It’s National Taffy Day, which makes me yearn for those long ago days of Bonomo’s Turkish Taffy. Vanilla, of course. The first one, the one and only, that sustained and satisfied before the company thought they had to expand the brand into chocolate, strawberry and, good lord, of all things — banana.

Banana turkish taffy should have been forbidden as a matter of law.

Bonomo Turkish Taffy was the movie treat of my day. My brother Jeff and I would go to the theater on a Saturday morning and see a double feature, usually a Western and a couple of cartoons and probably Movietone news — black and white images of stuff that was going on in the world, anything from the “Korean conflict” to the Miss America pageant.

Our parents gave us money for popcorn and, if they were feeling flush, some extra money for a second treat. Usually Bonomo Turkish Taffy. If I didn’t eat the whole candy bar at the flick, I would take it home and save it for during the week. It got hard as a rock and in order to eat it you had to bang it on the table. It cracked into a few pieces, which were really terrific to chew, somewhat like a burst balloon or a large wad of old used-up gum. Your jaw hurt by the time you were finished and the sugary melty candy seeped into every molar, which made for a terrifying number of cavities.

Wish I had one. There are all sorts of substitutes out there now, but none can come close.