I’ve loved MoonPies all of my life, and that’s the truth.

All of my Backroads Indiana trips are stocked with a MoonPie or two. You never know when a MoonPie crave will hit you, but on the backroads of Indiana, a MoonPie crave will happen for sure. However, a MoonPie crave is not what this story is about, but it does lead into a good MoonPie story … and here’s the story.

My mother-in-law, Annette Napier Apple, grew up in Perry County, Kentucky. She lived in a small town called Yerkes and attended an elementary school called Forked Mouth School.

Annette, affectionately called “Granny” by her grandchildren, is proud of her Kentucky roots. She still loves those Kentucky Wildcats, too, but that’s another story and not for discussion in this story.

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For some reason, I find myself calling her Granny, too. I guess I do that because the name “Granny” holds a special place in the hearts of a family.

Granny is a hard-working woman who struggles daily with intense back pain, but her strong will does not allow her to shut down. She is very determined. She doesn’t make excuses and has one of the most beautiful smiles I’ve ever seen, a smile inherited by her daughter, my wife, Sandy. You can also find her smile on the faces of several of her grandchildren.

Recently, I was visiting with Granny, and for some reason, we started talking about MoonPies when she shared a quick story with me. Now, I really can’t remember why we struck up a conversation about MoonPies, but we did. Sometimes, people just talk about things, and that must have been one of those times.

Since I’m not able to determine how the conversation started, I guess I should get back to the story … the good MoonPie story.

But before I do that, let me tell you about the photo with this story. That’s Granny on the left, Ole Red is in the middle and I’m on the right wearing a MoonPie baseball cap.

Now, I wore the cap for this photo because this story is about MoonPies. I’d like to add just one more thing about this photo before I get back to the original story. Ole Red acts like a spoiled grandchild when Granny comes to visit. He thinks her only reason for visiting is just to see him. Now, the reason Red acts like that is because Granny spoils him like a spoiled grandchild, and a lot of times, when she comes to visit, it’s just to see Red.

One of these days, I’m going to let Granny in on a little secret about Ole Red — he’s not as sweet as he looks. He’s a Big Mac thief, pumpkin pie thief, Lon’s Donuts thief and yes, a MoonPie thief. So with all that said, let’s get back to the story … a good MoonPie story.

Annette, or Granny, as I’ve noted, told me when she was in elementary school attending Forked Mouth School, one of her favorite treats was a MoonPie, which also was the treat of choice for her classmates.

When first recess would come, she would take a MoonPie and crowd around a hot potbellied stove with her friends, and each child would hold their pie close to the stove to get them soft and chewy.

Now, if you’ve ever had a warm MoonPie, your mouth is watering for one right now, and the reason is because there’s nothing better than a warm, soft and chewy MoonPie. And that’s why this story was called “A good MoonPie story.”

Now, as I noted, my wife, Sandy, inherited Granny’s smile, but she didn’t inherit her love of MoonPies. She simply doesn’t eat them, but when we go backroading together, I still pack her one.

Even though she doesn’t like them, all MoonPie wrappers are empty when we get back home, and that’s all I’m saying, and that’s the end of “A good MoonPie story.”