Our Long National Nightmare Ends

I know I'd promised to tell you the King Cake story today, but I'm overcome with woe. After weeks of patient waiting and countless prayers, Gocakego has responded to a nation's pleas for the Raspberry Buttercreme by removing it from their site. This has to be the saddest, least cake-rageous day I can remember.

What does it say about us, as a nation, that we're unable to bring a second variety of cake to hungry celebrants?

What will our children think when they click on a button that says, "Show me the cakes!" and see only one kind of cake? Will they think that life's promise is an empty lie? Will they understand why the Japanese are gaining ground while we struggle? Will tears pour from their eyes as they struggle to close them and sleep, imagining a day when America's bakeries are nothing but distributors for Pocky?

I should have stayed in bed today. It's all too much to bear. So too, is the arrival of SecretSpoon.com, the latest venture from the folks at ProFlowers. I like these guys in general, they run a decent enough site with the appropriate information and assurances.

But they're not bakers. They sell some cakes and cookies, and flowers, and steaks, and fruit baskets. So let me ask you this: You've got a special occasion coming up for someone you love. Who would you rather order from--a site run by bakers or a site run by a holding company? Which customer service department do you think knows more about baked goods--the one at the bakery that's been in business for 20 years or the one that just started because someone saw cakes as a new profit center for those days when meat sales are down?

At 1-800-Bakery.com, baked goods are all we sell. Okay, there's some candy and gift baskets, too, but candy's a close cousin and the gift baskets have baked goods in them. We're all bakers over here, using this site to extend our reach beyond our neighborhoods so we can share products that we believe in with people all over America.

That last thought plays into the King Cakes story, which I promise to share tomorrow. I'm sure I'll be over my Raspberry Buttercreme-induced heartache by then.

And on an unrelated note, congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers for their Super Bowl win, and to the Steeler's owners and managers for sticking with Bill Cowher during the tough years. You set an example that the rest of the NFL would be wise to follow.