the wonderfully talented actor. Chevy Chase, Maryland was incorporated in 1918. In the 1890's, the Chevy Chase Land Company was created by Francis G. Newlands and William M. Stewart for the purpose of developing land. They purchased surrounding Washington D.C.. The name Chevy Chase has its original roots to a battle that took place between Lord Percy of England and Earl Douglas of Scotland. The Scottish word chevauchee refers to a border raid. Then in 1725, Lord Baltimore patented some land to Colonel Joseph Belt. This piece of land was known as Cheivy Chace. The town currently has around 3000 residents and is located in Montgomery County.

India

On certain occasions, personalized wrapped chocolate bars are imported to India.  As was the case July, 2007 when 375 corporate thank you bars were sent there.  Most people will be able to read what is on the wrappers because Bangalore has the second highest literacy rate in all of India at 83%.
Bangalore is the capital city located in the Indian State of Karnataka. It is the third largest city in India with a population of 6.5 million people. With a large information technology industry, Bangalore is known as the Silicon Valley of India and is responsible for more than 1/3 of India's software exports.
Bangalore is also known as the "Garden City of India" because of its greenery, the "Pub City of India" because of its clubs and bars, and the "Rock City of India" because of all the rock concerts that happen there. If you travel to India, walk through a garden or park, have a beer, see a concert and then write a program or develop new software.

Chocolate Travels to Tennessee

     There was a package here at Carson that wasn't like the others. It didn’t fit in with the other packages. This package had different beliefs, different tastes in music and fashion, and different hobbies. On June 13, 2007 the package decided he was going to leave his home at Carson Wrapped Hershey's Chocolates and start a new life. He did not know where he was going or what he was looking for. The lonely package had been traveling south for several hours and felt hopeless. He passed Nashville, Tennessee and knew that wasn't the place for him because of his hatred of country music. The package was losing hope. He was almost to the end of his rope. Then about 60 miles south of Nashville he started to see a large collection of vehicles. He wondered where he was. He was in Manchester, Tennessee.  After doing some research, he discovered there was a music and arts festival taking place this very weekend. He decided to check it out. He had never heard of Bonnaroo but thought it sounded exciting. He purchased a ticket from a scalper and was on his way. He waited in line for two hours to get in; he was searched by security, and was made to camp surrounded by total strangers. He now doubted his decision. He left his camping area in search of knowledge. He couldn't believe his eyes, people living according to their own rules. Different smells, hair styles, clothes, food, hygiene all behaving peacefully in close quarters under oppressive heat. He had found his calling in life. After seeing bands such as: Mute Math, Clutch, Cold War Kids, The Black Keys, The Nightwatchman, The Roots, Tool, Aesop Rock, El-P, DJ Shadow, Ween, The Police, Sasha and Digweed and much, much more, he decided the music business was the place for him. He learned how to play the harmonica and travels from festival to festival trying to make a living. To supplement his income he sells tye dyed shirts, hemp bracelets, and glow sticks. He is finally free.

Shipping to the Triangle

The Bermuda Triangle has laid claim on many things. While traveling through this region, which is located between the points of Miami, Florida, San Juan, Puerto Rico and the island of Bermuda, ships, airplanes and human lives have disappeared without a trace. Many theories exist claiming to know why so many accidents and disappearances happen in this part of the world. Hurricanes, compass variations, outbursts of methane gas, UFO's, time warps, and freak waves have all been blamed as possible causes.
Whatever the problems within the Bermuda Triangle, it wasn't strong enough to stop a package that left our building on April 4, 2007. A customer in Pembroke, Bermuda ordered 40 of our Card Shark birthday announcements for a 40th birthday celebration. After making the dangerous journey through the Bermuda Triangle, the package enjoyed all of what Pembroke, Bermuda has to offer.
Pembroke is named after English aristocrat William Herbert, the 3rd Earl of Pembroke. The parish of Pembroke is home to Bermuda's capital city, Hamilton. It is also home to golf courses, scenic ocean views, beaches, and many parks. 

Where in the World is Carson Sending Chocolates

We ship packages to a lot of different places. We ship to all 50 states, to 6 of the 7 continents, and everywhere in between. One such place is Shannon, Ireland.

Shannon is a town in western Ireland located in the County Clare. It is home to the Shannon Airport, beautiful scenery and around 8500 residents. Shannon was developed in the 1960's, which makes it a fairly young town, and is one of only two towns in the whole country that was actually planned and designed to be a town.

On March 26, 2007 we shipped an order to Shannon, Ireland. The customer ordered 210 standard sized bars with our SHINING HERETHEYARE^® wrapper. The package weighed 26 lbs and it traveled a total of 3585 miles. Join me next month to find out where else in the world we are sending chocolates.