things you can’t un-know

if you grew up in late 20th century america, you can’t help but look at this photo and think about jolly rancher candies. why are they called jolly rancher? what does ranching have to do with tart-sweet hard candies? and why is the rancher in question jolly? what is it about his ranching that puts him in such a good mood? i confess i don’t understand the first thing about jolly rancher candies. and yet, here they are, leaping into my consciousness at the first sight of slightly oversaturated citrus colors. italians have the smell of slowly ripening bolognese sauce. greeks have the smell of the aegean sea. moroccans have the smell of preserved lemon and mint tea. i have jolly ranchers.

lemon, lime, cara cara orange, blood orange, navel orange slices