Personally, I can't stand the stuff. In my opinion, fruit and cake shouldn't go together. Seriously, it's the main reason why I can't stand black forest cake either. I even have a theory about fruitcake. That all fruitcakes in the world were baked in the year 1918 and regifted over the last century.
Of course, maybe part of the reason why I haven't liked fruitcake is because any of the ones I've tried have been missing an ingredient. And perhaps that was the reason behind why a certain Riverdale High staff member's desserts have bombed.
Today's tale in the PEP CULTURE ADVENT CALENDAR Day #7 comes from the Archie Giant Series title "Archie's Christmas Love-In #192". The Love-In title was created as part of the Archie Giant Series to showcase some of the more heartwarming stories of the Christmas season. And more often than not, the religious parts of the holiday were given slightly more focus than in the other Christmas themed titles.
And who better than to illustrate a story based around that concept than Al Hartley? Al Hartley was the man who illustrated the Spire Christian Comics that starred Archie and his friends. Several titles were released during the 1970s under the Spire brand, and had such titles as "Archie's Parables", "Jughead's Soul Food", and "Archie's Love Scene". But before those titles came out (and maybe during them as well), Al Hartley illustrated dozens of stories that starred Archie and his pals that centered around love and treating your fellow man with kindness.
That's the basis behind the creation of the story "The Missing Ingredient". A tale that stars Betty Cooper and Riverdale High lunch lady, Miss Beazley.
Admittedly, Miss Beazley can be an enigma of a character. Sometimes she cooks like a dream, and other times she cooks so badly that her food should be declared a biohazard. In this case, we learn fairly quickly that Miss Beazley's fruitcake is not very good.
Just how bad is it? Let the faculty of Riverdale High tell you.
Not exactly the most constructive of criticisms, I have to admit. But whether Miss Beazley's cake really is that bad, it still makes her feel like she is a failure and that she can't do anything right. In fact, she is so hurt by their criticism that she doesn't even feel like making a fruitcake this year. Of course, Betty, who has a heart of gold (and perhaps a cast iron stomach) tells Miss Beazley that she shouldn't stop a tradition because people say hurtful things. Betty suggests that maybe Miss Beazley should tweak her recipe a little bit, which Miss Beazley initially seems insulted by at first. But Betty seems to believe that Miss Beazley only needs one ingredient to make her fruitcake better.
Miss Beazley seems to not understand what Betty is saying. How can she show love for people who hurt her? But wise Betty - in Al Hartley's style of script - says to Miss Beazley that showing real love in spite of hurt feelings is the best love of all, and it certainly makes Miss Beazley give pause.
In spite of her hard exterior, Miss Beazley is a sensitive soul who really only wants to make people happy. And it appears as though Betty has found a way to break through that wall and make her open up like never before. If anything, Betty has found a way to improve Miss Beazley's confidence, as she tells Betty that before when she was making her fruitcake, she always found it to be a chore, and she had a bad attitude knowing that everyone would hate it. But after Betty's talk about love, Miss Beazley realizes that her attitude has completely changed.
Wow...just wow. Thankfully Betty stands up for Miss Beazley and tells Mr. Weatherbee that Miss Beazley is making her holiday fruitcake, and Mr. Weatherbee reacts in such a way that it's like he wants to give Betty detention for making such a cruel joke. But Betty stands strong and insists that Mr. Weatherbee try Miss Beazley's new recipe. To Weatherbee's credit, he not only tries some, but he insists that the whole faculty lounge try it as well...with predictable results.
It takes a bit of convincing from Mr. Weatherbee to get all the teachers away from their game of hide and seek (including dragging Mr. Svenson the janitor out of the boiler room), but once everyone is gathered in Mr. Weatherbee's office, they all sample the cake...and LOVE it!
And as the story closes, we discover that love is a powerful force. Not only did it enhance the flavour of Miss Beazley's fruitcake, but as Miss Beazley started to add love in her recipe for the cake, she in turn added love inside of herself. And once she was filled up with love, it allowed her to spread the love to others. It's a really nice tale sure to warm your heart, and very appropriate for the Christmas season.
Now, you just saw how Betty can use love and compassion to make someone see the true meaning of love at Christmastime. But on Day #8, we can see Betty turn the other way - and she gives Veronica the blasting of a lifetime in hopes that she will change her ways during the holiday season!
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