The niece who's newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes is not a big candy cane eater, but having one in the Christmas stocking is traditional. So, we need sugar-free candy canes.

Off to Google. You can by a huge package of them at diabeticcandy.com, or some such. We need one. With additional searching, I discover that Bob's Candy makes a sugar-free candy cane along with all their other variants, sold in packages of 8 or so, but they don't do retail.

Turn to the online yellow pages, and start calling local candy stores. After about 7 calls with no luck and no one who can offer suggestions, I finally got the idea to call Bob's, now owned by Farley's & Sathers, and ask them where to buy the things. And the nice lady tells me that Publix should have them, and maybe Wal-Mart.

Start calling nearby Publix stores, starting with the largest. Toco Hills, no--sold out (that's the store with a heavy kosher emphasis). Northlake, sold out--the nice guy even searched in the back for me. Shamrock Plaza, sold out. This is not looking good.

So I leave the office to head home, and stop at the little Publix on Shallowford Rd., with its heavy Hispanic foods emphasis (DeKalb County is very diverse, ethnically...), to pick up essentials for breakfast. And they have sugar-free candy canes!