when donuts call your name

~ jama

“You can’t buy happiness but you can buy donuts. And that’s kind of the same thing.” ~ Anonymous

They’re calling me again. I donut know why I can’t resist them.

Ring, filled, glazed, powdered, frosted with sprinkles — they’ve perfected their siren song. At least I’m not alone in this. 🙂

*

“Five Dunkin’ Donuts in a Box” by Beverly Shipko

 

THE YEAR I LIVED ACROSS THE STREET FROM A 24-HOUR DUNKIN’ DONUTS
by Edwin Romond

Each day of each month
like Odysseus with his sirens
I’d hear pastries calling, “Come over! Come over!”
and I’d picture glazed and blueberry
doughnuts, almond croissants and cinnamon
coffee rolls, apple fritters and chocolate
scones, and I feared an international crisis
if I ever said no to a Bavarian cream.
Sometimes at night with the moon white
as a powdered sugar munchkin
I’d wake and worry there was one
lonely toasted coconut doughnut left
in a tray all by himself and charity
would demand I get dressed, cross the street
and eat him. Oh, that year of Christmas
tree cookies, Old Glory sprinkles
on 4th of July muffins, and the faith
inspiring Ash Wednesday hot cross buns
that made me thank God for counter girls
who saved my seat by the window, bakers
who took midnight requests, and for Macy’s
who sold expandable stretch waist jeans.

~ This poem first appeared in The Stillwater Review

First Dunkin’ Donuts shop opened in Quincy, Massachusetts (1950)

*

Since Dunkin’ Donuts originated in New England, it’s fitting that I had my first official DD there — in Bedford, New Hampshire, to be exact.

We were newly married and visiting Len’s family. I remember my father-in-law raving about DD’s coffee and chicken noodle soup. He never mentioned the donuts, though. It seems going out for DD coffee on a Saturday morning was THE thing to do.

We often stayed at Len’s brother’s house, and one morning Len picked up a box of munchkins for breakfast. Up until then, my little nephew — he might have been 2 or 3 years old at the time — had never eaten donuts in any form. Of course he LOVED them, calling them “Nonuts.” We didn’t know then that my SIL had been restricting his sweets. Oops.

So my first Dunkin’ Donut was actually a plain glazed munchkin, and I’ve been hooked ever since. They’re small and (you gotta admit) cute. There’s less of a guilt factor too. Whoever decided to call those donut holes “munchkins” was absolutely brilliant. Such an adorable name. There might even be scientific proof that eating munchkins makes you cuter. 😀

I love Romond’s poem because it’s so relatable. Though I’ve never lived right across the street from a donut shop, just having a Dunkin’ Donuts in the same town is dangerous enough. My highly refined donut radar can pick up those siren signals within a 30 mile radius, at least. So whenever I hear the cry of a cruller, the moanings of a marble frosted, or the lamentations of a long john, I feel it is my civic duty to come to the rescue. I know they long to be eaten. I just want to make them happy.

I would certainly not want to be the last and lonely toasted coconut donut left on the tray. Poor thing. I may be cowardly with some things, but putting donuts out of their misery isn’t one of them. Mine, like Mr. Romond’s, is a noble calling.

Mr Cornelius rescues a toasted coconut donut.

 

What’s your favorite donut? 🙂

*

 

The lovely and talented Tara Smith is hosting the Roundup at Going to Walden. Take her a chocolate frosted donut and check out the full menu of poetic goodness being served up in the blogosphere this week. Have a nice weekend (eat lots of DONUTS)!

 

*

If they’re good enough for him, they’re good enough for me.

Copyright © 2019 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.

46 thoughts on “when donuts call your name”

  4. I’m pretty sure being able to hear a lonely donut across town is a superpower. I love Romond’s light tone (“I feared an international crisis/if I ever said no to a Bavarian cream.”) I’m a sucker for Krispy Kreme, myself (chocolate iced custard filled). But maple glazed is good too, and I get what Brenda is saying about those healthy apple fritters. Pencil me undecided.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s good to have at least one superpower. Good thing there isn’t a Krispy Kreme nearby too. You and Brenda have got me craving apple fritters!

      Like

  7. I am sitting at the computer and thinking I need some breakfast. I was going to have a bowl of Cheerios, then I read this post. Cheerios look like little donuts. Maybe if I frost each one with peanut butter. No good. Only a donut will do. You saved my bacon this morning!! OK, now I am thinking a donut and some bacon.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. You’ve brought me back to one of my favorite childhood treats. My dad travelled to Boston on Wednesdays to teach at Tufts Dental school. Often he took the bus, but when he drove he would stop at Dunkin’ Donuts on the Boston Post Road in Springfield. Heaven in a box! We fought for the chocolate honey glazed.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. We are a donut eating family. When my children were little, we would have pizza and “doughies” every Friday. Although we’ve never had a DD, we did have a small mom and pop bakery that had the best donuts. My favorite were long johns with white icing and nuts! Yummy!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Love the idea of pizza and donuts every Friday, Leigh! And how wonderful to patronize a small family bakery. Haven’t had a long john in a long time. 🙂

      Like

  13. We don’t have Dunkin Donuts here in Canada, but we do have Tim Hortons, and my favourite treats have always been the donut holes, or Timbits as we call them here. You don’t have to choose a single flavour, you can try several different kinds with every bite! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Chocolate glazed. Can’t beat it. Wonderful post. I’ve shared it with my sister who moved to the Seattle area where there’s NO DDs. She misses them so much. Wonderful and sweet post. Thanks for this.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Uh oh. Now donuts are calling my name! I’m a sucker for Panera’s bearclaw (oh, that almond paste filling!), and then there’s a warm Krispy Kreme glazed (dangerously on the way to work). Do the hand pies from Der Dutchman count? And if we go highbrow, how about the almond croissants and pistachio paves that our friend Michelle, of Pâtisserie Lallier, makes? If we stop by Honey Dipped Donuts (conveniently across the street from Penzeys), I’ll get a cream-filled maple-frosted Long John. (Ok. I probably just gave up way too much information about myself…)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Wow, I did not know this about you, Mary Lee — a donut/pastry freak! I’m drooling at all the different ones you mentioned. Of course they all count. 😀 Yum to the almond croissants and Panera bear claws, and hand pies are just too cute. Is Honey Dipped Donuts a Midwest thing?

      Like

  16. As a New Hampshire boy, I grew up with Dunks, as we call it – and I’ve probably been to that very Dunkin shop you did, Jama! I love any donut that includes chocolate, but Boston Creme is probably my favorite. (And yes, we new Englanders drink iced coffee all year long, even in the middle of winter!) Still don’t understand the appeal of Krispy Kreme, though…but any donut’s better than no donut. 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yum to Boston Creme. I hear with KK it’s all about getting them hot right out of the fryer. I’ll have to ask my relatives about iced coffee. 🙂

      Like

  17. That coconut donut looks pretty good to me, as does the painting of the donuts, “Five Dunkin’ Donuts in a Box” by Beverly Shipko. And poor Edwin must feel like Odysseus strapped to his ship. One year I lived near Aspen Co and we had an incredible bakery there that I had to refrain myself from going to too often… Thanks Jama for this delicious post!

    Liked by 1 person

  19. D-lightful and D-licious as always, Jama. I have very fond memories of driving just a short distance with my father early every Sunday morning before church to buy the Boston Sunday Globe and a scrumptious Dunkin Donuts chocolate stick for me. Thanks for the trip down memory lane and Romond’s fabulous poem!

    Liked by 1 person

  20. This was such a fun post. I love that doughnut poem. My kids are always asking for Dunkin Doughnuts, they have cured many a post doctor visit tear. As for my favorite doughnut it was the crumb cake doughnut, but unfortunately they stopped making it!

    Liked by 1 person

  21. Although I can’t eat donuts anymore (gluten-free), I will occasionally cheat and savor a glazed chocolate munchkin. Thank you for sharing this amusing poem, Jama. The last lines made me laugh out loud!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Sigh, I have some gluten issues too. Luckily there are more gluten free products being sold these days that are actually tasty. I’m surprised DD doesn’t sell GF donuts (maybe they do).

      Liked by 1 person

  22. What a fun poem. I haven’t eaten many donuts lately, but I do have a soft spot for chocolate cream puffs. And for memories of sort-of sneaking out with the high school newspaper staff to stop by the local donut shop after selling our papers at the other county high schools. We had to change our location frequently to avoid our sponsor’s husband. It seems she was onto us and wanted us to return promptly to school without a donut break.

    Liked by 1 person

  23. My first job, in my teens, was as a “counter girl” at the Dunkin Donuts in Flemington, NJ. I learned that people were very particular about their coffee, that the regulars usually ordered the same donut every time, that some folks could take FOREVER to choose a dozen donuts, and that others were a tad bit clueless–or maybe just creative (I’m thinking of the guys who said “Gimme one of those Barbarian Creams.”). I much preferred working in the back–filling, frosting and sugaring–although I smelled like a donut by the end of the day, and not in a good way (in the words of my sister, who picked me up after one such shift: “You stink.”). I swear I could smell the place just reading this post. Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane. ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Wow, the things you find out about people! Love hearing about your donutty past, Linda. Laughed out loud at the Barbarian Creams. My cousin used to work at a bakery, where they were allowed to eat as much pastry as they wanted. After awhile she got sick of looking at or smelling the stuff. I can see how working at DD would result in the same aversion after awhile.

      Like

Comments are closed.