So Alsa国际传媒� I tried the gum.

A short while back, I pieced together a column on some of the worldsa国际传媒檚 best smells.

Noted on the list was hockey card gum.

sa国际传媒淐ould be number one on the list,sa国际传媒� I said. sa国际传媒淣ow, actually eating the shards of pink glass is another story.sa国际传媒�

Fast forward to last week, and an envelope arrived at the office. For me.

sa国际传媒淲onder what it is?sa国际传媒� I asked aloud, giving it a little shake and hearing a rattle. sa国际传媒淔rom Chilliwack.sa国际传媒�

Inside was a nice letter from Al (last name withheld so folks donsa国际传媒檛 ask him for free stuff), which I admittedly didnsa国际传媒檛 read until after exclaiming sa国际传媒渋tsa国际传媒檚 hockey cards!sa国际传媒� and inspecting my glorious and unexpected windfall.

There were two packs of unopened hockey cards from 1991-92.

sa国际传媒淣ot sure if there is any fragrance or not but they have been stored in a sealed container, thanks again for your column,sa国际传媒� wrote Al.

sa国际传媒淧.S. Donsa国际传媒檛 advise you chew the gum, LOL. However, a buddy of mine did and he survived.sa国际传媒�

It was indeed the gum that was the first thing I noticed.

Neither pack had the familiar intact stick of gum. The years had taken their toll, with one stick broken into a few shards and the one in the other pack shattered into 20-plus fragments.

sa国际传媒淪hould I try to chew it?sa国际传媒� I briefly wondered to myself, before turning back to the cards.

It was immediately like being a kid again, shuffling through hockey cards, looking for a hidden gem as I read their names out louds.

sa国际传媒淕ary Nylund; Patrik Sundstrom; ooh, a Gretzky award winner; Jacques Cloutier; Ron Hextall; Greg Adams (the card just said Greg Adams, but I saw the picture and said sa国际传媒楪reg C. Adamssa国际传媒� out loud); ooh, a Kamensky rookiesa国际传媒�sa国际传媒� and on and on.

Of particular interest were a pair of sa国际传媒楽oviets vs. NHLsa国际传媒� cards, of Andrei Kvartlanov and Igor Stelnov, a pair of names my mind thought it remembered but wasnsa国际传媒檛 sure.

Each had a piece of the gum essentially welded onto the front, and there was no getting it off.

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Pondering the chemicals involved in that process but noting it was still pink, I made the only rational decision.

I was going to chew some of it.

Not wishing to keel over alone, I summoned intrepid reporter Kevin Forsyth.

sa国际传媒淗ey Kevin, want to try some 30-year-old hockey card gum with me?sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒沦耻谤别.sa国际传媒�

We each selected our own little shard, and the experiment was on.

At first, there was no taste at all. There was certainly no hope of it doing gum-like things and allowing us to continue chewing.

sa国际传媒楰inda gets stuck up in the old molars,sa国际传媒� observed Kevin. sa国际传媒淣ot bad. Just tastes like powder. Cansa国际传媒檛 chew it, so I might just have to eat it.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淣ah, donsa国际传媒檛 do that,sa国际传媒� I said, spitting the remains of the fragments into the garbage.

Kevin smartly had something on hand to drink, whereas I had to endure the aftertaste, which was somewhere between fresh hockey card gum and licking a rubber dish mat.

All in all, a delightful exercise.

Itsa国际传媒檚 been years since I had the pleasure of shuffling through some packs of hockey cards. Talk about instantly transporting yourself back in time.

And itsa国际传媒檚 been even longer since I tried to chew hockey card gum. Isa国际传媒檒l probably ignore that bit of nostalgia moving forward.

If anyone else has some throwback items theysa国际传媒檇 like to send in, donsa国际传媒檛 hold back. Always happy to take a fun look back.

But I think my days of trying any food or drink items from more than three decades ago are done.

Thanks for the laughs, Al. Very much appreciated.

PQB News/VI Free Daily editor Philip Wolf welcomes your questions, comments and story ideas. He can be reached at 250-905-0029, or via email at philip.wolf@blackpress.ca.