The End

I suppose the Book of Paige is coming to a close.

I promise to write back again. I won't abandon everyone all together.

Everything is finally over. Freshman year. The fun times we had. The sad times we had. The drama and then the drama. The fighting. The breaking up. The making up. "Getting a room." Lost friends. Gained friends. Relationships...friendships.

Best friends. The best friends any girl could ever ask for.

I guess it's all over.

And yet...

Isn't it all just...


Beginning?

Lonely Empty Room

I sit in the classroom in Performing arts, this lonely, empty little room. The wind makes the beige shade smack against the tables; the tables that have held so many slices of pizza on plates, Pocky sticks, crying heads on arms, sleeping heads on arms, books, cell phones, and hopes and dreams. It is filled with pianos, upon which we can play to our heart's content and not be judged. This old brown wooden piano beside me, out of tune, scratched, keys chipped and broken, is so beautiful. This room, empty now of decoration and people, looks so lonely

But I am hopeful. Because this empty room only means that next year, there will be another room like this, waiting for me. It will at first be lonely, empty and cold. But soon it will be bright and full of life. The chalkboard will be covered in little drawings and words in many colors. The pianos will play, the tables with hold pizza and Pocky, and Mrs. Bles and Mr. Hewitt will yell at us for misbehaving...and I will be able to love every minute of it.

This year seems like such a finale, such an end. I feel as though nothing could feel more complete, this slow closing of the book. And yet, it was so abrupt and you could hardly see it coming. This year has lasted more than the length it truly has. It has dragged on and on forever.

And while a lot of it was bad, I treasure...I absolutely treasure...every single minute of this year. I found Jasmine. I found Jessie and Kyle, Trish, Sydney, Serena...all my new friends. All my best friends.

I found love. Not in a boy, but in my friendships. This year...while it is only my freshman year and most of these people I will see this summer...it seems so final.

I wanted this year to end so badly.

Now...I just want to start it all over...from the very beginning.

I say farewell to all my friends. All my loves.

Thank you for everything.

Finals

I got a ninety-eight on my final in performing arts! I tied with Kevin M. as second highest score on the test! The highest, of course, was our very own Emcee, Joe C.! Oh, Joe, we love you and your huge brain! ^-^

I'm so happy. I knew I was going to do well (not to sound conceited, but I knew my stuff.) But I didn't think I would get such a high score. I'm so proud of myself. Pats on the back, Paige. Pats on the back!

Cool Brain Game

THE PAOMNNEHAL PWEOR OF THE HMUAN MNID: Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny opromoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Can you read this? I can.

MLIA Worthy

Ok, so I was telling Chris M. some jokes. One of them was, "How do you confuse a blond? Paint yourself green and throw forks at her."

Chris replied, "What?"

Guess what color Chris's hair is?

Finally, Jokes that Make Sense!

A duck walks into a 7-11 and says "Give me some chapstick, put it on my bill!" But the cash register attendee doesn't speak English and cannot understand him. He does, however, question whether his God is punishing him because as all people know, Ducks cannot speak, however, this hallucination must be punishment for a horrid misdeed. THe employee breaks down into tears and begins reciting prayer. The duck, slightly miffed, walks out, pondering why he'd need chapstick anyway, since he has no lips.
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A priest, a rabbi, and a buddhist monk walk into a bar, sit at the end and start having some drinks. Two hours later, they come out with a better understanding of each other and a mutual respect, the beginnings of a friendship that last a lifetime.
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What's the difference between the Pope and Michael Jackson?
The Pope is dead.
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A pirate walks into a bar with a ship's wheel stuck to his crotch.
The bartender says, "Hey, you got a wheel stuck to your crotch."

The pirate replies, "Yarr, me ship wrecked in a terrible storm and my testicles swelled with an infection while I was knocked unconscious against the wheel. Can you please call a doctor?"
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How many dead babies can you fit in a blender?

The police report indicates three.
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So this guy dies right and he goes up to Heaven and when he's at the pearly gates he- oh wait, nevermind, he just rots in the ground.
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Man 1: Knock, Knock
Man 2: Who's there?

Man 1: It's me Johnny.
Man 2: Oh, hey man! Come on in, and have a beer.

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How many people does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
If you call up Steven Murphy Electrical Contractors on (08) 9284 7281 they can send over a qualified electrician to screw it in for you between 9-6 on any working day, guaranteed to arrive within an hour of your call or you get 50% off!
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What do you get when you stick a knife in a baby? A life-sentence in jail.

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A white man is driving his Cadillac on a highway in Texas. He notices a black man pushing his bicycle along the side of the road.
He pulls over to talk to the black man and offer him a ride. He says "I can't fit your bike in my car, but I can tie it to the back and let you ride behind me. If I'm going too fast, just yell."
The black man says "No thanks, that sounds pretty risky" and keeps pushing his bike down the road.

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Knock knock
knock knock
knock knock
knock knock
knock knock
Aw, man, I guess nobody is home. I'll try back later.

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What do you get when you cross a chicken with a centipede?
A media circus about the debate over the morals and ethics of genetic engineering.
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So, there were an Irishman, an Englishman and an American wrecked on an island. One day, they found a bottle, and when they opened it, a ghost came out and offered them each a wish. However, even though they wished for different stuff, nothing happened, as the three guys of varying nationalities were just having shared hallucinations from hunger.

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So a mushroom walks into a bar, sits down, and orders a drink.
The bartender calls his psychiatrist to report that he is hallucinating again.

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Patrick and Michael were walking along in a forest, when Patrick falls over and breaks his leg on a tree root.
In agony, Patrick turns to Michael and says "Quick, call me an ambulance!".
Michael replies " Okay I'll just go to that public telephone we saw earlier down the path - I'll be back in five minutes. ".
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A duck walks into a bar...

Animal control is promptly called, the duck is then taken to a near by park and released.
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Why did the deaf man take his parrot to work?
He was weird.

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Why was six afraid of seven?
It wasn't. Numbers are not sentient and thus incapable of feeling fear.

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All jokes came from http://www.somethingawful.com/d/comedy-goldmine/jokes-with-realistic.php?page=5 Read more if you want to!

Thank You

I want to say:


Afrikaans


Dankie (dahn-kee)

Arabic

Shukran (shoe-krahn)

Cantonese

Do je (daw-dyeh)

Croatian

Hvala (H-vah-lah)

Czech

Dìkuji (deh-ku-yih)

Danish

Tak (tahg)

Estonian

Aitäh (ie-tehkh)

Fijian

Vinaka (Bvi’-nah-kah)

Filipino

Salamat (sa-la-mat)

Finnish

Kiitos (Keetos)

French

Merci (mehr-see)

German

Danke (dahn-kah)

Greek

Efcharisto (ef-har-rih-stowe)

Hawaiian

Mahalo (mah-hah-loh)

Hebrew

Toda (toh-dah)

Hindi

Shukriya (shoe-kree-a)

Indonesian

Terima Kasih (t’ree-ma kas-seh)

Italian

Grazie (gra-see)

Japanese

Domo (doe-moe)

Korean

Kamsa hamnida (kam-sa-ham-nee-da)

Latin

Gratia (grah-tyah)

Lithuanian

Achiu (Ahchjooh)

Mandarin

Xie xie (syeh-syeh)

Norwegian

Takk (Dahk)

Paraguay

Aguije (ah-we-JAY)

Polish

Dziêkujê (Zhe-koo-yay)

Portuguese

Obrigado (Ob-ree-gah-doe)

Serbian

Hvala (Khvah-lah)

Romanian

Mulþumesc (Mool-tsu’-mehsk)

Spanish

Gracias (Grah-cee-yas)

Swahili

Asante (Ah-sahn-teh)

Swedish

Tack (Taak)

Thai

Khop Khun Krab (kowp-koom krahp-khak)

Vietnamese

Ca’m on (Kam ooen)

Wolof

Jerejef (Jay-ray-jayf’)

Welsh

Diolch (Dee-olkh)

Yiddish

A (shaynem) dank.

Zimbabwean

Maita Henyu (Mah-ee’tah Heh’-nyoo)

And last of all, American: Thank You
 
To the following people:
 
Angelo G.
Mindy G.
Ms. Ivler
Mr. Sunkett
Jennae H.
 
But especially these people:
Jessie C.
Kyle B.
Trica K.
Serena H.
Sydney B.
Joe C.
Mark P.
Dana M.
Dometrious T.
Chris M.
Kevin and Jason M.
Cait F.

And most especially...these people, who the closest people I have to family:
Lexy M.
Jasmine C.
and Kylie H.

There are people in this world I could just not live without. You, my friends, family, teachers...I could not ever...ever...live without. And I thank them very much.

Relationships and Friendships

Have you ever seen two people that are just destined to be together? These people...when you see them, you may tear up by how perfect they are. You'll ooh and aww over the romantic things he does for her and the adorable things she does for him. They are always laughing, always smiling. They giggle at the yells of, "Get a room!" when they kiss and hug in the hallways. Even when they fight, you find their little spats adorable because it just shows that they have a good relationship. Couples that fight are often some of the best.

But sometimes, no matter how they are destined to be together...it just doesn't work, for whatever reason.

I know two people that are absolutely perfect for each other. They dated for a while and they were one of the cutest couples you could ever see. Somewhat of an unlikely match, some might say. But...in other cases, if you knew them, you'd realize just why they are together. I've known both of these people since about sixth or seventh grade.

I wasn't with them last year. But they became the best of friends.

In the beginning of the year...this year...I recognized both of them. I pointed out her in class and said, "Hey...don't I know you?" I would never have imagined she would become one of my best friends.

I saw him. I used to have a big crush on him back in sixth grade. He was still the same, still cute and silly and a little bit like a puppy. I no longer had a crush on him, though. In fact...in the beginning I found him annoying.

But they started dating and at that time, I beared with him because of her, because she was my friend. But after they broke up, I still talked to him and I realized that he was my friend, too.

It was a heartbreaking situation. I wanted them to be together so badly. And then they did get back together...but it didn't last long before he broke it off.

As badly as she and he were hurt, I was hurting, too. I wanted them together more than I wanted world peace...end to world hunger...to be married and have children someday. It was just supposed to be that way, him with her and her with him.

I had no one and still don't. Not the way they did. And while I complain that it isn't fair sometimes...that it's not fair for them to be happy while I'm alone...nothing, absolutely nothing, makes me happier than to see two perfect people together.

Everyone seems to say that she deserves better or he's no good for her or that she made a mistake or that he shouldn't have to do something he doesn't want to do. But...these two people...these two perfect people...shouldn't listen.

I know in my heart that they belong together, that they will always belong together.

Someday they will cook meals together for their family and lay out in the grass and count the stars and then go to bed together, holding each other.

But for now...they are friends.

And you know what?

I have more than what I thought. I have friends. Not 100, not 2. Just enough friends to feel loved. And that's all I really need.

I used to believe that haing dozens and millions of friends and being popular and wearing the "in" clothes was what mattered. But...I was wrong.

That girl over there could have had 50 boyfriends and 2,000 friends and wears all the "hot" clothes she can, all silk and lace and expensive things.

Or that boy could have a harem of girls and be captain of the football team and can buy anything in the world he wants.

But in the end...I come out on top.

With the few, perfect amount of friends I have...I win. And I need nothing else.

Twilitis

Ok, so, I am not a Twilight fan girl. I don't obsess over "how perfect Edward Cullen is" or "how pretty Bella Swan is!" (However, Taylor Lautner can show up in my backyard any day.) However, I will agree that it was a good book and a good movie. I do happen to like Twilight. I don't really know why. I just really like the idea of the story. Of course, I love vampire and werewolves and all that supernatural stuff, but that's not the point. While I hate what Edward Cullen looks like in the movie, he sounds cute in the book. However, he needs an attitude check. He's way too serious and way too possessive.

As for Bella...she seems like the typical, every day girl...that happens to fall in love with a vampire. But these things happen, ya know?

But why is EVERYONE obsessed with it? "Twilight's amazing, New Moon's so cool, Eclipse is coming out, Edward's hot, Jacob's sexy, why do they like such a plain girl like Bella, Bella's pretty/smart/stupid/weird/cute/sexy/hot." And so on and so forth.

Has everyone caught Twilitis?

Yes, it is official. There is a twilitis.

Definition of twilitis:
the addiction to vampires and werewolves and a fetish for blood-sucking, sparkling skin, fangs, furry people, clumsiness, and black-white-and-red book covers that have no relation to the book whatsoever.

Synonyms for twilitis:
stupid, dumb, crazy, retarded, obsessive, possesive

Antonyms for twilitis:
smart, intelligent, sane, normal, wise, plain, amazing, awesome, cool, sweet, fantastic, great, good....and so on and so forth.

Symptoms of twilitis:

Owning all four books
Buying dolls, figurines, posters, or clothing that portrays the characters
A need to drink blood
Biting fetish
Drawing "I <3 Edward" "I <3 Jacob" "I <3 Twilight/New Moon/Eclipse/Breaking Dawn" or "Bite Me" on your arms/legs/hands/fingers/face
A shrine in your closet or beneath your bed dedicated to one of the characters
Knowing all the Twilight trivia, including behind-the-scenes stuff

If you start experience symptoms of Twilitis, notify your doctor immediately. Twilitis is a dangerous and potentially fatal disease. Side affects include loss of friends, life, money, hair, and spirit, a tendency to bite people, paper cuts, weak eyes, strange bruises on your neck that may or may not be bite marks from your last one night stand, and heart failure.



ADS FROM GOGLE (can't use Google, it's copyright!)

WANT TO GET RID OF TWILITIS?!

Use Vamp-B-Gone, the garlic flavored pills that will make those leeches pop right off!

Not Vamps that are bothering you? Then get our special flea collar, Flea-tador! It will keep those furry beasts away!

Side affects include depression, realization that your life was a failure, gaining of friends, life, money, hair, and spirit, oily skin or hair, thinning of blood, and fun happy times.

Do not take if nursing, pregnant or plan to become pregnant, as these products will make the vampire/werewolf child inside you go nuts and begin to tear apart your insides and break your bones and suck your blood, making you weaker and weaker until eventually it will start to bite through your womb to the outside world to wreak havock on the world.

Talk to your doctor before taking Vamp-B-Gone or wearing Flea-tador. For more information, go to http://www.iwantmylifeback.vampsandwerewolfssuck.twilitis.net/ .

ROFLMAOLOL

GLee

No, that's not a typing error. I did mean to type GLee.

I have watched the show Glee for such a long time but I have never made any reference to it. Well, now, here is my analysis on each of the characters.

William Schuster: A big-hearted man that wants nothing more than to teach his students lessons through song and to have them win at Regionals and Nationals. His heart is broken when he discovers his wife, who claimed to be pregnant, is not pregnant. However, he can find love in the school guidance counselor, Emma Pillsbury.

Sue Sylvester: The coach of the Cheerios at McKinley high, she has a very sweet heart under her cruel insults at Schuster's hair (which she secretly envies) and her underhanded attempts to destroy glee club. She has a sister with Down syndrome that she visits every day and it shows her softer, sweeter side that she tries so desperately to hide.

Emma Pillsbury: An OCD, germaphobic, paranoid school guidance counselor. She is in love with William Schuster but things seem to keep pulling them apart. One of those things is the fact that she is still a virgin.

Terri Schuster: Schuster's wife of five years. She feared that he would be leaving her when she got the good news that she was pregnant. It renewed his love for her...until she found out the pregnancy was false. She bought pregnancy pads that are put on mannequins in maternity clothing stores to fake her pregnancy. She planned on adopting Quinn Fabray's baby. But, sadly, her little act was found out.

Rachel Berry: A hopeful, perky girl with big dreams of becoming a star. She is often seen as the main character in Glee, probably because of her many solos. She struggles with the fact that she never knew her mother. She is also in love with Finn Hudson.

Finn Hudson: Star quarterback at McKinley High. He is alienated by his fellow football players when he joins Glee club. He believes himself to be the father of Quinn Fabray's baby, who is his girlfriend. He is heartbroken to discover that she cheated on him with Noah "Puck" Puckerson, his best friend and he is the father of her baby.

Mercedes Jones: An overweight funky black woman with an amazing voice. She has fantastic clothing sense and loathes having to sing backup most of the time. However, on the show itself, she has many fantastic solos.

Kurt Hummel: Another fantastic singer. He has trouble coming out to people that he is gay, but he holds his ground against the insults. He also has fantastic clothing sense. He is in love with Finn. No one knows.

Artie Abrams: A paraplegic with incredible guitar playing abilities. He is in love with Tina Cohen-Chang.

Tina Cohen-Chang: A Gothic asian girl with a sweet voice that she used to hide with a stutter. When she started dating Artie, she came out with the truth, that she didn't actually have a stutter. She used it to have people leave her alone.

Noah "Puck" Puckerson: Finn's former best friend and the father of Quinn Fabray's baby. He is basically a player, dating several different girls for usually selfish reasons. He dated Rachel Berry because he had a dream about the fact that both of them were Jewish and she came to his room one night. He also dated Mercedes when he became unpopular for shaving his mohawk and Mercedes was a part of the Cheerios. He is very mislead when it comes to "love." But he claims to love Quinn Fabray.

Quinn Fabray: She used to popular and head cheerleader of the Cheerios. Now, she is seen as a loser and slut. At pregnant one, at that. For a while, she kept up the story of how Finn was the father but, being such a "good girl" Rachel had to tell Finn.

Santana Lopez: A spicy, fiery Hispanic Cheerio that joined Glee club in the beginning to destroy it. But she found that...she liked it! Former girlfriend of Puck.

Brittany (no last name found): A ditzy, silly blond that often says the funniest of the quotes in Glee.

There are also plenty of famous characters that join in on the fun: Josh Groban, Olivia Newton-Jon, Idina Menzel, Neil Patrick Harris, and (my favorite!) Kristin Chenoweth.

Glee has awesome characters.

What Do We Do?

Now, anyone who has read my blog knows that most of the things I write in this blog are not personal at all.

But to be honest, I've been having a very terrible day.

All this terribleness (if that is a word) made me think about how cruel this world really is...

Does anyone else think that the world we live in now is our punishment? Our sort of...Hell? Perhaps at one time we lived in a very peaceful and carefree place. Somewhere with no problems whatsoever. I like to call it Etolan. I know it is an odd name, but it must have a name, correct? So call it Etolan. Well in this place, nothing went wrong. The world was magical and at peace with everyone else. Music was heard everywhere. No animals killed one another. No one died unfair deaths. Everyone died peacefully and naturally. There was no cancer or pneumonia or AIDS and HIV or anything deadly. Weapons didn't exist because there was no need for them.

But something went wrong.

Who knows? Evil crept in somewhere into this gentle, untouched place and destroyed it. Pure white souls turned rotten and black. The peace here was destroyed beyond repair. So, as punishment, once the people of Etolan died, they began a new life in a little place called Earth.

And Earth was our Hell. Earth is a place we see as light and life.

But what if it isn't? What if...somewhere...Etolan still stands? What if there is a way to get back to it, get back to our untouched gentle special lives of no pain at all!

But...don't you think that...since we were put here, we deserve to stay here? Obviously if we were put in this Hell we did something positively ghastly.

What do we do?

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Death

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Death




Ashes to ashes

Dust to death

What’s left, what’s left

But nothing



Skin to skin

Blood to gore

Who’s home, who’s home

But no one



Alive to dead

And dead to gone

What’s here, what’s here

But nothing



Red to black

And back to death

A death, a death

Of a nobody



Ashes to ashes

Dust to death

What’s left, what’s left?

No Choice

No Choice




Look at my hands

Do you see them?

Do you see?



They’ve been stained with blood

Burned with passion

Slashed with hate



The cuts, the burns, the scars

These scars

My misery

Shows in these scars



I bet if I cut my finger

Even just a prick

The blood would not be red

Nor black

Nor blue

But nothing



I have nothing left to bleed

Because you gave me no choice

But to die

Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall...What the @#$% Happened?

Aging. It's inevitable and will always happen. Unless you are a vampire. But the word aging...

Can it mean mentally or physically? Because mentally, I might be very old but physically I am very young. Or perhaps my body is old, wrinkled and dried up and yet I still play with Legos and have trouble in math.

Aging is an odd thing. So is the circle of life, and our different thoughts at different ages.

As a young child, we never want to grow up. In the words of Peter Pan: "I don't ever want to be a man. Yuck! I always want to be a little boy and to have fun."

As a teenager, we spend our entire angst-filled lives thinking, "Can't wait to be fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen!"

Once we are legally an adult, at eighteen, we do one of two things. We rejoice at finally being able to do certain things. Driving, voting, buying cigarettes. All the fun stuff that as teenagers we couldn't wait to do. Parties are thrown, drugs are experimented and sadly, occassionally lives are lost due to the reckless behavior of people just barely out of their teenage years.

Or...we miss our childhood greatly. Sure, we may engage in the parties and we'll drive our cars and sometimes smoke a cigarette or two. But we'll miss the fun-filled innocent days of Legos, milk and cookies, and nap time. (Ahh...nap time.)

Once we reach our late-twenties or early-to-late-thirties, we realize just how serious life is. We start to become tired, more serious. We don't go to parties as often, we don't have nearly as much fun. Cars are no longer for showing off and being "cool." Now, they are means of transportation, driving from home to work, from work to the store, from the store to picking up your children from school, back to home.

The next stage, in the thirties, forties, fifties, is when we start uttering this phrase: Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall...What the @#$% happened?

Once we reach fifties, sixties, seventies, it is time to retire and relax. We become softer, more relaxed and sometimes happier.

And by the time death comes, we have accepted it. Our lives, while they may not have been entirely pleasant, have been well lived and loved.

Enjoy your life, my aging friends.

PB&J

A child's dream. Coming home from school to a nice peanut butter and jelly sandwich made by mom. Maybe the peanut butter is creamy. Maybe it's chunky. Maybe the peanut butterr is mixed with chocolate. Perhaps it is grape jelly or strawberry jam or raspberry preserves.

But no matter what, it tastes delicious.

Why is that? I decided to do some research on peanut butter and its history:

There are many claims about the origin of peanut butter. Africans ground peanuts into stews as early as the 15th century. The Chinese have crushed peanuts into creamy sauces for centuries. Civil War soldiers dined on 'peanut porridge.' These uses, however, bore little resemblance to peanut butter as it is known today
In 1890, an unknown St. Louis physician supposedly encouraged the owner of a food products company, George A. Bayle Jr., to process and package ground peanut paste as a nutritious protein substitute for people with poor teeth who couldn't chew meat. The physician apparently had experimented by grinding peanuts in his hand-cranked meat grinder. Bayle mechanized the process and began selling peanut butter out of barrels for about 6¢ per pound. First Patent Around the same time, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg in Battle Creek, Michigan, began experimenting with peanut butter as a vegetarian source of protein for his patients. His brother, W.K. Kellogg, was business manager of their sanitarium, the Western Health Reform Institute, but soon opened Sanitas Nut Company which supplied foods like peanut butter to local grocery stores.

The Kellogg's' patent for the "Process of Preparing Nut Meal" in1895 described "a pasty adhesive substance that is for convenience of distinction termed nut butter. "However, their peanut butter was not as tasty as peanut butter today because the peanuts were steamed, instead of roasted, prior to grinding. The Kellogg brothers turned their attention to cereals which eventually gained them worldwide recognition. Joseph Lambert, a Kellogg employee who had worked on developing food processing equipment, began selling his own hand-operated peanut butter grinders in 1896. Three years later, his wife Almeeta published the first nut cookbook, "The Complete Guide to Nut Cookery "and two years later the Lambert Food Company was organized.


In 1903, Dr. George Washington Carver began his peanut research at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. While peanut butter had

already been developed by then, Dr. Carver developed more than300 other uses for peanuts and so improved peanut horticulture that he is considered by many to be the father of the peanut industry.
Peanut Butter Goes Mainstream C.H. Sumner was the first to introduce peanut butter to the world at the Universal Exposition of 1904 in St. Louis. He sold$705.11 of the treat at his concession stand and peanut butter was on its way to becoming an American favorite!
Krema Products Company in Columbus, Ohio began selling peanut butter in 1908 ~ and is the oldest peanut butter company still in operation today. Krema's founder, Benton Black, used the slogan, "I refuse to sell outside of Ohio." This was practical at the time since peanut butter packed in barrels spoiled quickly and an interstate road system had not yet been built.

Peanut Butter As We Know It In 1922, Joseph L.Rosefield began selling a number of brands of peanut butter in California. These peanut butters were churned like butters they were smoother than the gritty peanut butters of the day. He soon received the first patent for a shelf-stable peanut butter which would stay fresh for up to a year because the oil didn't separate from the peanut butter.
One of the first companies to adopt this new process was Swift &Company for its E.K. Pond peanut butter ~ renamed Peter Pan in1928. In 1932, Rosefield had dispute with Peter Pan and began producing peanut butter under the Skippy label the following year. Rosefield created the first crunchy style peanut butter two years later by adding chopped peanuts into creamy peanut butter at the end of the manufacturing process. In 1955, Procter & Gamble entered the peanut butter business by acquiring W.T. Young Foods in Lexington, Kentucky, makers of Big Top Peanut Butter. They introduced Jif in 1958 and now operate the world's largest peanut butter plant ~ churning out 250,000 jars every day!

I never realized that peanut butter had such a history. I commend George Washington Carver. But who decided that peanut butter and jelly would taste good together?

Well, it all started with the American soldiers:
1880 - A St. Louis physician, Dr. Ambrose W. Straub, crushed peanuts into a paste for his geriatric patients with bad teeth. At the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, known as the World's Columbian Exposition, it gained exposure and popularity.
1903 - On February 14, 1903, Straub received Patent No. 721,651 for a "mill for grinding peanuts for butter." Dr. Straub encouraged the owner of a food products company, George A Bayle Jr., to process and package ground peanut paste as a nutritious protein substitute for people with poor teeth who couldn't chew meat. Bayle Food Products of St. Louis purchased all commercial rights to the physician's peanut spread and went on to become peanut butter's first American vendor.
1904 - Bayle food Products took its new peanut butter to the St. Louis World Fair. It was a big success and gained exposure and popularity after it sold out in three days at a penny a sample, earning a profit of $705.11. Soon grocers across America were selling bulk peanut butter in large wooden tubs to satisfy their customers' demands.
1920s-1930s - Commercial brands of peanut butter such as Peter Pan and Skippy were introduced.
1941-1945 - Both peanut butter and jelly were on the U.S. Military ration menus in World War II (1941-1945). It is said that the American soldiers added jelly to their peanut butter to make it more palatable. Peanut butter provided an inexpensive and high protein alternative to meat for soldiers. It was an instant hit and returning servicemen made peanut butter and jelly sales soar in the United States. Food historians haven't found any ads or other mentions of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before the 1940s.
1943 - Nationwide food rationing was instituted in the United States during World War II. Each member of the family was issued ration books, and it was the challenge of the homemaker to pool the stamps and plan the family's meals within the set limits. Margarine, butter, sugar, lard, shortening, oils and assorted fresh meats were rationed and expensive. Peanut butter was a good cheap (peanut butter sold for 24 cents a jar) alternative and a readily available source of protein. Peanut butter was not rationed.

Thank god the soldiers like peanut butter and jelly! Otherwise, what snack could I eat after school?