STOP THE PRESS!!!! TRIDENT HAS BROUGHT BACK CINNAMON GUM!!!

You have NO idea how excited I am about this. NO IDEA. NO NO NO NO IDEA!!!! WOO WOO!

I am a gum-a-holic, so I know what I'm talking about here. I chew gum most of my waking hours. Seriously. (I like to think I'm pretty good at not smacking when I chew and I try not to look like a cow chewing cud when I am chomping on my gum but I admit to an obnoxious habit of blowing bubbles more often than not.) I like not having dry mouth and I like having fresh breath. I like knowing I am wiping out all sorts of decay-causing bacteria with one chomp of gum. As a gum connoisseur, I adored Trident Cinnamon gum. It as by far my favorite flavor. It was perfect--hot, cinnamon-y, good texture, long lasting gum ability, breath freshening, sugar free. I chewed it by the packful, bought it by the box of 12 at Club Sammy's. Fresh, happy, tasty, delightful. I never once thought about Trident ceasing production of such a wonderful, popular slice of heaven.....I was never without at least two packs of the stuff at any given moment.

....but then.....one day a few years back, it was gone. At first, I thought Club Sammy's had run out and was waiting to re-stock, but when it didn't get re-stocked for many months, I started to get worried. I stopped seeing it at stores. It was harder and harder to find.

Gone. It was gone. Gone from my world, gone from the shelves, gone from production.

I was morose.

Being a gum-a-holic, I checked with my peer whose dad worked for the company who makes Trident. (How weird is that that I know someone in the gum business? Even weirder is that I drive by the gum factory every day going to/from that place of which I do not speak.) It was confirmed-- the maker of Trident Cinnamon had discontinued making it.

My world was cold and lonely. How could they discontinue such a popular flavor?

I tried chewing various Cinnamon gums but they were no comparison--in fact, I down right hated most of them. I tried the other Trident flavors, but hated them, too. All the gums I tried either had awful texture, were too sugary, didn't last or were just plain lousy in the cinnamon department. The little white square cinnamon gums with the candy coating shell didn't match the small, short stick version of trident's gum. Since I'm not a minty kind of girl--not peppermint, not spearmint, not winter mint--ugh--I didn't chew those either, even after giving them another chance. Minty flavors just give me bad breath and no enjoyment.

I finally gave up my search for a replacement and turned to Orbit Bubblemint (not to be confused with any other mint--it's basically bubble gum flavor). I learned to love it, I learned to buy it by the case, I learned to enjoy it. It was okay, it was better than anything I had found.....sigh.

Today, we were wandering the aisles at Club Sammy when I spotted it. I had gone down the candy aisle to get Eldest Niece some cookies for her bowling tournament in town (don't try to understand), when the dark red rows of boxes caught my eye. At first, I was like, "that CAN'T be Trident Cinnamon." I got closer, holding my breath. I confirmed it was Trident but then thought, "it must be those little square candy-coated kind I don't like," but the packaging sure looked like the real thing. I approached the shelf, filled with trepidation. I squinted through my trifocals and read the beautiful words: "A CLASSIC IS BACK!!!"

OH.MY.JAW-CHEWING.GOD! Could it be? Really be?

TRIDENT CINNAMON IS BACK!

It was all I could do to get through the check out so I could open the box. I didn't wait for the wife. I paid, shot out of line and opened the package. Heaven! Pure heaven! I almost wept I was so happy. I'm sure the other shoppers were wondering what the hell was wrong with me.

I 've been smiling brightly and chomping on Trident Cinnamon gum ever since. I don't plan on not having a piece of that gum in my mouth until it's bedtime.

Let it be known I won't stop chewing the Orbit Bubblemint because I like it, it's been good to me and it's good to have a back up flavor. But, it's nothing like the classic that is back.

God bless you, Cadbury Adams! Thank you for bringing this classic and most loved flavor back. Please call me if you plan on discontinuing it again so I can stockpile before protesting your factory and scheduling my therapy.
**************************************************************
P.S. I am not alone in my affinity for gum. Just googling trident cinnamon gum will bring you a plethora of hits. One of my favorites is gumalert. How can you not love a blog that is focused solely on gum? http://gumalert.blogspot.com/2009/11/trident-cinnamon.html