Hostess With The Leastess?

News that Hostess Cupcakes, perpetrators of Twinkies, Sno Balls, Zingers,  Ding Dongs, and Ho Hos has filed for bankruptcy has been viewed as bad news by most commentators.  When even the established makers of beloved empty calorie lunchbox fillers cannot make it in the American marketplace what does it say for the future of the our economy, talking heads of the Republican persuasion ask.

The pending layoff of white sugary filling makers sends a shiver through the job market.  And those of us who grew up with an affection for these confections are nonplussed.  We are all well preserved because of all the preservatives found in Twinkies--which can be stored for up to a millennia and still retain their original shape and taste.  A visit to any flea market will confirm that immaculately preserved lunch boxes that used to contain Twinkies, Ho Hos and Ding Dongs are not rare at all, thanks to the presevation power of the desserts they used to contain.

Physicists and Confectionmologists  are concerned that there will be a dearth of white matter, formerly produced by Hostess, to offset the dark matter in the Universe, thus upsetting the Universe's Ying and Yang.  It is well known that it is impossible to find naturally occurring (i.e., organic) white stuff with which to fill this type of dessert.  Joseph Conrad's little unknown and spectacularly unsuccessful sequel Heart of Whiteness spins the tale of a search for the elusive filling.  Alchemists have, since the Middle Ages, sought a magical recipe to convert lead to white sugary filling to no avail.

The Supremecourtjester, however, has a different spin on this news.  Not surprised?  For years we have bemoaned the disappearance of the Mom and Pop enterprises, squeezed out by the Corporate behemoths.  But, have you noticed the proliferation of artisanal  cupcake shops?  They have multiplied like rabbits reality TV shows--even worse like Starbucks --muscling each other out for corner locations with heavy traffic.  I trace the demise of Hostess to the rise of the artisanal cupcake shops that have sprung up like --well like the mushrooms with which their cupcakes share a familiar shape.

Is this an instance of  Moms and Pops driving out the national corporations of the world?  Does the appearance of gourmet cupcakes and the disappearance of Hostess disprove Gresham's Law in the world of just desserts?  Stay tuned.