Department of Whitewashed Corporate History That Nevertheless Remains Forever, Fondly, in My Brain

(I'll keep this short for those of you who don't give a damn.) Remember the Frito Bandito? He was the mascot of Frito's Corn Chips in the 1960s and '70s. Remember that song he used to sing? It remains with me to this day.

A year or two ago, I was remembering him with my sister Ellie, and we decided to "look him up" online -- as we had previously the Happy Ho-Ho (who I always thought of as Robin Ho-Ho-Hood) and King Ding Dong (where and when I grew up, known as King Dons, and prior to that, Ring Dings), both of which (whom?) you can gawk at here (wait for the Planet Twinkie animation to load, then click on the "Hall of Fame" sign; you'll find their names in a little menu on the left).

But so we Googled the Frito Bandito, found the Frito-Lay Web site, and the appropriate page, "Frito-Lay Timeline," and lo and behold, discovered that the Frito Bandito has been erased from the company history. For obvious reasons, of course.

Speaking of "erased," though, I have to say that one of the reasons I remember the Frito Bandito so well is because I once owned a blue Frito Bandito eraser. You know, the kind you stick on the end of your pencil, over the built-in one?

Anyway, the Frito Bandito lives no more in official Frito-Lay history.

May he rest in peace.